Minister Erica Stanford was approached at an event by a survivor, which prompted the change. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Minister Erica Stanford was approached at an event by a survivor, which prompted the change. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The Government’s redress scheme for victims of abuse in state care is expanding after a plea from one survivor who was hitting “bureaucratic dead ends”.
Minister Erica Stanford, responsible for the Government’s response to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into abuse in state care, confirmed Cabinet had agreed toamend the Redress System for Abuse in Care Bill, currently before Parliament, to include people who suffered abuse in mental health inpatient settings up to June 30, 2022.
The proposed law initially enabled redress up to June 30, 1993. If the abuse occurred after that, it was the responsibility of Health NZ Te Whatu Ora, which did not have a redress system in place.
The amendment, dubbed “Charlotte’s Change” by Stanford, came about after Stanford was approached at an event last year by a woman named Charlotte who recounted her experience of abuse in a mental health setting in the 2000s.
“Her attempts had hit bureaucratic dead ends, with various agencies and authorities denying responsibility or declining to investigate,” Stanford said.
“Charlotte’s bravery, along with the courage of another woman who wrote in to my office detailing similar experiences, confirmed this was a priority for us to fix.
“A person who was sexually assaulted in mental health inpatient care should have the same ability to access redress if it happened in 1988 or 2018.”
Health NZ would be responsible for responding to claims from July 1, 2022. Stanford argued the approach mirrored other redress settings, including those used by the Ministry of Social Development and Oranga Tamariki.
The bill was reported back from the social services and community select committee on March 13 and would proceed through its remaining stages in the coming months.
Adam Pearse is the Deputy Political Editor and part of the NZ Herald’s Press Gallery team based at Parliament in Wellington. He has worked for NZME since 2018, reporting for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei and the Herald in Auckland.
