Landmark investigation finds 200,000 people were abused in New Zealand care institutions

Physical, emotional, mental and sexual abuse was widespread in both state and faith-based care institutions

People arrive at the New Zealand parliament in Wellington for the tabling of the Abuse in Care Royal Commission report on 24 July 2024 (AP)

Nearly 200,000 people in New Zealand have suffered abuse and neglect at state and faith-based care institutions since 1950, a report said on Wednesday.

The landmark 3,000-page final report from the Abuse in Care Royal Commission noted widespread physical, emotional, mental and sexual abuse, and criticised both state and church institutions for failing to protect the vulnerable.

The investigation found that the indigenous Maori people faced particularly harsh treatment and cultural dislocation.

The Royal Commission, the highest level of inquiry that can be undertaken in the country, called for urgent reform, including the establishment of a specialist investigation unit, an independent Care Safe Agency, and a Care System Office.

It also sought public apologies and accountability from various leaders and institutions.

Speaking in parliament after the report was tabled, prime minister Christopher Luxon said it marked a day of “deep sorrow and regret”.

It was the largest and “most complex public inquiry ever held on our shores”, Mr Luxon said and announced his government would issue a formal apology on 12 November this year.

“At the heart of this report are the stories of 2,400 survivors, many of whom are here today. To every person who took part, I say thank you for your exceptional strength, incredible courage, and confronting honesty. Because of you, we know the truth about the abuse and trauma you have endured,” the prime minister said.

”I cannot take away your pain, but I can tell you this: you are heard and you are believed. Many of your stories are horrific and harrowing.  They are painful to read, but not as painful as they were to endure. A number of faith-based schools, institutions and people in positions of authority who you should have been able to trust failed you in the worst possible way.”

People arrive at the parliament in Wellington for the tabling of the Royal Commission of Inquiry report on 24 July 2024 (AP)

Nearly 655,000 children, young people, and adults were in care from 1950 to 2019 and an estimated 200,000 were abused and even more were neglected, the report said.

“The true number will never be fully known as records of the most vulnerable people in Aotearoa New Zealand were never created or were lost and, in some cases, destroyed,” it said, using both Maori and English names for the country. “These gross violations occurred at the same time as Aotearoa New Zealand was promoting itself, internationally and domestically, as a bastion of human rights and as a safe, fair country in which to grow up as a child in a loving family.”

“If this injustice is not addressed,” the report stated, “it will remain as a stain on our national character forever.”

Royal Commissioners Coral Shaw, Andrew Erueti and Paul Gibson called for wide legal reform, an overhaul of the care system, and urgent implementation of the redress scheme recommended by them.

“Instead of receiving care and support, children, young people and adults in care were exposed to unimaginable physical, emotional, mental and sexual abuse, severe exploitation and neglect,” they said.

“Any abuse and neglect, let alone the prevalence of it, could not be justified by the standards of the day and certainly cannot be justified now.”

The commissioners urged swift implementation of their 138 recommendations to prevent future abuse and provide holistic redress to survivors.

The government said it had formed a ministerial group to tackle the report’s findings and recommendations.

Tu Chapman, a survivor and advocate, told the Associated Press that immediate action was needed to prove the government took the findings seriously.

“Announce the redress system as soon as possible,” she said. “Further delay is just impacting survivors even more who have waited 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 years.”

Chris Hipkins, leader of the opposition Labour Party, which initiated the inquiry while in power, said children and vulnerable adults were “devalued and dehumanised”.

He described it as “a nationwide intergenerational shame” that remains unresolved.

In a statement, the Archbishops of the Anglican Church said: “We acknowledge and take full responsibility for our failures to provide the safe, caring and nurturing environment those who have been in our care had a right to expect and to receive. There have been clear failures to properly investigate and respond when abuse was reported.”

They also “acknowledged that we have not provided accessible, straightforward processes for the handling of disclosures and complaints of abuse”.