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Allegations
of Abuse in Institutions |
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Calls have been flowing
into psych survivor groups around the country from people seeking redress
over historic abuse received in New Zealand mental institutions. Spokesperson for the
coalition of groups Helen Gilbert says that since the groups first called for
the Government to set-up a redress process in July there has been a steady
stream of phone calls to consumer groups around the country from vulnerable
people wanting to tell their stories. "The redress
process will provide an avenue of complaint for many more people than those
currently going through legal processes. Thousands of people have gone
through mental institutions in the past three or four decades. Many of them
want to be heard but they don't want to do it through the legal system,"
she says. "We want the
Government to take urgent action to help us resource and set up this
process." Ms Gilbert says the
Coalition believes a redress process will bring a much wider understanding of
abuses in the mental health system and the context in which they developed.
It will also offer opportunities for healing and closure that will not
necessarily be gained in a more adversarial court system. "One of the
stories we've heard recently was of a woman in her mid-seventies who was in
an institution years ago She's never talked about the issue and never been
involved with services since she got out of the institution all those years
ago. It's had a totally traumatic effect on her life," she said. "Another call was
from a man who was put in an institution aged 14 for being a stroppy
teenager. He has never been diagnosed with any illness, and even today still
can't talk about the issue with his wife." The Coalition
represents groups in Wellington, Porirua, Auckland, Hamilton, the Bay of
Plenty, Christchurch and Rotorua and has recently been joined by a number of
other groups from around the country. It is calling on the
Government to set up redress procedures similar to those established in both
Canada and Ireland so that psych survivors can tell their stories, have them
acknowledged and gain apologies and compensation for past wrongs. "We are looking
for a process outside the tradition court system so that people can be heard
in a sensitive fair and just manner," says Ms Gilbert. "What we're
looking for is an alternative dispute process where people can gain
acknowledgement and apology from the Crown for abuse at the hands of the
state. This has ranged from appalling use of ECT, to the harmful prescribing
of medication, physical and sexual abuse, seclusion as punishment and
long-term unwarranted incarceration." "For many people
compensation is not the issue - being heard and being acknowledged is. People
want to make sure this kind of thing never happens again." The Coalition wants the
Attorney General to appoint an inquiry team with equal representation from
the Crown and mental health consumer groups to decide on the terms of
reference and the process for redress. "It is also urgent
that the Government resource the process adequately. People with experience
of mental illness are significantly less well off than the rest of the
population - they have fewer social and personal resources to depend on. An
unjust system has already cost them dearly and they shouldn't be financially
disadvantaged in seeking redress," she said. |
