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Allegations
of Abuse in Institutions |
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Wellington: A retired
social worker has admitted not taking any action even though she considered a
teenager highly institutionalised and socially deprived. The now 82-year-old
gave evidence yesterday via video link from Auckland to the High Court at
Wellington, where one of her former clients is suing four Catholic groups for
$550,000. The woman who has
brought the case, and her six siblings, was put into Catholic care by her
mother when her parents’ marriage broke up in the 1960s. She says she was
verbally, physically, emotionally and sexually abused in the years that
followed while in the care of the Sisters of Mercy at St Josephs Orphanage,
Upper Hutt, and St Marys College, Wellington. The Sisters trust
board, the orphanage trust board, Catholic Social Services and Wellington’s
Roman Catholic Archdiocese are defending the claim. Evidence from Catholic
Social Services (CSS), the archdiocese’s main social agency, has been that
nuns had day-to-day care of the girl. Yesterday’s witness,
whose name was suppressed, was a CSS social worker. She did not know what
legal connection CSS had to children in its care. In early 1972, she was
asked to “keep an eye” on the claimant, whose name is also suppressed. The
nuns remained in control and she had no authority to ask questions about what
happened at the orphanage, she said. During 1973, she noted
signs of social deprivation. A foster family placement lasted a few months.
The father thought she was obsessed with sexual matters. Earlier that year, a
holiday host had found the claimant’s “adolescent crush” on her husband hard
to deal with. The claimant’s lawyer,
Helen Cull QC, asked what steps she took to address the series of problems.
The witness said that one-by-one they were not unexpected, and, at the time,
she did not think outside help was needed. The case is continuing.
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