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Allegations
of Abuse in Institutions |
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Wellington: The
feelings of a woman accusing Catholic organisations of abuse and neglect
might strongly influence her perception of what happened to her, a
psychiatrist said yesterday. Dr Tony Marks was the
second psychiatrist to give evidence about the woman, now 45, who claims
various forms of abuse while in the care of a Lower Hutt Catholic orphanage
in the 1960s and 70s. The psychiatrists agree
on her diagnoses but have told Justice Frater, who is hearing the case in the
High Court at Wellington, they disagree on the reliance that can be placed on
the claimant’s recall of events. Dr Marks testified
yesterday that the claimant’s inherited characteristics and early life experiences
would be enough to account for a large part of her current adult dysfunction.
Much of how she had
been as an adult was linked to the first seven years before her parents
separated and the loss, rejection and deprivation from her parents in the years
that followed, Dr Marks said. The diagnoses the
psychiatrists agreed on was depression, generalised anxiety disorder with
panic attacks, alcohol abuse and possible dependency, and a cluster of
personality disorders. Dr Marks said the
personality disorders tended to make people dramatic, emotional and erratic.
One characteristic could be making up and fantasising things, he agreed. He is to be
cross-examined today. The claimant is suing
Wellington’s Roman Catholic Archdiocese, Catholic Social Services, the
Sisters of Mercy (Wellington) Trust Board and the St Josephs Orphanage Trust
Board for $550,000. The claim is opposed on
legal and factual grounds. The names of the
claimant and many others involved in the case have been suppressed in the
meantime. The nun in charge of St
Josephs Orphanage during 1972-79, Sister Mary Agnes Finucane, said she never
saw the claimant verbally abused or screamed at. |
