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Allegations
of Abuse in Institutions |
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Defence officials have
launched an investigation into historic claims teenagers were physically and
sexually abused at Waiouru Army base. The abuse is alleged to
have happened at the Army's cadet school at Waiouru, which was open from 1948
to 1991. A former cadet claims
he and dozens of others endured sadistic punishments and group beatings, and
some were even raped. Others are now coming
forward, and the office of the Chief of Defence is looking into the claims. Cadet school was
supposed to be a place where boys aged 15 to 17 were taught how to be men,
but Ian Fraser tells a different story. "You'd hear the
boots in the corridor and you'd think 'well, who's in for it tonight? That
was something you just lived with throughout your entire time in the place." Fraser, who now lives
in Perth, has interviewed up to 50 other former cadets who spoke of incidents
of rape and sadistic punishment. He claims the abuse
included the use of brooms and rifles, and that he was knocked unconscious
and hospitalised on at least two occasions. Fraser says he suffers
from depression, panic attacks and anxiety as a result of beatings he
received. Another former
cadet who has come forward says his level of fear was so great, he took part
in the sexual abuse of another teenage cadet for fear of what would happen to
him. "I held the guy
down while he was sodomised," says the man. Fraser says cadets who suffered at Waiouru should be eligible for the same compensation as soldiers diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. |
