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Allegations
of Abuse in Institutions |
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A former army cadet
says unanswered questions about his brother's death prompted him to
speak out about the abuse at the Waiouru Cadet School. Murray Bain has come
forward with claims he was beaten at the school and his brother,
Grant, was shot by a senior cadet in 1981. The incident was covered up
and the man responsible received only a minor conviction, Bain said. Bain attended the
training school in 1978 and received physical beatings on several occasions.
Bain said it was not regarded as abuse, but the way the system worked. Defence Minister Mark
Burton has ordered an urgent inquiry into allegations teenagers were
physically and sexually abused. From 1948 to 1991, five thousand cadets
passed through the school. Former cadet Ian Fraser
claims he and dozens of others endured sadistic punishments and group
beatings, and some were even raped. Since airing the claims, Fraser said he
has received more than 100 emails from former cadets. Cadet school was supposed
to be a place where boys aged 15 to 17 were taught how to be men. "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 said. 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 said he suffers from
depression, panic attacks and anxiety as a result of beatings he received. Another former cadet
who has come forward said 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," the man said. Fraser said cadets who
suffered at Waiouru should be eligible for the same compensation as soldiers
diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. |
