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Allegations
of Abuse in Institutions |
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It is not hugely
surprising to hear people talking of a culture of violence in places such as
the Army's former cadet school at Waiouru, but what is disturbing are the
claims that were made of sex abuse because that is criminal behaviour that
should attract the full sanction of the law. It seems that some of
things that took place at Waiouru amounted to what is called hazing, a
phenomenon that is relatively common in such institutions around the world. But then there is the
danger of it becoming bullying, which degenerates into abuse, and that is
another matter altogether. The military rationale for some of this kind of
behaviour is that would-be soldiers need to be exposed to a tough regime to
prepare them for the rather more considerable stresses which they might later
encounter on the battlefield.Or to put it another way: if you fear your
officers more than the enemy then you will charge that machine gun nest as
ordered. The notion of a culture
of violence suggests it was condoned, if not orchestrated, from the very top
of the organisation, and that's something which has been denied by new
Defence Minister Phil Goff. However, the minister has apologised on behalf of
the state as a result of the report into the allegations by former High Court
judge David Morris. Justice Morris found that the cadet school was a fertile
ground for bullying. The Defence Force has been at pains to point out that it
now has policies to ensure nothing like it happens again. But it seems
evident that is one story that is not going to go away any time soon because
there is at least one lawsuit being prepared by former cadets. Military establishments
are a world apart from the mainstream because in some respects they have to
be, given the nature of what goes on within them. But at the same time they
are also part of society, or at least in New Zealand they are, which means
any so-called codes of silence that operate are not going to last forever,
especially in the case of something like the old cadet school, which was
attended by 5000 people between 1948 and 91. What that means in
practical terms is that while the armed services have their own rules and
regulations, as do other similar organisations, such as the police, they are
also subject to the sanctions of civil society and the rule of law because
ordinary New Zealanders join them and expect to be treated like anyone else,
within the particular parameters of the organisation. In the end, that's what
makes so worrying some of the material that came out of the report by Justice
Morris. For it showed not only a pattern of abusive behaviour, but conduct
which was way out of line for the military, never mind the outside world. It
can't be allowed to happen again. One more thing: If
anyone doubted that stress can you make you sick then one surely needs to
look no further than the figures produced by MidCentral Health, whose staff
take more sick leave than those who work for any of the country's other
health boards. Management has squarely
laid the blame for the figures on the stress caused by the long, drawn-out
closure of the Kimberley Centre at Levin, which is said to be typical of a
close-down when people are thinking of their own futures, according to
corporate services manager Stuart Wilson. The centre is now due to close next
June which, if does happen then, will presumably affect MidCentral Health's
health for the better in the latter half of 2006. |
