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Accusations of Abuse in
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The Press
August 5, 2003
Sisters to meet with accusers of abuse
by Yvonne Martin
A
Christchurch order of nuns has agreed to front up to a group of women who claim
they were physically abused as girls at its former orphanage.
The Sisters of Nazareth have been accused, by 15 women who lived at Nazareth
House in Sydenham, mostly in the 1950s and 1960s, of
cruelty.
The complainants, represented by a Whangarei lawyer,
are undergoing assessment by an Australian psychiatrist and psychologist, on
behalf of the sisters.
Next the women will get to air their grievances to the sisters directly in
face-to-face meetings organised by lawyers for the two parties.
The sisters'
"The sisters are more than happy to hear the women out, have them
independently assessed, and deal with them on the basis of those
assessments," said Mr Robinson.
The meetings are scheduled for late October to early November.
One complainant, who claims she suffered physical and emotional abuse at the
hands of the sisters, said the meetings would be emotion-charged.
"It is going to be diabolical. To see them in their habits is enough to
scare us," said the woman.
"But we can't close the chapter unless we do it. Most of us are in our 60s
and we can't get on with our lives because this is hindering us."
The allegations have polarised Nazareth House's former residents. When claims of cruelty were first aired last September, 50
supporters of the nuns gathered at the house in
In
The order, founded in