|
|
Child sex
abuse hysteria and the Ellis case |
|
|
|
|
The wisdom of
Gordon Waugh - Index |
|
|
"Violating sexual
abuse victims' rights . . . appalled and angry . . . we're absolutely up in
arms about it . . . it's collusion against our clients . . . it's just crazy
. . . ACC is not prepared to trust (our) professional judgement". The lady doth protest
too much, methinks. Sexual abuse is a crime
second only to murder in its seriousness. When counsellors diagnose it, often
from clients' uncorroborated tales but seldom with a trial or conviction,
they give a life-time sentence to the accused. The consequences of
wrong diagnoses or false allegations are extreme. The ACC pays millions
of dollars annually to its approved counsellors, and at $56.25 an hour, they
need only work 1778 hours (44 weeks) for an income of $100,000. These factors
imply a vital need for high standards of information, accountability and
professionalism. Section 64 of the ARCI
Act 1992 requires that information be given in order to establish
"personal injury". Sufferers of genuine sexual abuse have no reason
to withhold such information. They are disadvantaged
by counsellors' petty refusal to fill out ACC forms. That ACC and the public
might lack trust in counsellors' "professional judgment" is a clear
reflection of the sex abuse industry's track record and past avoidance of
accountability. ACC's new requirement is a long overdue improvement. The Daily News ACC is violating sexual
abuse victims' rights by demanding detailed personal information from them,
says the New Zealand Association of Counsellors. Yesterday, 18 of
Taranaki's ACC-accredited counsellors spoke out, saying they were appalled
and angry with the new requirements. "We're absolutely
up in arms about it," said spokesperson Lorraine Jans of Safer Centre,
New Plymouth. The counsellors
believed the information required breached the Privacy Act and contravened
the NZAC code of ethics. The counsellors are
protesting on behalf of their clients by refusing to fill out the new forms. But ACC said last night
the information required was similar to that asked for in other claims and
was not shared with other Government bodies. Ms Jans said an ACC
letter dated August 26 changed the way counsellors dealt with ACC. "There was no
consultation, it was just put into place. There are grave concerns that the
process will further traumatise victims." Clients were already
refusing to answer questions and would, therefore, miss out on the help they
needed to recover. Under the changes,
counsellors were being asked to categorise sexual abuse victims by recording
personal information -- without their knowledge, she said. Information required
included social and educational development, employment, relationships, past
mental and physical health, history of abuse against others, contact with
CYPS or school guidance services. "It's collusion
against our clients. It's just crazy," Ms Jans said. The information was to
be sent to ACC, which then classed the person as "low impact" or
"high impact". But it was impossible
to categorise people as everyone was affected differently, she said. Although ACC said the
changes were not money-driven, this was untrue because the effect was to cut
down on counselling hours. It was ironic that
ACC-approved counsellors had undertaken extensive training, and yet ACC was
not prepared to trust their professional judgment, she said. The NZAC had complained
to the Ombudsman, the Commissioner for Children, the Ministers for ACC and
Health and ACC's general manager Gavin Robins. ACC communications
manager Chris Morrison said the corporation had concerns about delays in
counselling approval because a lot of information coming from counsellors was
inadequate. This caused much frustration. The changes had received approval
from many counsellors. The extra information
could be used to see if claimants needed additional assistance, such as home
help. An inhouse newsletter
would clarify the new position and letters were being responded to
individually. ACC would continue to talk to the professional bodies concerned
to get feedback, Ms Morrison said. |
