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New Plymouth, Taranaki
News & Events
"Community is first of all a quality of the heart. It grows from the spiritual knowledge that we are alive not for ourselves but for one another."
Henri Nouwen
The Nature and Impact of Informal Mental Health Support in an LGBTQ Context: Exploring Peer Roles and Their Challenges
Research shows that LGBTQ communities experience high levels of suicidality and mental ill health. They also face significant barriers to accessing adequate mental health treatment in service settings. In response to these factors, it is likely that LGBTQ community members…
Government reveals 25-year plan to tackle family and sexual violence
A 25-year plan to tackle the amount of violence in New Zealand homes is being unveiled by the government this morning. The country’s first National Strategy for eliminating family violence and sexual violence, called Te Aorerekura, will see 10 agencies…
On female sexual abuse of children among religious sisters in New Zealand
There is a powerful misconception that the sexual predation of children and vulnerable adults within faith based institutions is invariably an issue of male on male or male on female assault. This is clearly not the case. Indeed, within the…
‘Why didn’t you scream?’: Child sex abuse complainants face victim blaming, badgering in court
Children in sex assault trials are blamed for their own abuse, criticised for keeping secrets and repeatedly accused of lying by defence lawyers, causing extreme distress and undermining their ability to give evidence, a study has found. Judges either failed…
Charges against former Lake Alice staff member ‘better than nothing’ says survivor
It finally feels as though Lake Alice survivors are being listened to after a former staff member was charged, says one former patient. Selwyn Leeks is a 92-year-old with dementia. As lead psychiatrist at the Lake Alice child and adolescent…
Tauranga exhibition’s new approach on Lake Alice abuse
The Moral Drift is the name of an exhibition that is on at the Tauranga Art Gallery until January 23rd. The exhibition investigates a partial history of our state care system, uncovering a legacy of abuse and the resiliency of…
The impossible task: How New Zealand plans to tackle violence without maligning men
A new strategy aims to eliminate family and sexual violence without even using the word “perpetrator”. Will a plan focusing on healing and prevention be enough to turn our appalling statistics around? OPINION: If ever there was a poisoned chalice in…
Comparison Between Male and Female Survivors of Sexual Abuse and Assault in Relation to Age at Admission to Therapy, Age of Onset, and Age at Last Sexual Assault: Retrospective Observational Study
Sexual abuse and sexual assault are complex phenomena that involve many factors (or correlates) and have many health and financial implications for individuals, families, and society. Every correlate needs to be studied in detail, individually and in relation to other…
Survivors call for new Government entity to hear allegations of institutional child abuse
John’s* life has been blighted by the sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of his Catholic school principal. Forty years on, he is having to appeal to the Marist Brothers for redress, the very institution who employed the perpetrator. John was…
Evaluation of PartnerSPEAK
Child sexual abuse material (CSAM) is rapidly becoming more prevalent online (Bursztein et al., 2019) as the number of people accessing it is increasing. This problem has only escalated during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has prompted an unprecedented increase in…
Six Men Try to Heal Their Trauma with Groundbreaking Collaborative Filmmaking
In Kansas City, six men who were sexually abused by Catholic priests as children collaborate with a film crew to tell their stories — but not in the way you might think. They don’t act as talking heads in the…
Linda Clark to head ACC client information and privacy review
An independent review into the access and use of client information within ACC will be led by prominent lawyer Linda Clark. The review was announced after RNZ revealed a group of ACC staff shared and laughed at client information in a…