Abuse in Care: A power shift needed from systems to whānau, commissioner says

Wednesday, 5 October 2022

State abuse survivor Keith Wiffin talks about what he wants to see from the latest round of hearings by the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care, which focus on government agency responses. (First published August 2022.)

Shifting the focus from strong systems to strong families must be the future of care in Aotearoa, an Abuse in Care commissioner says.

Over the course of the Royal Commission’s Inquiry into Abuse in Care, survivors shared their haunting stories of abuse, neglect, loss of culture, and disconnection from their family and whānau.

While the voices of those harmed in faith-based and state institutions have been heard by commissioners for years, it’s become clear to the commission that their voices were silenced and ignored by the systems designed to be their carers during the inquiry’s scope from 1950 to 1999.

Following the commission’s final wānanga with international experts on disability and mental health care systems, Commissioner Paul Gibson said the examples from overseas and Aotearoa showed that change can happen, but only if the power shifted from systems to those in care and their families.

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Paul Gibson is one of the commissioners for the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. (File photo)

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“The Public Service has a role in resourcing and then listening and making a difference, as opposed to retaining the power and control.

“Providers at the moment retain too much power and control, and we’ve got to change some of that around.”

Gibson said a culture of devaluing and dehumanising people with disabilities and mental health issues in government agencies had led to the immediate and continued suffering of those who had passed through institutions such as Christchurch’s Sunnyside Hospital and Manawatū’s Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital.

Dr Michael Kendrick is well known internationally for his work on service quality and innovation, leadership, service user empowerment and safeguards, said

He said institutions and government gatekeepers held too much power and control over how people, and children, were cared for at the expense of their futures and personal connections.

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“We often promote the idea of services at the expense of your family, of relationships, of the things which keep us safe, keep us well and give us a great life,” Gibson said.

“I think there's a general theme of imagining better, and what would a great life look like for each person, every individual. It's always different, but there are some commonalities about relationships, purpose, independence, and being valued.”

Dr Michael Kendrick, one of the leading speakers in the wānanga, recognised for his work in service transformation, said globally there has been a moving of power from care systems to the people, but more needed to be done to change the culture of assumptions made by leaders of services.

“Anyone who’s been involved in any system knows it’s pretty common for them to disappoint and fail to do a lot of things, but that leaves us with no way forwards because it leaves us thinking that the system is unchangeable,” Kendrick said.

“[But] most of us have lived through this period of great progress and I think what we need to worry about now is not if it can be done, but if it can be sustained.”

The royal commission will hold its final public hearings from October 13 to 30, focused on faith-based institutions’ responses.