Prime Minister Christopher Luxon formally apologized to those abused in state and faith-based care on Tuesday.

“You have been heard and you are believed,” he said in the parliamentary debate hall.

Photograph: RNZ

The apology from Luxon and other key public sector leaders follows the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Care Abuse: It was made public in July.

The inquiry, established in 2018 to investigate abuse and neglect of children, young people and adults in state and faith-based care from 1950 to 1999, has also heard from people who have been abused since then. It is estimated that at least 250,000 people are affected.

Before the investigation

Many survivors who reported abuse and neglect during the investigation period were not believed. report accepted. Few organizations had clear processes for dealing with complaints.

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, public awareness of child sexual abuse and deficiencies in care in psychiatric hospitals was increasing.

However, it was not until the 2000s that the state established a dispute resolution process and offered solutions to some of the survivors. Lake Alice Psychiatric HospitalIt is known that young people were subjected to torture.

From that moment on, thousands of survivors filed lawsuits either in court or directly against the institutions. State spent millions defends itself against these allegations.

Fast forward to 2017 and pressure on the government was mounting.

July 6, 2017

As nearly 200 people with experience of abuse in care gathered in Parliament, Race Relations Commissioner Dame Susan Devoy presented a petition and an open letter with a total of 15,000 signatures demanding an investigation and a public apology. Nine survivors also spoke. The documents were received by Green Party co-chair Metiria Turei and Maori Party co-chair Marama Fox, respectively.

There had been calls for an investigation from many individuals and organisations: survivors, community leaders, political parties (all except National), the Human Rights Commission, the Iwi Leaders Forum, the Maori Women’s Welfare League and the United Nations Development Committee. Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

A number of other jurisdictions, such as the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, have also recently initiated or completed investigations into similar matters.

February 2018

Following the change of government, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Home Affairs Minister Tracey Martin announced that a Royal Commission of Inquiry would be established.

The government has asked Sir Anand Satyanand, as chairman, to collect feedback on the inquiry’s draft terms of reference.

End of 2018

The final terms of reference of the investigation have been announced. (They were later replaced in 2021 and 2023.)

In November, Ardern said Cabinet had agreed to broaden the scope of the inquiry to look into abuses in church and state institutions.

July 2019

The Royal Commission’s Advisory Group of Expert Survivors (SAGE) was established to represent and advise survivors.

The first special sessions were held in May.

Many discussions appeared in media reportsThat report, which involved appointing a gang member to a key role, using survivors for trial or pilot interviews, alleges Sir Anand fell asleep while a survivor told his story and impeachment commissioners shut down questions about possible conflicts of interest.

End of 2019

In August, Sir Anand resigned as head of the inquiry. He was replaced by former district court judge Coral Shaw.

January 2020

Shaw met with the Maori King Tūheitia Paki at Tūrangawaewae.

In the following months, a series of phonos for Pacific peoples were held across the country.

End of 2020

In September, the commission held a 500 special session and released its annual report for June 2020.

An interim report was published in December summarizing the investigation’s work to date. The report said the estimate of 250,000 young people being abused may be conservative. Many of those abused were from the most disadvantaged or excluded sections of society, particularly whānau Māori and Pacific families, people with disabilities, women and girls.

Early 2021

Public hearings for faith-based reparations and state-run children’s homes were ongoing.

A five-month extension was granted, with the final report expected to be published in June 2023.

June 2021

In the 1970s, patients especially consulted psychiatrist Dr. Survivors from the child and adolescent unit at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital, where she was tortured and neglected by Selwyn Leeks, testified at a public hearing.

December 2021

An interim report on compensation included 95 recommendations calling for urgent action to restore meaning to survivors and laid out a clear path to help repair the profound damage done to them.

The report found that survivors’ claims for compensation were often rejected or their abuse was downplayed, disbelieved or dismissed.

The Labor government aimed to create a new, independent compensation system.

(There is currently a proposal before the coalition government. Luxon has promised a new system from 2025.)

End of 2022

Public hearings continued, focusing on the lived experiences of survivors in foster care and disabled people placed in psychiatric institutions.

A research report on the links between state care and incarceration has been published. It has been revealed that a third of children placed in state care between 1950 and 1999 were sentenced to prison.

Another research report was published between 1950 and 1999 providing insight into people with learning disabilities and neurodiversity in state and faith-based care.

The investigation into the Alice Lake unit was presented to Parliament on December 15.

March 2023

The closing date for survivor registration was March 21, 2023. More than 4000 people had registered.

April 2023

The investigation’s original deadline of June 30, 2023 has been extended to March 28, 2024.

Shaw said: “The extent of the abuse is beyond what anyone could have imagined at the beginning of this investigation.”

August 2023

The investigation into the Order of St John of God Brothers at Marylands School and Hebron Trust has been published.

A school and associated community center for boys with learning disabilities in Christchurch has been described as “hell on earth”.

March 2024

The cabinet decided on a final and short extension from 28 March to 26 June 2024.

July 2024

The 3000-page final report of the investigation was made public. Reveals the extent of the failure of the state and churches to protect the country’s most vulnerable.

Commissioners Shaw, Dr. Andrew Erueti and Paul Gibson called for widespread law reform, an overhaul of the care system and the urgent implementation of the proposed compensation scheme.

12 November 2024

“Words must be accompanied by actions,” Luxon said during his apology on Tuesday.

Attorney General Una Jagose received the most backlash, with angry protests from the crowd during her apology. Many survivors want him to resign, given his role Compensation claims of stone-laying victims.

Opposition leader Chris Hipkins said he had officially joined the government in its apology, saying: The day was an important step forward.

What’s next?

Luxon said the government had completed or begun work on 28 of the report’s 138 recommendations. He also announced that a national day of remembrance will be held on November 12 next year.

The government will invest a further $32 million to increase the capacity of the existing system before the new compensation plan comes into force, which is the most urgent priority for most survivors.

Research estimates that the average lifetime cost of an abused individual in care is approximately $860,000.

But SAGE member Keith Wiffin told RNZ that monetary compensation was only one aspect. A correction was required, which included rehabilitation as well as compensation. And the transformation of a system that continues to allow abuse.

The abuse continues today, according to human rights lawyer Sonja Cooper, who has worked with victims of state care for more than 30 years.

He told RNZ that despite “authorities being named and shamed” so far “no one has fallen on their sword”.

When asked if he thought people would lose their jobs, he said: “Not at all.”

“I have no confidence in anyone accepting personal responsibility.”

When asked if further prosecutions were possible following the information the investigation had brought to light, he said that although possible, “History tells us that the police will not proceed with a historic prosecution unless there is a large enough group to support (it).” .

“Where we have concerns about abuse of people in care we do our best to alert the police and we also support our clients to the best of our ability if they become complainants or witnesses in prosecuting perpetrators.”

A police spokesman told RNZ: “Police will not speak about individuals or their cases and survivors can be assured that we will treat every investigation confidentially and with the care and attention it deserves.”

They confirmed that a three-man team continues to support and co-ordinate the police response to the investigation, with further support from the national criminal investigation group.

“Police will contact anyone who wishes to report criminal offending, including cases mentioned in the Royal Commission’s final report.”