Sexual harm: Confronting the issue
By Prof. Tess Patterson
26 August 2019
I vainly believed I had the fortitude to report on child abuse, but there was always my own case
Periodically, for most of the five years of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, I covered its squalid revelations as both journalist and abuse victim. For years I spoke with victims and their families, listened to naked, fitful testimonies of abuse, and read granular psych reports that were devastatingly resonant. I interviewed a paedophile, and partially recounted my own abuse at the hands of an incestuous predator. I believed in the work, but it was making me sick.
Published in Sydney Morning Herald
ComVoices 2016 State of the Sector Survey finds community organisations struggling
ComVoices have released results from their second survey of community organisations. The State of the Sector Survey 2016 was completed by 280.
Published in New Zealand Family Violence Clearinghouse
Former Marlborough teacher jailed for sex with students can now be named
A Marlborough teacher who was jailed for having sex with two students aged under 16 has abandoned her bid to keep her name secret.
Jamiee Marie Cooney admitted at the Blenheim District Court in October seven charges of sexual relations with minors and two charges of sending sexual material to minors.
Published in Stuff
Queensland archbishop opposes planned law to compel priests to report child sexual abuse
Mark Coleridge says move to legislate against the sanctity of the confessional will fail to make children safer.
Published in The Guardian
Former Scout leader accused of abusing boy in darkened cinema
Former scout leader James Morris, also known as Ian Phipps, has denied 17 charges of doing indecent acts on six boys over a period of 40 years.
Published in Stuff
Kiwibank New Zealand Local Hero of the Year 2020 Finalists
2020 Kiwibank New Zealand Local Hero of the Year 2020 finalists, from left, Ken Clearwater, Diane Yalden and Nick Loosley.
Our judges have chosen three finalists whose selflessness and determination have made a difference in the community.
Published in NZ Awards
Courage in the void of suicide
Suffering can produce something; it’s not random or meaningless, nor merely something to get rid of. It can act as either a fertiliser or a poison, writes Dr Chris Bowden.
Published in Newsroom
Male rape survivors suffer in silence. We need to help them talk
Gender norms compound the trauma for men who are victims of rape and sexual abuse. It’s time to give them support.
Published in The Guardian
Focus on traumatized boys critical to gender equality, new research shows
TORONTO — Boys in poor urban areas around the world are suffering even more than girls from violence, abuse and neglect, groundbreaking international research published on Monday suggests.
The study in the Journal of Adolescent Health, along with similar new research, suggests an adequate focus on helping boys is critical to achieving gender equality in the longer term.
Published in CTV News
Specialist sexual violence social work: Ensuring good practice
This research sought to understand social workers’ perspectives on good practice in specialist sexual violence social work practice in Aotearoa New Zealand.
By By Bridget Leary and Dr Kathryn Hay
December 2019
Move to lift Catholic clergy sex abuse secrecy is too late, survivor says
A New Zealand church abuse survivor says the Vatican’s decision to abolish secrecy clauses for Catholic clerical sex crime cases is “far too late”.
Pope Francis this week announced “pontifical secrecy” would no longer apply to child abuse complaints. The decision meant abuse victims and witnesses would be freed from confidentiality obligations.
New Zealand author Mike Ledingham said the Papal announcement was “bull”, many years overdue, and a reaction to the perception churches could no longer dodge being held to account for child abuse.
Published in Stuff
What is known about effective recovery services for men who have been sexually abused?
This literature review brings together current evidence about effective approaches to support men who have been sexually abused (as children and/or adults) in their journey of recovery. The Ministry of Social Development (MSD) commissioned this literature review to inform service planning. Because of the limited evidence base we have taken a broad exploratory approach to examine what is known about supporting men, and what is considered emerging good practice.
From the Ministry of Social Development
October 2019
Gaps in Sexual Assault Health Care Among Homeless Young Adults
Interventions are needed to increase use of preventive care after experiencing sexual assault among young adults experiencing homelessness.
By American Journal of Preventive Medicine
December 2019
A sex abuse survivors advocate says sexual offence laws need to change
A 37-year-old woman has been jailed for two-and-a-half-years for sexually abusing students while she taught at Marlborough Boys’ College.
She could only be charged with sexual conduct with a person under 16, not anything more serious.
Male Survivors Aotearoa national advocate Ken Clearwater says they’ve been lobbying for changes for more than 20 years.
He says ACC refused to pay male victims in 1998 because the law didn’t count females sexually abusing men.
By Newstalk ZB
Published in NZ City
18 December 2019
Hundreds of Kiwi children harmed while in the care of Oranga Tamariki
Nearly 500 babies, children and teenagers in Oranga Tamariki care experienced physical, emotional and sexual harm, and neglect in just one year.
The first full annual report on harm in care by Oranga Tamariki, released on Wednesday, showed 5.6 per cent of children in state care (or 464 children) were not kept safe in the year ending June 30.
The report, titled Safety of Children in Care, says 6590 children and young people in Oranga Tamariki’s custody were kept safe and “had the support they needed to ensure they could thrive and flourish in loving homes”.
Published in Stuff