"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"
- Henry Nouwen
Damning revelations from a former church fixer reveals that almost all St John of God Catholic brothers faced allegations of physical or sexual abuse. Steve Kilgallon reports. In 2002, Sydney clinical psychologist Michelle Mulvihill made 13 trips to New Zealand;…
The purpose of this article is to delineate the current state-of-the-knowledge of peer support following the framework employed in the 2004 article (Solomon, Psychiatr Rehabil J. 2004;27(4):392–401 1). A scoping literature was conducted and included articles from 1980 to present. Since 2004,…
As one of the world’s longest running anti-stigma campaigns, Time to Change (UK), came to an end in March 2021, policy makers, campaigners and researchers will be looking to learn lessons to take forward into the next phase in the fight against…
Dunedin victims of church abuse were likely to number even more than those shown in national figures released on Tuesday, a survivor’s advocate has said. The Catholic Church had released the figures which showed 1122 survivors had laid almost 1700…
As many as one in seven Catholic diocesan clergy in New Zealand have been accused of abuse, according to an investigation by the church. But groups representing victims say that is likely to be a fraction of the actual abuse…
Corrections staff who are victims of sexual assault in prison are not being treated sensitively or offered adequate support, a staff union says. Sexual assault charges have been laid against prisoners in 17 incidents where Corrections staff were assaulted in…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
