Church institutions still not accountable for abuse — campaigners
Survivors of abuse in faith-based care are worried perpetrators and institutions won’t be held accountable despite the findings of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse.
The inquiry, which reported last month after a six-year investigation, found the moral authority of religious leaders had allowed abusers to commit offences with impunity, and said it would continue if those injustices were not addressed.
One of its findings was that the West Coast Christian commune Gloriavale required immediate government action to ensure those living at it were safe. It said Gloriavale needed to be regulated and overseen by an independent agency.
The senior leadership had created a culture where physical and sexual abuse occurred, allowed perpetrators to stay in the community, and failed to handle complaints appropriately, the inquiry said.
Faith-based Survivors Network spokesperson Liz Tonks said Gloriavale was one of the many institutions that weren’t being held accountable for what had happened.
“Faith-based and other institutions are able to do their own thing, not be under sufficient monitoring, not be held accountable by the state. If the state doesn’t take responsibility for the protection of all children there will continue to be a problem,” she said.
“I think it’s [Gloriavale] operating because no one’s prepared to take responsibility and stand up and hold church institutions accountable — it’s as simple as that.”
Lawyer Brian Henry, who represented campaign group Gloriavale Leavers, said the commune should be shut down.
“It’s a total cop-out to think you can change the culture of this organisation,” Henry said.
“It’s got to be dismantled. The money distributed fairly around and compensation paid to those who have been abused and abused right under government’s nose.”
In July, Henry filed a multi-million-dollar class action lawsuit against Gloriavale and five government agencies on behalf of former members, who claimed they were held as slaves.
Safety of children
Separately, 1News asked the lead Minister Erica Stanford what she was doing to ensure the safety of children at Gloriavale. Her office passed the question onto the Children’s Minister Karen Chhour, who wouldn’t comment either, instead suggesting Oranga Tamariki be approached.
Oranga Tamariki upper south regional manager Sonia Fairie said the agency continued to work collaboratively across government departments “to support the safety and well-being of children and young people who are part of the Gloriavale Christian Community”.
She said: “Oranga Tamariki staff make regular visits to the community and the activities undertaken range in nature.
“Staff have visited to complete risk assessments, implement and monitor safety plans. We have also engaged with the Community by attending child protection lead meetings, and to meet with leaders to hold discussions about children and women’s rights and education provisions.”
Overall, the Commission found faith-based institutions had the highest rates of sexual abuse, and Tonks said survivors wanted the government to monitor them in the same way as state care.
“There keeps being a suggestion that faith-based institutions have redress processes, when very few of them do and a very small number of them were ever looked at in terms of how they perform.
“There’s a difference between what’s on paper and how the process works in action and there has been a very traumatising process for survivors going through any attempts to get redress in faith-based institutions in general,” said Tonks.
Gloriavale’s Overseeing Shepherd Howard Temple was understood to be working on a response to the Commission’s report.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon was expected to make an official apology in November on behalf of the Government for abuse that took place. He would lay out how the Government will respond at the same time.