Our speakers this week were Sonja Cooper and Amanda Hill from Law firm Cooper Legal. Sonja established her firm in 1995 after doing the rounds of the big legal firms in Wellington. Early in her career she took on the role of District Inspector of Mental Health, essentially an Ombudsman for people detained in the mental health system and a youth advocate working on behalf of young offenders.
Through this role she came into contact with people who had been in State care or who were still in State care and who had been the subject of abuse while in this ‘care’. Back in 1995 abuse claims were virtually unknown, case law was just getting established in the United Kingdom, but it was becoming apparent to those working with people with mental illness that those who had been victims of sexual and other abuse suffered in the same way as people who suffered post-traumatic stress disorder from the war.
Victims began to come forward but they were subject to very strict statute of limitations laws applicable throughout the world. In New Zealand, this means that any claim must be brought within 2 years of the events happening – or 2 years post a 20th birthday. While this can be extended to 6 years, most victims don’t understand at the time that what happened to them was wrong or the damage it had caused.
By 2002, still DIMH, Sonja was working with people in psychiatric wards, some of whom had been there since their childhood, and were now in their 40’s and 50’s. The Evening Post (no longer in existence) ran a story on her work and 3 claims soon became 20 ..50..200 within a space of 2 years.
It became apparent that there was a significant crossover between those in hospital care and those who had been State wards. Another Evening Post story and claims climbed to 700! Cooper Legal now has 1400 claims on their books with a new client instructing them nearly every day! Their clients range in age from 18-82 years of age and the vast majority have been in State ‘care’. This could be in Special Residential Schools – New Zealand Health Camps, Church Care with claims against both Catholic and Salvation Army Institutions in equal numbers.
Alarmingly, 80% of those ‘in care’ will end up in our prisons where they will often be subject to further abuse. Most experienced poor education outcomes and now have literacy issues, significant mental health issues, are often very anti- social, they often self harm.
Cooper Legal has been trying to secure a remedy, compensation and reconciliation for their client group. They are not only committed to doing so, but New Zealand has United Nations obligations to undertake rehabilitation and provide recompense for those abused in State care. Despite this, it has been very difficult to access justice for their clients, because of the statute of limitations, because it’s too late, because we have ACC.
Sonja and her team work where they can with Government to try to influence policy and drive positive change. They work with the Human Rights Commission in New Zealand and United Nations. Since 2009 they have completed shadow reports to the UN and their submissions have contributed to the UN’s monitoring of New Zealand’s compliance of our international obligations to provide compensation for their client group.
While there have been Government initiatives such as the Confidential Forum and latterly Confidential Listening Service, these have been great places for people to tell their stories but they have also became a large funnel through which information flowed and was then buried. We now have a Royal Commission and the Team were actively engaged with officials in preparing the terms of reference.
Partner Amanda Hill expanded on Sonja’s presentation emphasizing the challenges they face with their clients, their complex needs and the need to engage in a way that is relevant for their often limited understanding.
Amanda shared a concept that resonates with their work. The past is not another country! In fact, abuse in State care in not just in the past with Oranga Tamariki reporting of the 6300 children in State care in 2018 (a record number) 220 suffered abuse by care givers or Oranga Tamariki staff in a 6 month period in 2018. This is still a problem.
At a time when we are trying to process the horrific events of March 15, Sonja and Amanda provided us with plenty of food for thought. How can we, as the caring nation we have shown ourselves to be, have such poor outcomes for so many of our most vulnerable? How can we break the cycle of systemic abuse that results in so many mental health issues and so much drug and alcohol dependency and so often imprisonment?
If you would like to support in whatever way, you can support charities like Foster Hope, Challenge 2000 or you can become foster parents yourselves. Food for thought indeed.
Brenda Lazelle
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