Counsellor welcomes ACC rethink on abuse

An article from the Wanganui Chronicle by Laurel Stowell

A partial back-track by ACC on treatment for people who have been sexually abused is a step towards a more compassionate system - but not a fix, Wanganui counsellor Fliss Newton says.
In September last year ACC moved to a new treatment pathway, requiring proof that people who had been raped or otherwise sexually abused had suffered a "mental injury" before it would pay for their counselling. Before that Ms Newton, an ACC accredited counsellor, saw about five people a week who had been sexually abused, and she had about two new inquiries a week.
Since then ACC has offered counselling to many fewer people. Ms Newton has been seeing one such client a week, and others doing similar work in the city have also had drastically reduced numbers.
Yesterday ACC announced it would offer 16 hours counselling to people who had been sexually abused while they were waiting to see if their claims would be accepted.
Ms Newton said the 16 hours would help to relieve their pain and anxiety as they waited, often for many months, unsure where else to get help. And for some, 16 hours' counselling would be all they needed. "In my 20 years of doing this work I have had two clients that have needed really long-term help. One went to over 100 hours, but 80 per cent would get through in 16 to 20 sessions."
She still didn't like the new treatment pathway. "However, this is a good stop gap, I suppose."
Te Tai Hauauru MP Tariana Turia also welcomed the decision to give people who have been sexually abused 16 hours' free counselling while their ACC claims were being dealt with. "Everyone who has experienced sexual abuse has a right to basic support regardless of whether or not their claims stack up to ACC's criteria for sensitive claims, so I am pleased to see that the corporation has realised this."
Current statistics showed approximately one in four New Zealand girls were sexually abused, and the rate was even higher for Maori women and those with disabilities.
Despite the prevalence of sexual abuse, it was still something that society failed to recognise as being a devastating influence on far too many New Zealanders, she said.

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