Unprecedented demand from sex abuse victims for ACC support: 'It makes you want to cry'

A news report from RNZ by Hamish Cardwell

There has been an almost 400 percent increase in unsuccessful attempts by sex abuse victims to get mental health support through ACC over the past 15 months.
In that time survivors have tried more than 10,000 times to get help but were rejected.
Those who manage to secure a booking face waitlist times that have more than doubled.
ACC says it comes down to a lack of capacity among its sensitive claims mental health service suppliers.

Services at capacity - 'It's so disheartening'
Earlier this year Wellington woman Cassandra Saunders made the tough decision to seek mental health treatment for historical sexual abuse.
She contacted every mental health supplier and multiple individual therapists on ACC's accredited list for the capital - dozens and dozens in all - and got rejection after rejection.
"[They said] 'no we don't have space, no we don't have anything'. It makes you want to cry because it's just so disheartening knowing that even if you want help there's no one out there that can because their load's already too big."
Saunders said it looked like her best option was on a waitlist for an appointment up to a year away, or sooner at a different provider if she was willing to have a trainee psychologist sit in.
She did finally manage to wrangle an appointment - though lockdown put paid to it.
Wellington Rape Crisis general manager Kyla Rayner said demand was unprecedented.
"It's at the highest that we've ever seen in the history of our organisation. I've been in this role five years and the agency itself has been around over 40." 

Grim stats show system 'failing' survivors
ACC's national waitlist figures indicate that failed attempts by sex abuse survivors to get mental health help increased by 387 percent and reaching 4131 in the most recent quarter from 847, 15 months ago.
Sexual assault survivors' calls to suppliers to try and get mental health support were rejected more than 10,000 times in the past 12 months due to lack of capacity.
Many sensitive claim mental health support suppliers simply do not have room on their books to take more people on.
In fact, referrals were declined 2.8 times more often than clients were actually placed onto waitlists.
Weighted average national wait times have more than doubled in a year to more than 9 weeks, from 4.3 weeks.
Waitlist times are far longer in some places. In the three months to May average waitlist times stretched up to 25 weeks in Lower Hutt, 22 in Nelson, and 20 in Masterton.
The size of waitlists have also grown. The number of spots claimed by people has more than doubled, up 124 percent in the past 15 months - from 656 to 1473.
Green Party ACC spokesperson Jan Logie said delays compound the harm to survivors.
"Flashbacks, nightmares, terrors, really struggling to keep functioning.
"And to get to that point and then [survivors having] to make call after call after call to [suppliers and they say] 'sorry ... can't help'.
"It's an absolute failure of our system." 

ACC has doubled therapist numbers, but demand skyrocketing
ACC said the figures are a snapshot provided by services as part of a quarterly survey, and do not include people who get immediate treatment and avoid waitlists altogether.
Only a third of suppliers offer a waitlist.
The numbers also represent attempts to get access to services, not individual cases, and people likely make many attempts for support from multiple providers.
ACC said annual sensitive claims have more than doubled in five years to nearly 13,000, jumping 20 percent each year since 2014.
It has more than doubled the number of sensitive claims therapists in that time to 1990, with nearly 500 coming onboard in the past three years. It has also made it easier and faster for suppliers to bring on new therapists.
Despite all this, ACC said it has not been able to close the gap between supply and demand.
"Media coverage, the #metoo movement, the Royal Commission of Inquiry in Abuse in Care investigation, societal trends, and awareness-raising prevention campaigns are changing attitudes towards sexual violence, which we believe is resulting in more survivors of sexual violence feeling they can seek help."
Rayner from Rape Crisis said while New Zealand has high rates of sexual and domestic abuse, attitudes have also changed.
"In some ways it's kind of positive to see that so many people are coming forward because that's the reality of the prevalence of this harm in our society. The problem is now we're trying to catch up."
But Logie said ACC has known about the problems for years and has simply failed to take responsibility.
College of Clinical Psychologists executive advisor Paul Skirrow said the increase in therapists touted by ACC might not tell the whole story.
The mental toll on clinicians from working with sexual assault survivors meant many only worked part time, he said.
"There's actually ACC guidance that says that you shouldn't spend more than 50 percent of your time doing this kind of work. So we're talking about a number there but that might be a very small number of appointments available that it might translate to."
ACC said all survivors were entitled to 14 hours of one-on-one therapy, and 40 hours of other support after an initial assessment while they were having their claim analysed for possible full, long-term cover.
Those in crisis could get support from the wider mental health system, it said.

Where to get help:
NZ Police
Victim Support 0800 842 846
Rape Crisis 0800 88 33 00
Rape Prevention Education
Empowerment Trust
HELP Call 24/7 (Auckland): 09 623 1700, (Wellington): be 04 801 6655 - 0
Safe to talk: a 24/7 confidential helpline for survivors, support people and those with harmful sexual behaviour: 0800044334.
Mosaic - Tiaki Tangata Peer support for males who have experienced trauma and sexual abuse: 0800 94 22 94
If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.

© 2021 Radio New Zealand

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/452523/unprecedented-demand-from-sex-abuse-victims-for-acc-support-it-makes-you-want-to-cry

Government considers ACC for sexual harassment victims

A news report from RNZ

The government is looking into whether it can extend ACC cover to victims of sexual harassment. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary to the Minister of Justice, Jan Logie, is having informal discussions with Minister for ACC Iain Lees Galloway about widening the provisions.
Under current law, only people who have been sexually violated have access to fully funded ACC support. Mental stress from sexual harassment and bullying such as inappropriate comments is not included.
But Jan Logie's office said she was looking into how victims of sexual harassment can have access to the same support as those of sexual abuse.
A spokesperson said it was an issue that had been raised on a number of occasions with Ms Logie by members of the public.
Co-leader of the Green Party, Marama Davidson, supports the idea, saying the country needed to take sexual harassment seriously.
"It's come from a background, that actually in the workplace ordinary sexual harassment has probably been seen as just normal and just the way things are and may be even celebrated but Jan Logie's work is important to get an understanding that it causes harm," said Marama Davidson.

© 2018 Radio New Zealand

https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/358817/government-considers-acc-for-sexual-harassment-victims

Counselling wait lists worsen as sexual violence claims spike

An article from The Manawatu Standard by Georgia Forrester.

Social services are  under strain as more people seek support for incidents of sexual violence.
Abuse and Rape Crisis Support Manawatu (ARCS) manager Ann Kent said the service was at capacity and had extended its hours in Palmerston North and Horowhenua, yet it still hadn't made a dent in its waiting list.
There was a two-to-three-month waiting list at ARCS for its counselling services.
The number of Manawatū people claiming ACC support for sexual violence cases had also spiked in the past year.
Figures released by ACC show there was a 24.2 per cent spike in claims made in the Manawatū District in the past financial year.
People who have experienced sexual abuse or sexual assault can lodge a sensitive claim with ACC and seek cover and entitlements for treatment, rehabilitation and compensation.
The number of sensitive claims made in Palmerston North increased by 16.3 per cent between 2015/16 and 2016/17.
Manawatū District claim costs reached $930,000 in the past year, with $2.5 million in costs paid to claims in Palmerston North.
Palmerston North was just below the national increase, which was up 16.5 per cent.
ACC redesigned its sensitive claim service in 2014 to improve accessibility,  but figures between 2012 and 2017 show a gradual increase in claims in the Manawatū area.
Kent said the ACC system was great,  but the current demand on counselling services was challenging and they were not able to keep up.
"I'm not aware of any agencies that are not experiencing an extra demand."
In an ideal world, counselling services would be offered to people there and then, but it was not realistic, she said.
During the nearly 10 years Kent had been a manager at the service, she had seen staff and client numbers jump.
Client numbers for counselling had remained steady in the past two years, but that was due to services already being at capacity, she said.
The service had expanded over time to keep up with demand, but there was no more funding available for further expansion.
Kent was unable to say whether there had been any increase in incidents of sexual violence.
"We believe that a lot of the increase is due to people being prepared to come forward to get support rather than keep silent about the abuse that they have experienced."
Police figures show reports of sexual assault and related offending tended to fluctuate monthly in the Central District.
There were 553 reports made in 2016 in the Central District, which includes Manawatū, Whanganui and Taranaki.
So far there had been 270 reports in the first six months of 2017.
Although there had not been a national campaign against sexual violence specifically, Kent said the 'It's Not OK' domestic violence campaign likely benefited the cause.
About 40 per cent of cases of violence between partners also involved sexual violence, she said.
Although there was a waiting list, Kent said social work services were still offered to people in the meantime. She encouraged people to come forward and use the services.
"What we don't want is for people to feel alone in this. We don't want them to feel completely isolated."
Green Party spokeswoman Jan Logie understood the pressure services were under, as some organisations had already raised concerns with her about heavy staff case loads.
Research showed only about one in 10 victims of sexual violence were reported.
"What we are seeing at the moment is still the tip of the iceberg."
However Logie said two-to-three-month waiting lists were too long.
A person may have waited 20 years before the trauma became too much and they finally sought help from a service. Those people needed help there and then.
Although preventative work was under way, there was still a lot of work to be done, she said.
A free national sexual violence helpline is scheduled to go live to the public on December 1, rolled out by the Ministry of Social Development.

© 2017 Fairfax New Zealand Ltd

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/97663396/counselling-wait-lists-worsen-as-sexual-violence-claims-spike

$1.4m funding boost for campus sexual violence prevention

An article from The Wireless by Susan Strongman

ACC will spend $1.4 million over the next four years to help prevent campus sexual violence, in a move that aims to help change the culture around sexual violence and consent in New Zealand.
The money will go towards implementing a three-year action plan for preventing and responding to sexual violence within tertiary communities.
The action plan was announced today by New Zealand Union of Students Associations (NZUSA) director Alistair Shaw.
It includes reviews of tertiary education institutions’ policies on sexual harassment and sexual violence prevention; enhancing reporting systems and support for students; and training and education programmes for residential assistants, staff, and students.
ACC’s violence injury prevention portfolio manager Mike McCarthy said 22 percent of ACC’s sensitive claims in the 2016/17 financial year were from those aged 18-24. A sensitive claim is for mental or physical injuries such as those caused by sexually violent acts. Last year ACC paid out $103 million on treatment and entitlements on sensitive claims, McCarthy said.
“Our goal is to support young adults so they can experience safe, healthy and respectful relationships.
“We see this partnership as a great opportunity for ACC to work with NZUSA and tertiary institutions. Sexual violence and consent is a wider issue for New Zealand. Changing the culture around it is challenging for all of us.”
The announcement was made at today’s launch of the In Our Own Words report, which looks at at the experiences of tertiary students with sexual violence, education, harassment, institutional support services and reporting pathways, ableism, racism and LGBTQIA+ discrimination.
The report was penned by Thursdays in Black National Coordinator Izzy O’Neill and findings were based on responses received by more than 1400 students.
According to the report, more than 80 per cent of those who answered the question said that they thought sexual violence in student communities was a problem. 53 percent of respondents said they had experienced some form of sexual assault themselves and 49 percent of respondents suspected that a friend had been sexually assaulted.
These numbers are strikingly similar to the results of a survey of psychology students at the University of Auckland in 1991 by Nicola Gavey, which found 52 percent of women had experienced some form of sexual victimisation.
“In Our Own Words confirms that sexual violence does occur in tertiary and student communities. Now, something must be done about it,” O’Neill said.
Read the full report here.

© 2017 Radio New Zealand

http://thewireless.co.nz/articles/1-4m-funding-boost-for-campus-sexual-violence-prevention

Months-long delays for rape victims' ACC support

A news report from Radio New Zealand by Sarah Robson

People who have been raped or sexually assaulted are sometimes having to wait months to access ACC-funded specialist support services.
Some counsellors and therapists in Auckland have lengthy waiting lists for appointments and others are not taking any new patients.
One woman, Jennifer*, was trying to find a new counsellor. She had gone through the process of reporting a historical rape and needed support. She started contacting people on ACC's list in the Auckland area.
"I found that there was roughly a two-month wait list, minimum, to see most counsellors. I mass-emailed many on the ACC list and many said that they were not taking on any new clients," she said.
"I found this quite distressing."
Through sheer luck and persistence, Jennifer has been able to find a new counsellor.
She said she was not impressed that she had been repeatedly told she would have to wait to get the help she needed.
"People who have been sexually assaulted often become suicidal or have other mental health issues. I found that a 60-day wait or longer to get funded counselling was very poor and not all survivors have the means to pay for a private counsellor."
HELP is an organisation that provides specialist support services to victims of sexual abuse and assault in Auckland. Executive director Kathryn McPhillips said, like other providers, it was facing delays for people trying to access its counselling or therapy services.
"That delay can be anywhere from a few weeks, up to six months, maybe even eight months at times," she said.
"Our crisis service provides support during that time, so people can ring in or they can have acute sessions with us if they need to, but yes, it can be months that people are waiting."
Ms McPhillips said victims were often reluctant to seek help until their situation became desperate.
"It's something people do usually when they've hit the wall, so when they feel like they're in crisis or they can't hold on anymore, or they really need this thing solved in their life, or the offender is coming out of prison. There's all sorts of things that trigger people to that point of needing help."
Part of the problem was changes made by ACC in November 2014, which reduced and removed barriers for people to access support after experiencing sexual violence, Ms McPhillips said. That led to an influx of people seeking help - without the necessary workforce there to cope.
"I think that people who were not able to access counselling before because it required some additional payment, once it was free then a whole lot of people were like, 'yes, I need some help, please help me now'.
"To be honest, services haven't been able to keep up with that demand."
Ms McPhillips said they needed more qualified staff, but they lacked the funding to do any specialist training themselves. However, the government had committed more resources to the sector which should help longer-term, she said.
Andrea Black from Rape Crisis said it was important that specialist support services for survivors of sexual assault and violence were adequately resourced.
"If you don't have enough people on the ground to provide that service, or enough resources to do that, it's really distressing.
"It's really upsetting for workers, for volunteers, for our skilled workers, but even more so for families who may have to wait for days or weeks to access a specialist support person," she said.
In a statement, ACC said it was aware of delays for counselling services in areas like Auckland, Dunedin and Rotorua, and was looking into why demand for services was greater than the number of providers. It said it was encouraging providers to employ more staff, and was working with professional organisations and tertiary institutions to boost the workforce.
ACC said its goal was to have no significant waiting period to accessing counselling and therapy services.
* Name has been changed

http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/337261/months-long-delays-for-rape-victims-acc-support

© Radio New Zealand 2017

Dealing with childhood sexual abuse as a pensioner

An article from the Timaru Herald by Esther Ashby-Coventry

An unknown number of older people have taken the crimes committed against them as children to the grave, but more are now reaching out for help.
Between 2011 and 2016 the number of women and men in New Zealand over 65 lodging sensitive claims for sexual abuse has increased.
Accident Compensation Commission figures show 81 women and 28 men aged 65 years and over lodged a sensitive claim (sexual abuse) between July 1, 2015 and June 30, 2016 - an increase from figures in 2011/2012 in which 34 women and fewer than 10 men lodge sensitive claims.
South Canterbury counsellor Marion Williams said the increase could probably be attributed to more openness around the issue, but she would like to see more.
"Talking about it gets power over those who abuse and spreads more knowledge," Williams said.
Williams has counselled people with sensitive issues for 17 years and said many people 65 or older did not know how to access help, so the ACC figures were unlikely to represent the reality.
"I have heard some horrific stories from men who have suffered sexual abuse as a child who are in their 60s, 70s and 80s."
Many men tended to try and blot it out through sport, fighting, alcohol and drug use whereas women were often passive and focussed on caring for others to forget about themselves, she said.
"Their fear emotions may stay as a certain memory until they are dealt with."
Nightmares, grief and emotional pain could cause flashbacks of the trauma.
"It's like a tumour ... it's never too late to get help."
Up until the 1990s, when abuse started to be talked about, children who had been abused were often not believed or not listened to.
"The person may have tried to tell someone years ago and got into more problems. It was the culture of the times."
A number of the abused Williams has worked with had never been asked their stories and were treated for their symptoms such as depression or anxiety.
"They may suffer from shame, guilt and fear of speaking out."
The most important aspect of counselling was listening and acknowledging what had happened.
"People want to know they are heard and believed. The greatest healer is acknowledging the dreadful event and as not their fault."
Williams said people did not need a referral from their GP to get counselling for childhood sexual abuse.
"The counsellor will take you through the ACC process."
Age Concern Canterbury chief executive Simon Templeton said although ACC did fund a number of claims, it was hard for older people to get input from a public health psychologist as the area was underfunded and under-resourced.
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy could help some people accept what had happened and help them move on without having to relive what they had been through, he said. But that was not in the best interests of all sexual abuse survivors.
"They could talk it over [where to get help] with their GP and look at options if it [abuse] was still affecting their lives. It's not a small issue."
South Canterbury Senior Citizens community support co-ordinator Robyn Baldwin said no-one had talked to her about such a "delicate matter" during her work.
"So many [senior citizens] have never talked about it and don't. A lot of their abusers are not around now."

© 2017 Fairfax New Zealand Limited

http://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/news/85067123/dealing-with-childhood-sexual-abuse-as-a-pensioner

Making a difference in sexual violence prevention

A press release by ACC

A new web based tool has been developed to evaluate sexual violence prevention practice. Developed by ACC, the Making a Difference: Sexual Violence Primary Prevention Toolkit will enable providers of sexual violence prevention activities to measure increases in knowledge, shifts in attitudes and changes in behaviour.
ACC’s Injury Prevention Portfolio Manager – Violence, Mike McCarthy, says the new tool will help agencies focus on primary prevention which is evidence-based, promotes behaviour change and guides funding decisions towards best practise activities.
“Current evaluation of sexual violence prevention is inconsistent and limited to measuring how much participants enjoyed a programme rather than what they got out of it and whether it changed their attitudes and behaviour.”
The development of the Toolkit aligns with ACC’s role as coordinator of the Government‘s response to sexual violence primary prevention activity. It is also an integral part of ACC’s suite of injury prevention initiatives to reduce the incidence of injury and, in this case, harm from sexual violence.
“Our goal is to support children, aged 25 and under, to experience safe, healthy and respectful relationships. As part of our violence prevention initiatives, we want to improve the ability to evaluate sexual violence prevention activities in New Zealand.”
Mr McCarthy says, “If we can stop sexual violence happening in the first place, we won’t need to deal with the consequences of the serious harm sexual violence causes.”
Sexual violence is one of the most costly crimes to individuals and society, with Treasury estimating it costs the New Zealand economy $1.2 billion each year. In the 2015/16 financial year ACC paid over $83 million on over 20,000 sensitive claims, an increase of 31 percent on the previous year. The average cost of sensitive claims increased by 17 percent between 2015 and 2016.
The Toolkit will assist in ensuring sexual violence prevention activity is focused on behaviour change and that funding across government agencies, including ACC, can be targeted towards effective programmes.
The Toolkit will ensure greater consistency in the evaluation of projects across government and community agencies and provide invaluable insights into what works in sexual violence prevention, says Mike McCarthy.

http://www.acc.co.nz/news/WPC139402

Sex abuse victim speaks out

An article from the Wairarapa Times-Age by Geoff Vause

A victim of convicted sex offender Raymond Buchanan, formerly of Masterton, has spoken out for the first time.
The man, now in his thirties and living in Australia, said he would only talk to the Wairarapa Times Age about the impact child rapist Buchanan had on his life, and his shocking neglect by various government agencies in New Zealand. A jury delivered a guilty verdict on all charges for the brutal abuse of two boys at Masterton from 1980 through to 1991 and in February Buchanan appeared before Judge Kit Toogood in Rotorua High Court and was jailed for 12 years.
The man and his brother, also a victim, were complimented by Judge Toogood for the “restrained and careful way” they gave evidence “without exaggeration”. The judge’s thanks was all they got.
Buchanan was ordered to pay $70,000 in reparation to each victim but has paid nothing so far as trustees control his funds. The victim now speaking out said he has somehow managed to remain relatively on track, “not messed up on drugs, staying out of jail” and overcoming the constant thoughts of taking his own life.
“I don’t have any self-confidence at all, I feel embarrassed and ashamed of what has happened,” he said.
He cannot be named, but said the trust controlling Buchanan’s money had refused to negotiate on coughing up a single dollar despite the judge’s order. He said he had been failed at the time not only by his mother but by school authorities and every government agency which could have helped.
His treatment by ACC and other agencies since the offending came to light had been more of the same.
“If somebody hurts themselves at work they go to ACC and get any assistance they need because they can’t work,” he said.
“Even Buchanan will get rehabilitation. He’ll get everything he needs.
“I pay for my own counselling at $187 each visit and I have not had any help. I haven’t been able to afford the last couple of visits and I feel completely ripped off.
“It feels like the criminal gets rehab and the victim gets life just trying to survive each day”.
The counselling was essential to having some semblance of a life. He said the counsellor was stunned he was still alive. His fear of touch, even a cuddle, made it almost impossible to have a relationship.
His cynical treatment at the hands of government agencies in this country was also disturbing.
“Being the main witness they paid for my flights back to New Zealand and a hotel room, but that was it.
“I was left to fund everything else including supporting myself while not working. I even had to refinance my bike to pay for living expenses in Australia.
“ACC said I had to come back to New Zealand and live for at least eight months before they will even look at giving me any help.
“New Zealand is the last place I want to be. I have no good feelings there. I left there so I didn’t do something that would have ended up with me in jail.
“I struggle every day to find some purpose. I’m a hard worker, but I struggle with the mood swings, so it’s hard to keep jobs.
“I just have to get away on my own. I’ve lived in the desert just with a swag for months at a time. I’ve had no help at all.”
When he tried to contact the agencies in New Zealand that could help, he was passed around from one to the other, or they didn’t get back to him.
“They get me to repeat my story, over and over again. It’s cost me heaps in calls, all for nothing. The system is just totally screwed,” he said.
“It’s not about the money. The whole system is backward.
“I’m the victim, left to fend for myself.”

http://times-age.co.nz/sex-abuse-victim-speaks/

Copyright 2016 Wairarapa Times Age

Protesters demand changes to way sexual attack survivors dealt with by ACC

An article from the New Zealand Herald

A "small but committed" group of protesters gathered outside ACC's Auckland office this afternoon calling for sexual attack survivors to qualify for ongoing taxpayer-funded counselling without a mental health illness diagnosis. Green Party MP Jan Logie led the demonstration with support from victim advocate, Louise Nicholas.
Up to 14 hours of one-on-one therapy is currently available when someone lodges a sensitive claim with ACC, along with up to 10 hours of social work support. Up to 20 hours of whanau support is also available immediately.
After these are used, ACC decides whether to approve cover for further support, should the person need it. That included victims needing to be diagnosed with a mental health injury relating to the abuse.
"Some survivors feel having to have a diagnosis puts judgment on them," Ms Logie said. "It takes them back to the the feeling that there's something wrong with them; that they're at fault.
"In other cases, survivors who need support are turned down because they don't have a diagnosis, or some don't apply for support because they think they'll be turned down."
She said a small but committed group of about 20 protesters gathered outside ACC's Auckland office at 12pm today.
"What we're asking for is incredibly simple. A counsellor can assess a survivor and whether they need help without them needing a mental health diagnosis."
The Green Party has also begun a petition which will be presented to ACC Minister Nikki Kaye.
Ms Kaye has said she believes the system is supportive of survivors but she will meet with providers to discuss possible changes to the scheme. That would include looking at different ways to assess mental harm to victims.
Ms Kaye said a "mental injury diagnosis" could be provided by any ACC registered and appropriately qualified assessor, which in many cases is the client's counsellor.
Changes were made in 2009 to the way support was accessed through ACC by sexual violence survivors, bringing in the requirement for a mental injury diagnosis in order to access help. After a 2010 review of the scheme and consultation with those working in the sector, further changes were made so survivors could have immediate access to support.

© 2016 NZME Publishing Ltd

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11647644

ACC Minister must help sexual violence survivors

A press release from the Green Party by Jan Logie

The Green Party is calling on ACC Minister Nikki Kaye to remove the obligation for sexual violence survivors to be diagnosed with a mental illness before being allowed additional ACC-funded counselling.
Green Party MP Jan Logie and survivor advocate Louise Nicholas today launched a new campaign and petition to demand that survivors don’t need a mental illness diagnosis in order to have their sensitive claims proceed.
“Being the victim of sexual violence is not a mental illness,” Ms Logie said.
“Being subjected to sexual violence is trauma enough. Being a victim of sexual violence on its own should qualify survivors for the help they need.
“It’s great to hear the Minister Nikki Kaye say she’s open to a better way of helping the survivors of sexual violence. Removing the obligation for them to be diagnosed with a mental illness is an appropriate start.”
The petition is available here: http://action.greens.org.nz/remove_the_barriers
Under current ACC practice, in order for survivors of sexual violence to have their ACC sensitive claim approved, they must be diagnosed with a psychiatric condition. Up to 16 hours of one-on-one therapy is initially available when someone lodges a sensitive claim with ACC, however accessing help after that requires a diagnosis.
“In many cases this labelling of sexual violence survivors can be re-traumatising and stigmatising, and is a significant deterrent for those who need treatment.
“ACC needs to change its processes so that people are able to access the help that they need,” Ms Logie said.

More information is available here http://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/pb/business/qwa/QWA_03866_2016/3866-2016-jan-logie-to-the-minister-for-acc

© 2016 The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand

https://www.greens.org.nz/news/press-release/acc-minister-must-help-sexual-violence-survivors

Counselling boost tipped for sex abuse victims

An article from Radio New Zealand News

Sexual abuse victims may get more government-funded counselling, ACC Minister Nikki Kaye says.
Victims of sexual abuse are currently offered up to 44 hours of therapy and support, but must be diagnosed with what's called a mental injury to qualify for more.
ACC Minister Nikki Kaye said there was a possibility that could change.
"If they want to go through a process, potentially around weekly compensation, everybody's been, you know, working to find the best possible process around that assessment," she said.
"This is a complicated area, you know we owe it to those victims to continue to work on it and see if we can improve it."
Ms Kaye said she would meet with people in the sector to see if any adjustments were needed.

© 2016 Radio New Zealand

http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/305132/counselling-boost-tipped-for-sex-abuse-victims

Being a victim is not illness

An article from the Herald on Sunday by Tess Nichol

Requirements for sexual attack survivors to be diagnosed with a mental health illness to get ongoing taxpayer funded counselling could be reviewed, ACC Minister Nikki Kaye has revealed.
Green Party MP Jan Logie will tomorrow lead a demonstration at ACC's Auckland office protesting the current process, which requires survivors receive a mental injury diagnosis before their claim for further assistance can be approved.
Up to 14 hours of one-on-one therapy is available when someone lodges a sensitive claim with ACC, along with up to 10 hours of social work support. Up to 20 hours of whanau support are also available immediately.
After these are used, ACC decides whether to approve cover for further support, should the person need it. That included victims needing to be diagnosed with a mental health injury relating to the abuse.
"We believe that survivors of sexual abuse should be able to get all the help they need without the requirement of being diagnosed with a mental illness," Logie said. "The advocates are very clear that it is still acting as a barrier, [that] the consequences are harmful and that it's unhelpful."
Logie said she had been told of survivors who had to retell painful details of their abuse to people they had not previously met so they could get the mental health diagnosis they needed to keep seeing their therapist, a process they described as traumatic and revictimising.
Kaye told the Herald on Sunday she believed the system was supportive of survivors. But the minister said she would meet providers this week to discuss possible changes to the scheme. That would include looking at different ways to assess mental harm to victims.
"I'm really keen to work with providers and opposition parties to see if there is a better way [of doing things]."
Kaye said a "mental injury diagnosis" could be provided by any ACC registered and appropriately qualified assessor, which in many cases is the client's counsellor.
"If the assessor is someone different, the client's counsellor can be with them throughout the process, including during the assessment to ensure they feel safe and supported, and can provide background information to the assessor beforehand if the client doesn't wish to speak about some things again."
Changes were made in 2009 to the way support was accessed through ACC by sexual violence survivors, bringing in the requirement for a mental injury diagnosis in order to access help. After a 2010 review of the scheme and consultation with those working in the sector, further changes were made so survivors could have immediate access to support.
Since the review, ACC has been working with providers to improve the care of sexual assault survivors, something Kaye said had been hugely successful.
"We've come a long way [since 2009]," she said. "ACC has given me feedback that a lot of providers have been quite positive about the new service. But that doesn't mean that we can't do better."

© 2016 NZME Publishing Limited

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11646773

Sexual violence services – the real story

A blog post by Jan Logie

What has really led to the Government’s changing stance on funding for sexual violence services?
People have been congratulating me on this news yesterday and I have to admit working with the sector through this process has given meaning to my time in Parliament and I am proud of the work we have done on this.  I am a bit embarrassed by the congratulations in the context of the thousands of submissions and years and years of work by incredible advocates which really got the result.
While I’ll need to see the dollars in the budget, and hear that the Government is working closely with the specialist providers, especially Nga Kaitiaki Mauri, to design the new model before I relax, I do want to reflect on the journey to this point.
The 70s and 80s saw women coming together to voluntarily support women who had experienced sexual violence. The Government provided some funding from the mid 80s. There was a period of new general services, the Pacific Island Women’s Project, and kaupapa Maori services being set up to respond to the growing need. These groups were advocating for the prevention of sexual violence – law reform and social change as well as supporting victim/survivors. It wasn’t until the mid 90s that we had the first ethnic women’s organisation, Shakti and in the late 90s the Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse Trust set up. There are still obvious gaps.
ACC alongside MSD were the major funders for sexual violence support services. The services were always under-valued and certainly not recognised for the amazing life-saving and at times world leading responses to sexual violence that they were and are. Sexual violence has been one of those very difficult topics to talk about in any context so that always made the services a bit of an easy target for funding cuts.
Despite Maori women being more likely to experience sexual violence in New Zealand and kaupapa Maori approaches being far more successful we have lost almost all of our specialist kaupapa Maori sexual violence services. There was a time when there were over twenty services but now there are fewer than five.
The Taskforce for Action was initiated by Labour in the wake of public horror about Louise Nicholas’s experiences. Louise did not have access to the right help, from our justice system or social services, when she needed it and that is one of the reasons she has been so actively advocating for increased funding for years.
The Taskforce for Action came out in 2009 calling for a national prevention plan and proper resourcing of the sexual violence sectors, basically all the same things that the select committee has recommended again 6 years later.
Maori and non-Maori specialists gave hundreds of hours of their time, voluntarily, in the Taskforce for Action on Sexual Violence. They spent hours and hours strategizing and organising and lobbying to try and ensure that victim/survivors had access to the services they needed. If this had been implemented there would have been no need for the select committee inquiry.
But even while the National party Minister for Justice called the Taskforce for Action the best road map the country had ever had for addressing sexual violence, the Government was in the process of gutting ACC support for victim/survivors. The Government told ACC that they had to make savings. In 2009 they saved $3.2billion dollars by going after, amongst other things, the “low hanging fruit” of sensitive claims. These changes resulted in a 36% decline the number of claims being lodged and even more shockingly the number of accepted claims going from 60% to 3.6% in just two years. Specialist agencies stopped using ACC because they thought it was unsafe for survivors and the number of ACC counsellors halved. During the inquiry into sexual violence funding we heard from a man whose partner had killed herself because she couldn’t get the support she needed over this time.
Many therapists and counsellors and volunteers just kept going, under increasing strain themselves, because they knew that people were depending on them. This was a truly awful time in New Zealand’s history.
Public concern over these changes forced Minister Nick Smith to initiate a review in 2010.The Disley report in 2010 made fourteen recommendations to fix the mess. Considerable effort has been made since then by ACC, the community and others to try and restore ACC. In the select committee report much has been made of the improvements to ACC. A new model is in place and it is much better but we are still not there yet.
Ahead of the budget and future work, I just want to celebrate the bloody minded tenacity of survivors and advocates who have kept going through this very dismal time. I genuinely and wholeheartedly hope the Government doesn’t let us all down again.

© 1996-2015 The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand

https://blog.greens.org.nz/2016/04/01/sexual-violence-services-the-real-story/

Sexual abuse drives hundreds of kids to ACC

An article from Newshub by Emily Cooper

Families are being told to ask more questions of their children following the release of disturbing new statistics. Newshub can reveal that in the last 12 months, the number of children under the age of 15 seeking ACC services for sexual abuse has reached more than 800.
Maggy Tai Rakena of sexual violence support group START says kids need to be questioned.
"We don't want to jump to conclusions when there's distress showing, because it could just be that the cat died, or grandma's sick or something," says Ms Rakena.
"But it's a prompt to ask more. Children do talk about this stuff."
Ms Rakena says 90 percent of offenders are known to the victim.
"Their loyalties are torn; there can be some nice sides about the relationship, but also if it's your mum or your grandma or your dad or your uncle, and people that your parents love and trust, it's really hard to speak up," she told Newshub.
"The story about 'stranger danger' and the one odd person that drags a kid away from the school gate is so rare, so unusual."
Seventy-two kids under four had sensitive claims through ACC.

Copyright © 2016 MediaWorks TV

http://www.newshub.co.nz/nznews/sexual-abuse-drives-hundreds-of-kids-to-acc-2016031006

ACC sex abuse claims double in five years

An article from Newshub by Emily Cooper

More sexual abuse and sexual assault victims are reaching out for help under ACC's sensitive claims services.
Figures released to Newshub under the Official Information Act show claims have nearly doubled in the past six years. In 2010, 3674 people lodged a claim compared to 6946 people last year. Those seeking counselling services have also almost doubled.
ACC Minister Nikki Kaye says it's down to changes made around the handling of sensitive claims. "Previously it was hard, it was quite an insensitive process," she says.
Victim advocate Louise Nicholas says the rise is also likely down to more people speaking out against sexual violence and the stigma around people speaking out being lifted.
Over the past three years, ACC has had to re-think the sensitive claims process and worked with survivors of abuse, advocates and therapists to make the process easier. ACC also scrapped the top up fee that victims previously had to pay for counselling services and a new support package was also announced this time last year.
Ms Kaye says $100 million will be spent over the next six years to give people better access to counsellors.

http://www.newshub.co.nz/nznews/acc-sex-abuse-claims-double-in-five-years-2016030218

Copyright © 2016 MediaWorks TV

Dame Paula Rebstock has learnt to ignore the criticism that comes with the job

An article from Stuff by Jo Moir

Public servant Paula Rebstock has been recognised for her services to the state by being made a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit. Jo Moir spoke to her about her most challenging roles, the sacrifices and how she deals with, often negative, public scrutiny. Money-hungry, a patchy performer, unqualified for your job: for most people, having those insults hurled your way would make 2015 an annus horribilis.
For Paula Rebstock, however, the barbs were nothing compared to some of the darkest days in her career.
When a lone gunman walked into a Work and Income office in Ashburton in September 2014, killing two staff and leaving a third seriously injured, Rebstock - chairwoman of the Work and Income board - stood alongside workers and the community as they struggled to make sense of the tragedy.
"The senseless loss of life of staff, those things are the things that are truly hard to deal with, and those things put life in perspective."
Now, her appointment as a Dame Companion of the NZ Order of Merit has provided a new perspective on her years of work. On New Year's Eve, Rebstock, her husband and two daughters will take up glasses of bubbles from their holiday home in the Bay of Islands, toasting a successful year rounded off with a "surprising" honour that brought her to tears.
Standing in the kitchen with her husband while opening the mail, Rebstock thought nothing of a letter from Government House, assuming it was her annual invite to Waitangi Day commemorations.
"I opened it and was really quite taken back. My husband said to me, 'What is wrong with you?' and I handed him the letter with tears running down my face. He looked at me and said, 'Oh God'."
Rebstock's two daughters, aged 20 and 24, have made "a lot of allowances for the certain work schedule their mother keeps" so she was straight on the phone to tell them the news.
"It was a special family moment, no question."
This isn't Rebstock's first award: after completely revamping the Commerce Commission, she was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2009.
Rebstock, originally from Montana in the United States, moved to New Zealand in 1987 and says the honour helped her to feel at home.
"For me it was something about being accepted in this country and really being a New Zealander like everyone else."
First employed by Treasury as an economist, she then served in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet before moving to the Commerce Commission, where she became chair in 2003.
"When I left the Commerce Commission I always thought that would be the thing in my career I'd most feel proud of because we really did shift the work of the Commerce Commission to be far more productive."
On leaving the Commission in 2009, Rebstock was asked to lead an expert panel on probation services, which at the time was "really in a state of crisis".
"They were an agency under siege."
After cleaning up that mess, Rebstock moved onto ACC where her first experience on the board was a "terrible privacy breach". Details of thousands of ACC clients, some who fell under sensitive claims, were accidentally sent to ACC claimant Bronwyn Pullar.
"It really rocked the organisation...it involved a fairly large transformation in order to earn back the trust and confidence of our customers."
Most recently, Rebstock has been chairing a review of Child Youth and Family - a government department that has endured years of overhauls but no real change.
"If I'm honest I don't think I realised how big a challenge it was going to be...we've not done well by children who come into the care of the state."
Labour leader Andrew Little was scathing about her $2000-a-day salary for the review, saying she was "in it for herself" in what he described as a "pretty patchy career".
Rebstock is not new to criticism of her work, singling out "relentless" scrutiny while at the Commerce Commission, but says she does not let the political jibes get the best of her.
"These things are political processes and it's part of the game...it would be crazy if I allowed myself to get caught up in that - that's not to say at the time I didn't think, 'Gosh, why am I doing this again?'."
For now, it's Christmas at home, then a month at the beach and much excitement at the news her elderly parents and sister plan to travel to New Zealand in the New Year to celebrate her honour.
"People have to make a lot of allowances for you in their life when you get involved in a lot of these things and my family have always done that."

© 2016 Fairfax New Zealand Ltd

www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/75403036/Dame-Paula-Rebstock-has-learnt-to-ignore-the-criticism-that-comes-with-the-job

Offender victims given counselling for childhood sexual abuse

An article from Voxy

Offenders who have experienced childhood sexual abuse are now receiving targeted counselling services through an innovative collaborative partnership between Corrections and Nelson’s SVS - Living Safe.
"A large proportion of offenders have themselves been victims," says Polly Cunningham, Corrections District Manager for Nelson, Marlborough, West Coast. "Very few have sought, or been offered, help in the past or considered the links between the abuse against them and their own antisocial behaviours."
Research tells us there is a strong correlation between child sex offending of males and later relational difficulties, violence, mental illness and drug/alcohol abuse. This is certainly evident in the population of prisons and probation services (both with adults and juveniles).
For the first time, the men in counselling are starting to get some closure and find a way forward. This is summarised by John (not his real name).
"Pretty much everything that happened after it (the abuse) - happened because of it. Counselling has helped me realise what I have to do to get over it."
American research shows that child maltreatment roughly doubles the probability that an individual engages in many types of crime, with childhood sexual abuse having the largest effects on crime. A study which explored the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and later antisocial behaviour found that 59% of prisoners questioned reported some form of childhood sexual abuse. "The counselling is aimed to help these offenders to work through some of the harm caused to them in their past, support them make changes in their own lives and help break the cycle of abuse for their own families and whanau," says Polly.
Through the partnership, identified offenders will be offered professional support and counselling. "We hope that this will help these men and women to move forward without the adverse effects and risky behaviours that can be seen in some victims of abuse, ultimately helping them to maintain a crime free life. Sometimes just letting them know there is somewhere safe they can go when they are ready can plant the seed or broker a new connection."
The programme, which is run by SVS in conjunction with The Male Room in Nelson, has been running for two years. Through this time, six offenders have attended the programme. "This initiative is making a real difference for the people we are seeing," says Dee Cresswell, Manager SVS - Living Safe. "Through this collaboration with Corrections and the Male Room, we are able to help offenders to address some of the underlying issues that contribute to their antisocial behaviours and in particular, to family violence. Partnerships like this demonstrate the benefits to individuals and the public when organisations take a holistic approach and work collaboratively to reduce offending and re-offending.
"We have had the opportunity for the past two years through innovation funding. Referrals were slow to start, but with the support of Practice Leader Gary Basset the momentum grew."
"Childhood abuse is a hard topic for Probation staff to raise with the people they manage and it is very difficult for offenders who have been affected by childhood abuse and never dealt with this to ask for help," says Gary.
"This partnership can make a life changing difference for these men at a very personal level and for their families and future generations."
The ACC programme is now delivered by SVS - Living Safe’s approved Assessors and providers to ACC approved clients through the Integrated Services for Sensitive Claims.

© 2015 Digital Advance Ltd

http://www.voxy.co.nz/national/offender-victims-given-counselling-childhood-sexual-abuse/5/224146

The inadequate response to sexual violence prevention

An article from Scoop by Gordon Campbell

On combatting sexual violence, the government has finally begun to undo some of the problems that were of its own making. Early in March, ACC launched the Integrated Services for Sensitive Claims scheme – a package aimed at improving the attitudes of ACC staff towards sexual violence victims, and offering them more substantive support. Hopefully, this will help to reverse the damage done with the insensitive, punitive ACC policy put in place by the incoming Key government in 2009, which in some parts of New Zealand, saw 90 per cent of sexual violence victims being turned away by ACC.
As well as this new support scheme, ACC is also increasing its annual funding of sexual violence prevention education, from a paltry $1 million to $4 million, a figure still seen as inadequate by experienced workers in the field.
In addition, Justice Minister Amy Adams has invited the Law Commission to revisit its work on possible changes to the pre-trial and courtroom procedures faced by sexual complainants. The Police however, continue to be one of the glaring problem areas. The report by the Independent Police Conduct Authority into the Police handling of the so called “Roastbusters” group in Auckland not only disagreed with the Police rationale for not initiating a prosecution under the Crimes Act – ultimately, the Police decided that a prosecution would not be in the public interest, given the young age of some of the offenders. It was a stance that completely ignored the even younger age of some of the victims.
The IPCA also faulted (as being inadequate to non-existent) the Police contact with the young men and their families. Arguably, not only was justice for the victims ill-served by the Police decision not to prosecute, but the deterrent/prevention aspect was completely neglected. In the words of the IPCA report, the Police “overlooked the importance of holding the young men accountable for their behavior, and preventing its recurrence.”
The conspicuous failure by Police over the Roastbusters incidents came despite the findings by the 2007 Commission of Inquiry into Police conduct (that had been initiated by the complaints made by Louise Nicholas). This inquiry had revealed a culture of misogyny and aberrant behaviour rife among the Police, at high levels of the Police hierarchy. So, unless the government is prepared to put some heat on the Police over its handling of sexual violence between adolescents and adults – and the subject was conspicuously absent from the Briefing to the Incoming Minister of Police in 2014 – then the concerns about sexual violence being expressed in Parliament this week will ring hollow.
Even the possible changes to pre-trial and courtroom treatment will not address the issue of prevention. As the initial Law Commission issues paper on those proposals pointed out, the approach being assessed “ does nothing to address the attitudes that led to the offending, and it accordingly fails to reduce the risk that the behaviour will recur.” It may seem both incredible and yet somehow unsurprising that – so long as some of the next America’s Cup racing is held in Auckland - the government would spend ten times the amount on that regatta than what ACC is currently putting into sexual violence prevention education.

© 2015 Scoop Media

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1504/S00002/gordon-campbell-the-inadequate-response-to-sexual-violence.htm

ACC help for sexual violence victims

An article from the Manawatu Standard by Thomas Heaton

Client-focused changes to ACC's services around sexual violence have been a long time coming, Palmerston North counsellors say.
ACC officially launched the new Integrated Services for Sensitive Claims scheme on Monday. The new service puts greater focus on maintaining wellbeing and increasing the provision of support, including increased hours for support.
Palmerston North counsellor Paulette Berryman, who is also on the Sensitive Claims Advisory Group for ACC, said the new system was very different from what was brought in in 2009. A part of the advisory group for about 15 years, she had seen a lot of changes.
Berryman said the system enlisted in 2009 was really awful for clients, as many were unable to get counselling services.
"When survivors have already been rendered powerless, they don't want to engage in a more powerless system."
It was found ACC was turning about 90 per cent of claims away. In 2009 there were 282 claims while in the 2013/2014 financial year there were 369 in the Manawatu-Whanganui area.
"The biggest change I see is that there is a client-centred approach," Berryman said.
Clients will also no longer have to pay surcharges for the services of counsellors.
ACC expected an increase in the number of cases coming in, because of the change to the client-focused system.
Manawatu Women's Refuge manager Dr Ang Jury said it was a long time coming. A more sensitive approach to the realities of what victims went through was needed. Flexibility in treatment, allowing victims to enter, leave and return to assistance was important.
Jury said the change made sense, as some people may not want to deal with issues immediately, or they may feel they had already dealt with their problems.
"A little bit down the track, they might realise they need support," Jury said.
"People are individuals ... They need to be treated on a one-on-one, individualised basis, taken seriously for what's happening to them."
Ann Kent, manager of Abuse and Rape Crisis Support Manawatu, said the new system was promising.
"It's a new system to us and everybody is still learning ... They [ACC] seem to have looked at what hasn't been working.
"[They] have put in a concerted effort to put in place a system that will be positive," she said.

© 2015 Fairfax New Zealand Limited

http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/news/66972110/ACC-help-for-sexual-violence-victims

Influx expected with funding for ACC sexual abuse service set to double

An article from NZ Doctor by Ruth Brown

ACC is braced for an influx of new sex abuse claimants following the launch of its more generous service for sensitive claims. The budget for this financial year is $14.6 million, to cover support assessment and treatment. This is set to almost double to $29.5 million for the 2015/16 year. In the 2013/14 year ACC spent $12.5 million on sensitive claims.
A year-on-year 10 per cent increase is conservatively estimated, says Emma Powell, strategy manager, sexual violence at ACC. Since the service began rolling out last November, an extra 1000 claims have been lodged for the service which, at any one time, is dealing with 5500–6000 claims. The main difference is the service is now fully funded so clients won’t be asked to make a copayment which previously was sometimes as high as $90 for counselling sessions, Ms Powell told New Zealand Doctor.
The Integrated Services for Sensitive Claims (ISSC) was officially launched in Wellington last night.

‘Less daunting’ assessment
Ms Powell says the assessment process for claimants has changed significantly after feedback from clients that it was “pretty daunting”. Instead of assessments being conducted by an independent party over one or two sessions, ACC now offers supported assessments which have been allocated up to 26 hours. This is allocated for support sessions interwoven with assessment sessions and a de-brief with the claimant at the end. Also, counsellors who may have conducted the original sessions are likely to be involved with the supported assessments, she says.

Not enough counsellors
Ms Powell acknowledges a lack of trained counsellors in some parts of the country.
In a previous New Zealand Doctor story, Wellington GP and deputy chair of Doctors for Sexual Abuse Care GP Cathy Stephenson said sexual abuse survivors were still facing barriers because of too few counsellors.
Ms Powell says areas such as South Canterbury, the West Coast and remote rural areas were most affected by a lack of counsellors specialising in sexual abuse. But ACC will pay for providers to travel to these areas.
“We will be working through some of those gaps fairly smartly,” she says.
ACC currently has 175 suppliers with 770 providers on its books and it’s currently assessing and processing another 110 potential providers, she says.

© 2015 MIMS (NZ) Ltd

http://www.nzdoctor.co.nz/news/2015/march-2015/03/influx-expected-with-funding-for-acc-sexual-abuse-service-set-to-double.aspx