Sexual violence counselling boost

A report from Radio New Zealand News

The Government has announced a $10 million funding boost in next month's budget for specialist sexual violence services.
Social development minister Paula Bennett says the increase will provide immediate stability for specialist services to help address current funding shortfalls. Ms Bennett says the sector requires extra resourcing, especially for making 24 hour, seven-days-a-week crisis call-out and emergency counselling services available. She says the money will be used to support frontline crisis-response and community-based treatment services, as well as male victims and those accessing medical and forensic services.
A Parliamentary inquiry is currently looking into the funding of specialist sexual violence services.
Ms Bennett says she couldn't wait for the outcome of the inquiry.
"The need is so great now, to be honest I'd done a lot of work on my cabinet and to get them to this point, there was no way I was going to delay them for another six months!
"I knew I had a shot of getting a bit of money in this year's budget so I was going to grab it with everything I had."
The Parliamentary inquiry has been told the sector is severely under-resourced and has lost about $6 million a year since changes to ACC in 2011 when it cut funding for sex abuse counselling.

Funding welcome
A rape prevention trust says the Government's funding boost will help stop the loss of trained staff from the sector.
Executive director of Rape Prevention Education, Kim McGregor says the sector has been underfunded for many decades. She says there's been a high level of burnout and it's been difficult to hold on to specialist trained staff.
Ms McGregor says the extra funding will help stabilise the sector in the short-term.

© Radio New Zealand 2014

http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/242981/sexual-violence-counselling-boost

ACC claimants say personal information released

A news report from ONE News

Shocked Accident Compensation Corporation claimants say their personal information was released in the mass privacy breach revealed this week.
Thousands of confidential ACC claims were mistakenly sent to a member of the public when an ACC employee sent an email last August in one of the worst breaches of privacy in New Zealand's history. The email contained the details of 9000 claims, including 137 from ACC's highly confidential sensitive claims unit which handles delicate cases like sexual abuse. The claims related to 6748 clients and ACC is telephoning and mailing an apology to them.
Claimants say the problem is worse than the corporation has admitted. Whangarei man Allan Nicholas was at home this morning when he got a phone call from ACC. But instead of giving their name, the caller wanted Nicholas to give his, as well as his date of birth. "I was quite appalled and quite disappointed," Nicholas told ONE News.
And being asked for personal information was not the only surprise. Yesterday, ACC chief executive Ralph Stewart told ONE News the primary information in the file mistakenly emailed was the client's name, their claim reference number and their branch number. "There was no personal information contained in the email," he said.
But Nicholas says ACC told him that his review application and the outcome were released. "Personal information, of a sensitive nature to myself. [I'm] very miffed to know that information had gone out."
ONE News put those criticisms to Stewart who now admits in some cases review outcomes have been released. He also apologised for the tone of the phone call this morning and invited Nicholas to contact him personally to discuss his concerns.
Another ACC claimant, who ONE News has not identified because she is a victim of sexual abuse, also told about getting a phone call from ACC. "I hung up, and I went screaming for my husband to tell him. And we rang him back, and I again lost the plot and I said 'how dare you?'", "Vanessa" told ONE News.
And after experiencing other privacy breaches she has lost faith in ACC's sensitive claims unit. "It needs to be shut down completely. It needs to be restarted, and I think that it just literally needs to be cleaned out," she said.
ACC minister Judith Collins met with ACC executives today and is expecting a report on the debacle as early next week. But today she hit back at the person who received the emails and blew the whistle.
"I cannot imagine how someone who's received the information wrongly has not instantly either given it back to ACC or given it to the Privacy Commissioner. This is an appalling thing to have done to 6,000 innocent people," Collins said.
ACC says it is going to invite the Privacy Commission to audit its process. The organisation told ONE News this evening that it has contacted 2199 people out of the 6748 affected by the privacy breach.

Rape victims fearful
Meanwhile, rape victims are fearful their details were among the 9000 confidential ACC claims mistakenly sent out, a victim support organisation says. Kim MacGregor from Rape Prevention Education told TV ONE's Breakfast that phone lines have been running hot since news emerged of the breach. She said many people who put in a claim under the sensitive claims unit are concerned and anxious that their information has been released.
MacGregor said in order to get funding for counselling under ACC the abuse victim has to give every detail about the sexual violence that occurred. "Many people would not have told anyone else but their counsellor," she said. "If the offence is within the family many family members will never know."
MacGregor said some victims are "fearful" because when they were abused the offender threatened them or their family if they told anyone about the attack. "So there is a great deal of fear for virtually every victim of sexual violence that has put a claim into ACC because they don't know whose information was released to the public," she said.
MacGregor said full names were released but not the details of the offences. "A lot of clients are saying it has put them right back to the beginning of their therapy because they're not feeling safe."
She said ACC could provide counselling for all victims of sexual violence who have put in claims.

Compensation
And the victims of the privacy breach may not get compensation. ACC yesterday said anyone who would like to seek a settlement or compensation could write to the corporation's privacy officer and the issue would then be dealt with on a case by case basis.
Under the breach of Privacy Act victims can only be compensated if they can prove they have been harmed in some way, which includes humiliation and injury to feelings. But compensation will not be automatic - every case will have to be dealt with individually.

© 2012 Television New Zealand Ltd

http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/acc-claimants-say-personal-information-released-4775496

Reversal welcome - but still damaging

An editorial from the Nelson Mail

Even ACC Minister Nick Smith acknowledges the corporation mishandled the issue of counselling for sexual abuse victims.
That under-represents the situation considerably, though in terms of ministerial slapdowns it's refreshingly sharp. Perhaps Dr Smith ought to have given his own wrist a slapping while he was at it.
Certainly, the minister and the ACC board were both given plenty of warning that the cutbacks in counselling for rape and sexual abuse victims were potentially damaging. They appeared hell-bent on proceeding with the changes regardless, and brought them in last October. Now, just 10 months later, that decision has been all-but reversed.
Dr Smith is spinning the flip-flop as evidence that ACC is prepared to listen, and then act decisively. If only it were prepared to do so last year.
It is all-but impossible to gauge how much damage might have been done during the short life of the quickly discredited policy change. However, it seems a fair assumption that the about-face has been ordered because of overwhelming evidence that ACC's enthusiasm to trim the flab from its operation had instead nicked the arteries of a vital service.
With the announcement came news that people with a new claim, or an existing one that had been stalled within a dysfunctional system, could – as of this week – access up to 16 hours with a counsellor. That the corporation felt the need to move immediately by way of this interim step can be seen as an acknowledgement that in getting things so badly wrong, it needed to act promptly in order to minimise the damage. Indeed, it seems to have moved so quickly that counsellors late last week were still waiting for vital details on how the system would now work.
Perhaps there are some who continue to see counselling as an unnecessary luxury in tough times, and last year's campaign against the signalled cutbacks as being led by those with a vested interest. Yes, the protests were spearheaded by counsellors, along with members of the public who had benefited from the service. However, it is only natural that those closest to a service see most closely its value.
The tipping point for the minister was almost certainly the advice from an independent panel, appointed by Dr Smith to review the process. Clearly, the panel found itself somewhere between being disturbed and alarmed by what it found.
According to Rape Prevention Education director Kim McGregor, some victims of sexual violence – and the ACC parsimony over the past 10 months – would have become suicidal and harmed themselves as a result of the policy.
It is worth remembering that drives for greater efficiency, wherever they occur, inevitably have consequences with a human face. Some kudos, then, to the minister for setting up the panel and acting decisively on its advice. It is easy to be wise after the event but much more effective to act wisely beforehand. Critics of the minister's ACC efficiency drive have every right to point out that the warning bells rang long and hard last year, and ask hard questions about why they were not heard then.

© 2010 Fairfax New Zealand Ltd
http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/opinion/editorial/4028417/Editorial-Reversal-welcome-but-still-damaging

Abuse funding angers

An article from the Nelson Mail

The Accident Compensation Corporation's (ACC) handling of funding of support for survivors of sexual abuse has been disastrous, says Nelson psychotherapist Susan Hawthorne.
ACC has backed down on funding cuts and will provide extra support to survivors of sexual abuse. Last October, it cut counselling for victims of rape and other sexual abuse "sensitive claims", and funding was restricted to those with a diagnosed mental injury resulting from sexual abuse or assault, sparking protests from sexual abuse groups.
However, Ms Hawthorne was unimpressed with the way ACC had failed to communicate with those working in the area of sexual abuse treatment and said today they still did not know the details about who could put in claims.
Yesterday ACC announced that from next week people with a new ACC sensitive claim, or with a new claim already in the system but awaiting a decision, would be able to access up to 16 hours with a counsellor.
"ACC has listened to concerns expressed by several groups that more support is needed. Those groups included the public, the sexual abuse treatment sector, and the independent panel appointed by the minister to review the sensitive claims pathway," said ACC's general manager of claims management, Denise Cosgrove.
Ms Hawthorne said the changes had come about because an independent review panel had been appalled at what had happened. "If we had been asked what improvements could be made, we could have helped without causing the terrible harm for clients. The only way some of them have come through is because people involved in treatment have contributed hours of unpaid work."
Ms Cosgrove said the 16 hours counselling should be sufficient to meet the needs of many people, who would not need further ACC cover or ACC-funded treatment. The sessions would be used to gather information on a cover decision for those who did demonstrate signs of a possible mental injury arising from sexual abuse. Details are yet to be finalised, such as what special arrangements might be put in place for children and what support will be available for people who have suffered a relapse, or whose sensitive claims have previously been declined or reactivated.
ACC acknowledged that last year's cuts "exposed gaps in the services available to people who have suffered sexual abuse", Ms Cosgrove said. "We will continue to develop the sensitive claims process, and will take into account the views of the sector, the final report of the independent panel and the cross-government work being carried out after the recent findings of the Taskforce on Sexual Violence."
Rape Prevention Education director Kim McGregor said more than 16 hours was needed in many cases, but it was an "extremely welcome" move. Last year's cutback had affected survivors of sexual violence. Some would have become suicidal, harmed themselves or closed down and put up with whatever they were dealing with for another 10 years, she said.

© 2010 Fairfax New Zealand Ltd
http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/news/4017027/Abuse-funding-angers

ACC reverses funding cuts for sex victims

An article from the Otago Daily Times

Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) has backed down on funding cuts and will provide extra support to survivors of sexual abuse.
Last October ACC cut counselling for victims of rape and other sexual abuse "sensitive claims", and funding was restricted to those with a diagnosed mental injury resulting from sexual abuse or assault, sparking outrage and protests from sexual abuse groups.
But yesterday it announced that from next week people with a new ACC sensitive claim, or with a new claim already in the system but awaiting a decision, would be able to access up to 16 hours with a counsellor.
"ACC has listened to concerns expressed by several groups that more support is needed. Those groups included the public, the sexual abuse treatment sector, and the independent panel appointed by the minister to review the sensitive claims pathway," said ACC's general manager of claims management, Denise Cosgrove.
The 16 hours should be sufficient to meet the needs of many people, who would not need further ACC cover or ACC-funded treatment, she said.
The sessions would be used to gather information on a cover decision for those who did demonstrate signs of a possible mental injury arising from sexual abuse.
A number of details are yet to be finalised, such as what special arrangements might be put in place for children and what support will be available for people who have suffered a relapse, or whose sensitive claims have previously been declined or reactivated.
ACC acknowledged last year's cuts "exposed gaps in the services available to people who have suffered sexual abuse," Ms Cosgrove said.
"We will be continuing to develop the sensitive claims process, and will take into account the views of the sector, the final report of the independent panel and the cross-government work being carried out following the recent findings of the Taskforce on Sexual Violence."
Rape Prevention Education director Kim McGregor told the New Zealand Herald more than 16 hours was needed in many cases, but it was an "extremely welcome" move.
The 16 hour figure pertained to adults who had experienced one sexual assault but would be inappropriate for child sexual abuse and for most survivors of more than one sexual assault, she said.
Dr McGregor said last year's cutback had affected survivors of sexual violence, and counsellors.
Some would have become suicidal, harmed themselves or closed down and put up with whatever they were dealing with for another 10 years, she said.

© Allied Press Ltd 2010
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/120372/acc-reverses-funding-cuts-sex-victims

Rape prevention group welcomes ACC u-turn

A news report from 3 News

The Government's decision to provide counselling for the survivors of sexual abuse has ended what support groups are calling a "terrible year".
ACC has done a u-turn on providing sexual abuse victims with up to 16 hours of counselling.
Last year it introduced tougher guidelines that meant only those diagnosed with mental injury were eligible - sparking protest marches across the country.
Kim McGregor, of Rape Prevention, says the Government's shift means victims can get the support they need.
“It’s been a terrible year for survivors of sexual violence, it’s been a whole year where basically they haven’t been able to access any counselling and some survivors have been actively self harming or suicidal,” she says.
Ms McGregor says there is now concern there could be a shortage of sexual abuse counsellors, who may have moved onto other areas in the past year.

http://www.3news.co.nz/Rape-Prevention-group-welcome-ACC-u-turn/tabid/419/articleID/170233/Default.aspx

ACC reinstates help for victims of sex abuse

An article from the New Zealand Herald by Martin Johnston

Victims of sexual abuse will more easily be able to obtain the help of specialised counsellors from Monday, following a partial backdown by ACC.
In a move branded "inhumane" by a rape prevention group, ACC last October cut back counselling for victims of rape and other sexual abuse "sensitive claims". Funding became restricted to only those with a diagnosed mental injury resulting from sexual abuse or assault.
But yesterday, ACC acknowledged that this move, although in line with its legislation, had "exposed gaps" in its services, and it announced it would provide extra support. From Monday, people with a new sensitive claim and those whose claim is awaiting a decision will be able to have up to 16 hours with a counsellor funded by ACC.
"ACC has listened to concerns expressed by several groups that more support is needed," said the corporation's general manager of claims management, Denise Cosgrove.
Rape Prevention Education director Dr Kim McGregor said more than 16 hours was needed in many cases, but it was an "extremely welcome" move. The figure of 16 hours had arisen in relation to adults who had experienced one sexual assault, she said. "So 16 hours would be inappropriate, for example, for child sexual abuse and for most survivors of sexual violence who had experienced more than one sexual assault."
Dr McGregor said last year's cutback had affected survivors of sexual violence, and counsellors. Some survivors would have harmed themselves or become suicidal.
Others, who had taken years or decades to summon the courage to disclose that they had been sexually abused, only to find they couldn't obtain ACC counselling, might have just closed down and put up with whatever they were dealing with for another 10 years.
There had been a huge increase in demand for free and low-cost counselling services such as telephone and school-based counselling after last year's changes, Dr McGregor said. This was because of the sudden shortage of specialised sexual abuse counsellors caused by ACC's cutback. Many would have moved on to other counselling work, such as in the Family Court or for drug treatment services.
ACC said it was expected that counselling for up to 16 hours would be sufficient for many people and they would not subsequently need ACC cover. The 16 hours would also be used to gather information on signs of possible mental injury resulting from sexual abuse, for use in deciding whether to accept a claim.
ACC is still deciding what support will be available for those who suffer a relapse, and those whose claims have previously been declined, and arrangements for children.
Dr Barbara Disley, chairwoman of a clinical review panel appointed by ACC Minister Nick Smith, said members had expressed their concerns to him that the number of claims by sexual assault victims had halved and many claimants were declined cover or faced delays in obtaining support. She said the change announced yesterday "begins to address the panel's concerns".

Copyright 2010 APN Holdings NZ Ltd
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/crime/news/article.cfm?c_id=30&objectid=10665439

ACC matters - cautiously optimistic!

An article from ANZASW NoticeBoard by Cathy McPherson

On May 7 I attended a hui in Wellington, requested by the Sensitive Claims Advisory Group at our last meeting in March, when ACC admitted that they need some assistance to fill in the “gaps” in service left by their new Pathways. The meeting was faciltated by Graham Bashford. While Peter Jansen was in attendance, he had no role to play in the meeting, and in fact appeared extremely subdued... SCAG members were not entirely sure what to make of this development. Approximately 60 attended the meeting.
The week before the meeting, there was an announcement by the Minister of Justice that the Minister of Social Development would be undertaking a “stocktake of Government spending on specialised sexual violence services. The terms of reference are expected to be finalised soon, and she expects to report back by the end of the year. The aim of the stocktake is to build on TOAH NNEST’s work, establish what the Government is already purchasing, what the current and long term demands for services will be, identifying opportunities for efficiency and effectiveness and considering future funding options”.
As a consequence of this announcement, we were informed the day before the meeting by ACC that “the agenda for the ACC facilitated workshop would include the time to develop a statement from the group to provide to the Minister.”

Impressions of SCU Workshop:
The workshop was attended by approximately 60 people including SCAG, representatives of Police, child and adolescent and adult mental health, representative of Commissioner for Children, Massey University and ACC including James du Plessis and David Rankin, and Denise Cosgrove, the new General Manager of Claims Management, as well as some claims managers.
ACC was actually asking and listening as to how to fill the gaps left by the new Pathways.
They made a clear statement that they recognized there were clear gaps in the system, and that ACC were committed to doing everything they could to address these “within the constraints of the legislation”. Furthermore, they stated they would record and forward the gaps highlighted by us to the review panel.
Graham Bashford went on to outline the history of the changes and the current situation of which the most salient point was a recognition of clear delays, namely that they have approved claims within three days when all the information has been present, but that the current average is 47 days. (This was challenged by SCAG as we have it well-documented that clients have been waiting for decisions from last year).
It was also acknowledged that the approval rate is very low. It appears that ACC see a clear difference between their legislative responsibility and clinical responsibility, as the phrase “within the constraints of the legislation” kept coming up.
Concern was expressed that a great number of ACC counsellors have either left the profession or have taken on new positions because of the almost zero approval rate by ACC.
ACC for the first time stated that over the years, ACC had become the default provider of counselling services for sexual abuse survivors even when mental health, difficulties prior to the sexual abuse, prior alcohol and drug issues etc were in existence. One of the suggestions at my discussion table (which included Kim McGregor, David Rankin, James Du Plessis, Commisioner for Children rep, Police rep, DSAC rep) and the suggestion was from the ACC people that funding for counselling have contributions from Health and Ministry of Social Development.
Police expressed concern about how much more difficult it is to obtain a prosecution when complainant is not adequately supported through that process and may be legally discredited due to mental health diagnosis.
It was acknowledged by those present that the present system was clinically unsafe and that the present process was not working either for ACC or for clients.

Some of the suggestions from the meeting:
Clear call for long term goal to be implemented of TOAH NNEST framework; namely a multi-ministry and cross agency response that is seamless and well funded and can respond quickly to the acute situation of disclosure.
Also a clear indication that some sort of short-term emergency response needs to be implemented immediately to stop the decline. Various ideas were tabled, including going back to four sessions for all new claims to hold clients until a decision is made by ACC re approval of claim.
Finding culturally safe ways of working within the Pathways.

ACC made the following commitments:
To document and discuss suggestions at next SCAG - I will report back on this after the June 19 meeting.
To inform both the CEO of ACC and the Minister of the outcomes and content of this meeting as a matter of urgency.
To record our concerns and suggestions unedited and as discussed.
To pass on outcomes of the meeting to the review.

At the end of the day, SCAG members came away feeling cautiously optimistic and hoping this was not just window-dressing. We were quite impressed with Denise Cosgrove but only time will tell. We certainly came away believing that our concerns have been listened to, and look forward to the departure of Graham Bashford, and hopefully Peter Jansen as well.
Also the Review Committee has just been announced for the promised six month review of the Pathways. There will be an opportunity for us all to make submissions to this Committee. I am trying to get an address to send submissions to and will publicise this as soon as I have it.

http://anzasw.org.nz/sw-in-nz/publications/

ACC denies subsidisation of counselling for rape victims due to lack of “mental injury”

An article from Nexus by Hollie Jackson

The new rules regarding ACC-subsidised sexual abuse counselling has hit rape victims hard across the country. Now, in order to acquire funding for counselling, the victim must first be diagnosed with a mental condition caused by sexual abuse.
In February this year, a South Auckland mother of three died four days after her submission for ACC-subsidised counselling was denied. She had applied for help six months beforehand for sexual abuse she had suffered as a child, but was denied because she had not suffered “a significant mental injury”. She had reportedly suffered from suicidal tendencies and self-inflicted harm due to the sexual abuse.
Another victim, a 15 year old girl, is still awaiting a decision on her claim for counselling after she was raped over Christmas. The Association of Counsellors' representative on the ACC's sensitive claims advisory group, Elayne Johnston, said the girl hadn’t received counselling because ACC required her to be assessed by a psychologist to see whether she had suffered “a mental injury”.
ACC Minister Nick Smith announced last Monday that the new rules will be reviewed by a four person panel for efficiency. According to Dr Kim McGregor, the co-chair of the national sexual violence network, the four person panel fails to include any one of their “specialist experts that work day to day with survivors of sexual violence”.
Approved submissions for ACC-subsidised sexual abuse counselling has gone down from 472 in the first two months of last year to only 32 in the same period this year. Dr McGregor said almost all of the 600 to 700 private counsellors who were registered for ACC-funded work had also stopped taking applicants for ACC subsidies because of an ethical objection to labelling assault victims as mentally ill.

http://www.nexusmag.co.nz/news/acc-denies-subsidisation-counselling-rape-victims-due-lack-%E2%80%9Cmental-injury%E2%80%9D

Denied help for sexual abuse, dead days later

An article from the New Zealand Herald by Simon Collins

A review of new rules for sexual abuse counselling has come too late to save a South Auckland mother who died four days after her claim for ACC-funded counselling was rejected.
Counselling Services Centre manager Emma Castle said the mother-of-three's claim for counselling for sexual abuse she had suffered as a child was rejected by ACC two months ago on the grounds that she had not suffered "a significant mental injury".
"The counsellor who submitted the claim made it very clear that sexual abuse was the reason why she had suicidal ideation and was self-harming," Ms Castle said. "It took them six months to make that decision. Four days after receiving notification that the ACC claim was denied, the client passed away."
The new rules provide ACC-subsidised counselling only for victims with a diagnosed mental condition caused by sexual abuse, and generally only for up to 16 weeks before a further review.
ACC Minister Nick Smith announced yesterday that the rules would be reviewed by a four-person panel chaired by former Mental Health Commissioner Dr Barbara Disley. The other panel members are Auckland University psychiatrist Professor Graham Mellsop, Ruth Herbert of the lobby group Roundtable on Violence Against Women and psychologist Clive Banks of Porirua Maori mental health agency Rangataua Mauriora.
The co-chair of the national sexual violence network, Dr Kim McGregor, said the team did not include anyone who worked day to day with survivors of sexual violence.
The network had nominated Louise Nicholas, a high-profile survivor who is now an advocate with Rape Prevention Education, alongside psychologists Nicola Gavey and Fred Seymour, High Court Judge Ailsa Duffy and Maori lawyer Moana Jackson.
"None of our specialist experts that work day to day with survivors of sexual violence, and have done for decades, have been chosen to be part of this review," Dr McGregor said.
She said the rules had caused a virtual "collapse" of sexual abuse counselling, with cases approved by ACC down from 472 in the first two months of last year to just 32 in the same period this year.
The Association of Counsellors' representative on the ACC's sensitive claims advisory group, Elayne Johnston, said a 15-year-old girl who was raped over Christmas had still not received counselling because ACC required her to be assessed by a psychologist to see whether she had suffered a "mental injury".
Dr McGregor said almost all of the 600 to 700 private counsellors who were registered for ACC-funded work had stopped taking applicants for ACC subsidies since the new rules took effect because of an ethical objection to labelling assault victims as mentally ill.
Survivors were now going to rape crisis agencies instead, but the agencies could not cope because they had also lost funding.
The review panel has been asked to identify any changes required to "ensure that ACC is delivering timely decision-making and services to clients with a mental injury caused by sexual assault or sexual abuse".
It is due to report to Dr Smith by July 31.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10641028