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

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

Collins' legal threat ill-considered

An editorial from the Manawatu Standard by Michael Cummings

Cabinet Minister Judith Collins has been labelled "thin-skinned" for threatening legal action against two Labour MPs and a news organisation over the ACC privacy fiasco, an accusation that is either sound or scurrilous, depending on whose side you're on.
While some will argue Ms Collins is being, in NZ First leader Winston Peters' words, "a tad hysterical", others will say she has every right to protect her reputation if she thinks it's been unfairly besmirched.
What seems far more clear-cut, though, is the political wisdom of such a heavy-handed response from the ACC Minister. Quite simply, there is none.
This Government has lost complete control of its agenda, lurching from faux pas, to own goal, to scandal as its message is drowned out by a cacophony of peripheral noise.
Ms Collins might feel personally justified in taking defamation proceedings against Radio NZ and Labour MPs Andrew Little and Trevor Mallard, but she's only throwing fuel on a fire her Government needs to extinguish.
Ms Collins has been questioned about who leaked an email containing personal details about ACC claimant Bronwyn Pullar, but says she's "100 per cent certain" the leak wasn't from her or her office. If she's so confident of her position, it would have been eminently more sensible to hold her ground and let the saga blow over.
Instead, she's thrown the parliamentary press gallery another angle to the controversy, which will fill column centimetres that could have otherwise been dedicated to what the Government is trying to achieve to better the lives of New Zealanders.
Much like Prime Minister John Key's handling of the so-called "tea tapes" controversy, Ms Collins' strong stance has only upped the ante, when taking a bit of short-term political pain and moving on would have been much smarter.
National needs to pull itself out of the political mire it's in and get back on message. At the moment, the Opposition is having to do little more than watch the Government repeatedly punch itself in the face, then rub a bit of salt into the wounds.
While the public finds the intrigue surrounding political scandals mildly entertaining, they're far more interested in issues that affect their daily lives – the state of the economy, the cost of living, the standard of health services, the availability of jobs.
If National is to shake itself out of its funk, it needs to be far more disciplined in managing the political agenda. It needs the public to be discussing the merits of its policies, not the thickness of its ACC Minister's skin.

© 2012 Fairfax NZ News

http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/opinion/6671451/Editorial-Collins-legal-threat-ill-considered

Help is there for sexual abuse victims

An article from the Manawatu Standard by Stacey Kirk

Changes to the way ACC manages the claims of sexual abuse sufferers "are an encouraging step", says a Palmerston North sexual abuse counsellor. Counsellor Paulette Berryman, who sits on the Sensitive Claims Advisory Group (SCAG), said she "couldn't be more pleased" with rule changes making it easier for sexual abuse victims to gain support, but she was concerned that abuse victims were not aware of the help to which they were now entitled.
ACC tightened up the process for accessing counselling in October 2009, which triggered protest marches, intense lobbying and media scrutiny.
A report was ordered six months ago which recommended changes including a rule that new claimants and people waiting for a decision on whether they qualify for treatment could now get 16 hours' "support". Only some of the recommendations have been implemented, with the rest being carried out over the next year.
An independent report for the ACC board carried out last month found ACC was making "good progress" in changing the way it manages sensitive claims. Dr Barbara Disley, who also chaired the review in 2010, said the report found ACC had done a good job prioritising the more important tasks.
Mrs Berryman said it felt like the hard work of her and her colleagues across the country had paid off. She said she used to receive four or five inquiries a week about sexual abuse counselling, but those numbers rapidly dropped when claimants found their requests for counselling were being denied. Now, they are entitled to up 16 free sessions.
But Mrs Berryman said that she wasn't sure the information had filtered through to abuse victims. She is hoping to get the message out that help is out there for sexual abuse victims "and don't be afraid to ask".
ACC claims management general manager Denise Cosgrove said ACC recognised the importance of providing support to sexual abuse victims. "We recognise we have some way to go before delivering all the recommended changes but we were pleased to note Dr Disley's acknowledgement of our progress," she said.

© 2011 Fairfax New Zealand Ltd

http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/5192479/Help-is-there-for-sexual-abuse-victims

ACC backdown welcomed

An article from the Manawatu Standard by Janine Rankin

Sexual abuse survivors denied help under tough new rules introduced last October can look forward to better services in future now that ACC has backed down on the changes. Palmerston North counsellor Paulette Berryman says she is battle-weary but elated that ACC has accepted a caning from an independent panel condemning its approach and forcing a back-down.
The New Zealand Christian Counsellors' Association representative on the sensitive claims group told the Manawatu Standard that the quality of help available for survivors could become better than ever once all of the panel's recommendations were put into place. She said her hard work in protesting against the changes, including taking two of her clients to Wellington to provide evidence about the harm the changes were causing, had paid off. "For almost a year we have been fighting, but it's been worthwhile, with positive changes for sexual abuse survivors," she said.
The review found that the changes, which required clients to gain a diagnosis of mental injury before they could get treatment, were introduced "prematurely and precipitously". The ACC changes had discouraged survivors from seeking help and caused a halving in the number of claims submitted in the first three months of the cuts. Delays were unacceptable and ACC's communications with sexual abuse survivors and providers had often been "inappropriate and inadequate". The panel recommended fast-tracking of the introduction of 16 sessions of support for new clients ahead of the full report's release last week.
Mrs Berryman said the 16-session scheme was a "welcome measure, in the right direction", but the response from potential clients had been low key. She remained concerned that people who could benefit still had not realised how easy it was to contact an ACC treatment provider directly to begin the healing process. Mrs Berryman is continuing her fight to ensure survivors of sexual abuse get the help they need, and is involved in consultation in how other recommendations can be implemented. These include recognising alternative ways for diagnosing mental injury, dealing with the particular needs of children, providing support for Maori and helping people with complex health needs.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/news/4142528/ACC-backdown-welcomed

Help still available for abuse survivors

An article from the Manawatu Standard by Janine Rankin

Support for sexual abuse survivors was increased this week, but Palmerston North counsellor Paulette Berryman is worried people might have given up hope of getting help, and aren't aware it has just become easier to ask. The New Zealand Christian Counsellors' Association representative on the sensitive claims advisory group has welcomed this week's ACC support package for sexual abuse survivors.
Mrs Berryman said since ACC tightened up the process for accessing counselling last October, most people had stopped asking for help, and some who had persevered felt "battered" by the system. She used to receive four or five inquiries a week about sexual abuse counselling, but since October, has had only one.
Some sexual abuse counsellors had been working for free and others had given up counselling during the 10 months when survivors of sexual abuse had to be diagnosed as having suffered a mental injury before they could get treatment.
Under the interim system introduced this week, new claimants and people waiting for a decision on whether they qualify for treatment, can now get 16 hours "support". The support isn't available to people already in treatment or who have been turned down.
Mrs Berryman said she expected there would be a surge of demand for help under the new rules, but it hadn't happened. "Sexual abuse hasn't gone away. My concern is that people who have been discouraged from applying don't know that there is support available now."
She said it had taken enormous energy to persuade ACC to provide more help for sexual abuse survivors. "We have fought robustly, because we understand how difficult it is for people with sensitive claims to stand up and tell the world they were sexually abused and need help."
As well as advocating for clients, she was part of the advisory group that would be making further recommendations about details of the future support package, particularly how to help children, previous claimants who relapsed, and people who had been declined treatment.
The independent panel appointed to make final recommendations on the future process for handling sensitive claims is due to complete its work next month.

© 2010 Fairfax New Zealand Ltd
http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/news/4044143/Help-still-available-for-abuse-survivors

ACC changes 'lead victims to shun aid'

An article from the Manawatu Standard by Janine Rankin

Many sex abuse victims seem to have given up asking anyone for help since changes last year in the way ACC sensitive claims are assessed.
Ann Kent, Abuse and Rape Crisis Support (Arcs) Manawatu manager, said the number of people asking about, applying for or being approved for ACC support had fallen dramatically.
Between December 2008 and last June, between seven and 17 claims a month were being accepted in the Manawatu-Wanganui region, with between eight and 13 a month being declined. In the first two months of this year, no claims were accepted, and six or more were declined.
Ms Kent said she was concerned people suffering the after-effects of sexual abuse had disappeared.
"They are not going to ACC, they seem to have decided it all sounds too hard. But they are not going to anyone else either."
She said Arcs had not seen any significant increase in referrals since last year. Other agencies offering counselling had recorded only slight increases.
"We are obviously very concerned about survivors, and want to make sure people are aware that there are alternatives to ACC that are free or low cost."
Ms Kent said that as the only specialist sexual abuse help community group, Arcs expected to see more people seeking help when they were declined ACC help or decided not to apply for it.
Counselling services run by the Women's Health Collective, Relationship Services, Across, Te Aroha Noa, Christian Counselling Centre, Te Runanga O Raukawa and Manline offered support and referrals. The Women's Health Collective and Methodist Social Services said they had not seen an increase in numbers either.
The Manawatu Standard asked ACC Minister Nick Smith if he was satisfied that people with a legitimate case for counselling were seeking and receiving the help they needed. His spokesman said the changes around sensitive claims were driven entirely by clinicians and were not about cost cutting.
"It is true that concern has been raised by some counsellors about the new pathway to managing sensitive claims."
An independent clinical review of ACC's processes for dealing with sensitive claims would be announced next month.
"It is the minister's intention to ensure those leading the review are well qualified to provide claimants and all New Zealanders with an assurance that what ACC is doing in this area is in the best interests of those claimants."
He said ACC's new approach was the result of more than four years' work and reflected evidence-based clinical guidelines developed by ACC following research from Massey University under the previous government.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/news/3433842/ACC-changes-lead-victims-to-shun-aid