Sunlight is the best disinfectant

An article from Beehive Chat by Tariana Turia

Last week's announcement by ACC to provide up to sixteen counselling sessions to sexual abuse survivors while their claim is being dealt was welcome news. Last year ACC implemented a new policy that required people subjected to sexual abuse to prove they had suffered a mental injury before they would pay for counselling.
I cannot think of a worse ordeal for anyone who has endured the life-changing crisis of sexual abuse, to have to then prove that it had affected their mental health and wellbeing. And so I am not at all surprised that when the Clinical Review Panel looked into the impact of the policy changes, they found that only half as many victims of sexual assault are applying for ACC support this year compared to last. But if that is not bad enough, many who do apply are declined or face significant delays in getting support. Fliss Newtown's comments in this newspaper over the weekend that she is receiving two new enquiries a week from sexual abuse survivors is consistent with other reports I have received over the motu.
A World Health Organisation study in 2007, found that one in four New Zealand girls is sexually abused before the age of fifteen, the highest rate of any country studied. The rate is even higher for Maori women and for women with disabilities. And yet despite the high rates of prevalence, sexual abuse is still something that society fails to recognise as being significant.
Sexual abuse has devastating impacts on the lives of far too many New Zealanders. It decimates your confidence, it can destroy your faith and trust in others, it literally throws your life out of balance. Childhood sexual abuse has been shown to effect educational chances; the impacts are played out in courtrooms and prison cells and hospital beds and drug and alcohol treatment units and psychiatric institutions.
I am pleased that ACC has recognised the importance of providing immediate support for sexual abuse survivors but we cannot put all the responsibility on Government agencies to fix this problem. Quite simply ACC is the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff.
Of course Government must ensure we have quality services available and effective programmes to provide immediate support for individuals and whanau dealing with sexual abuse. But most importantly we have to look in our own backyard and be sure that we are doing everything we can to ensure the safety of our own family and community. It is unacceptable to know that sexual abuse is going on and to do nothing about it.
I know that for families facing this issue, the road to creating a safe environment is long and fraught with so many challenges. But we must mobilise public support and attention to ensure we bring it out into the open. As they say, sunlight is the best disinfectant. The bright light of scrutiny and openness enables all of us the opportunity for change.

© 2010 Maori Party
http://www.maoriparty.org/index.php?pag=nw&id=1216&p=beehive-chat-sunlight-is-the-best-disinfectant-hon-tariana-turia.html

Counsellor welcomes ACC rethink on abuse

An article from the Wanganui Chronicle by Laurel Stowell

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

© APN News & Media Ltd 2010
http://www.wanganuichronicle.co.nz/have-your-say/news/counsellor-welcomes-acc-rethink-on-abuse/3919218/

Turia welcomes counselling support for sexual abuse victims

A press release from the Maori Party

Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia is welcoming the decision to enable survivors of sexual abuse to receive up to 16 hours free counselling while their ACC claims are being dealt with.
“Advocates representing survivors of sexual violence including rape have expressed to me their concern about counselling services not being made available while sensitive claims were being considered by ACC,” Mrs Turia said. “Everyone who has experienced sexual abuse has a right to basic support regardless of whether or not their claims stack up to ACC’s criteria for sensitive claims, so I am pleased to see that the corporation has realised this.”
Mrs Turia said current statistics reveal approximately one in four New Zealand girls is sexually abused and the rate is even higher for Maori women and people with disabilities.
Sexual abuse, despite the high rates of prevalence, is still something that society fails to recognise as being a significant and devastating influence on far too many New Zealanders, she said. “I will be keeping a close eye on the review currently being undertaken into how ACC deals with sensitive claims.
“The cost of sexual abuse to individuals, families and the nation is huge – it impacts on education, destroys the health and wellbeing of individuals and families and is played out in courtrooms, prison cells, hospital beds and drug, alcohol treatment units and psychiatric institutions.
“We must value the counsellors, therapists, social workers and those who keep our crisis services alive.”

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1008/S00192/turia-welcomes-counselling-for-abuse-victims.htm

Women's rights slipping in New Zealand

A blog entry from E2NZ

On International Women’s Day we thought we’d do a round up of just three issues that impact on women in present day New Zealand and look to see what progress, if any, is being made with them. What we found is that women’s affairs are going backwards ...

Read the rest of this entry at http://emigratetonewzealand.wordpress.com/2010/03/08/womens-rights-slipping-in-new-zealand/

Maori Party looks at claims of ACC discrimination

Press release from the Maori Party

The Maori Party will be looking into claims that Maori women are being discriminated against by ACC.
“We are very concerned to hear from the National Council of Women that Maori women in need of counselling for issues like rape and sexual abuse are not getting the service they need because of what appears to be a flawed policy of ACC,” Maori Party MP Rahui Katene said.
“We are also concerned to hear that ACC has cancelled hui that it promised to hold to sought out this issue."
The council claim that ACC’s sensitive claims clinical pathway not only discriminates on the basis of gender but also on race.
Maori are more likely to be a client for ACC subsidised counselling and women over all make up 82% of the claimants with Maori women being heavily represented in that percentage.
“We’ve heard stories that Maori women are leaving Maori counselling services in tears because they can not be guaranteed that the counsellor will be the one they deal with all or most of the time,” Mrs Katene said.
“It takes so much courage and strength for these women to even step through the door of a counselling service that it would be really unfair to expect them to keep baring themselves over and over again to different counsellors – they need to be given an assurance of security and stability.”
The council claimed that ACC was in breach of the United Nations’ Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination: because of its sensitive claims clinical pathwa policy.
“We’ll be talking with the minister responsible for ACC to see exactly what is happening,” Mrs Katene said.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0912/S00167.htm