On Tuesday, New Zealand’s Prime Minister issued a historic apology to victims who were subjected to abuse in government care institutions, acknowledging the “unimaginable pain” they suffer inside children’s homes and psychiatric hospitals.
About 200,000 vulnerable New Zealanders have been abused in state care over decades, according to a recent public inquiry which described its findings as an “unimaginable national catastrophe”.
Children were sexually abused by church caregivers, mothers were forced to give up their children for adoption, and distressed patients were tied to beds to receive seizure-inducing electroconvulsive therapy.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon apologized on Tuesday on behalf of successive governments that turned a blind eye to such horrific reports.
“I am sorry that you were not believed when you came forward to report the violations you were subjected to,” he said in a speech to Parliament.
“Some of you may feel that my words are worthless after such a long and painful time.
“But I hope today, with this apology and acknowledgment of the burden you bear, it will feel a little lighter for some of you.”
Luxon singled out the notorious Lake Alice psychiatric hospital in rural New Zealand, where patients recall being inadvertently sterilized, used in unethical medical experiments, and punished with electric shocks.
“To those of you who were tortured at Lake Alice – young, alone, and subjected to unimaginable pain – I am deeply sorry.”
Many victims report ongoing trauma that fueled addiction and other problems.
The report concluded that some of the abuses were “clouded by racism” targeting indigenous Maori.
The inquiry was established in 2018 and made 233 recommendations that the Luxon government promised to study.