The state apologised to abuse-in-care survivors two years ago today. What has changed?

Detailed summary

The Abuse in Care Royal Commission prompted improvements in support and compensation for survivors, but long delays and the lack of independent redress remain.

Today marks two years since New Zealand’s government formally apologised to survivors of abuse in out-of-home care.

It came in response to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care, which exposed decades of systemic abuse and neglect in state and faith-based institutions between 1950 and 1999, affecting some 200,000 people.

In all, the commission made more than 200 recommendations aimed at transforming the care system and providing meaningful redress to survivors.

The apology, delivered in parliament by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, was accompanied by a commitment to mark the subsequent anniversary as a “Day of Reflection” – assessing what has, and has not, been accomplished for survivors.

Two years on, some important progress has been made. But gaps remain between what the commission recommended and what survivors have received.

The commission’s final report, released in July 2024, made for appalling reading.

Care was under-resourced and poorly monitored, with children subjected to torture at institutions such as Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital. Māori and Pacific people faced systemic racism, including abuse targeting their ethnicity and separation from their families, language and culture.

For many survivors, the personal and social consequences have been profound. Their experiences resulted in lifelong trauma, poor health, relationship difficulties and poverty.

New Zealand society continues to experience the resulting care-to-crime cycle. Out-of-home care often meant disrupted education, weakened family and community ties and the normalisation of violence. In short, care was criminogenic.

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