A landmark new body of research suggests New Zealand may have spent decades measuring the wrong thing – and asking the wrong people – about family violence. Paula Penfold investigates.

Police have prosecuted fewer than one in ten of the cases referred from the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. The inquiry found at least 200,000 people were abused, and even more neglected, by the state and faith-based institutions from 1950 to 1999. More than 2300 survivors gave evidence to the inquiry with…

A sexual abuse support foundation says survivors are at risk as it braces for funding cuts in the new year. HELP Auckland will have $380,000 less to work with in 2026, after the government announced it would redirect $1.7 million from the sector. Sylvia Yandall, HELP’s Pasifika Services Manager, told RNZ the funding cut would…

Less than a third of the government’s $774 million abuse in care redress and reform package will end up in the pockets of survivors. Figures obtained by RNZ revealed only $205m was earmarked for paying new claims with $52m to go towards topping up previously closed claims. In defence of the figures, Erica Stanford, the…

The Government plans to pass a law making it harder for state abuse survivors with a history of violent or serious offending to access redress – something a lawyer and survivor advocate describes as “unjust, discriminatory, and contrary to the principles of trauma-informed, survivor-focused redress”. This is despite overwhelming evidence, including in the reports from…

A Male Survivor’s Feedback on a Safe Space to Kōrero and Share His Struggles The Tāne Chat Room Caravan stands as a beacon of hope and support, offering a sanctuary where individuals like myself can korero speak openly and authentically about my struggles. This unique initiative is more than just a meeting place; it is…

A Lake Alice survivor has asked the High Court to review Cabinet’s decision on redress and formally find it breaches his international and domestic human rights. Flaxmere man Malcolm Richards was drugged, raped, beaten and shocked at the Manawatū psychiatric facility in the 1970s. He declined a $150,000 redress payment last year, opting instead to…

The government faces legal action over compensation for torturing children at Lake Alice. But Crown Law, running legal interference for decades, is again pulling strings. Part 1 of a special 3-part series for Newsroom. Overview: The state has admitted torture and abuse of children in state care. It apologised in 2024. But it is legally…

A significant number of abuse victims could be eligible for ACC compensation following a landmark court ruling that could cost it billions of dollars. But ACC will not immediately be contacting everyone it believes might be eligible, due to fears of retraumatising them and its case managers being overwhelmed. Advocates and a survivor fear the…

The latest crime statistics from Germany show that nearly 21% of police reports of intimate partner violence (IPV) were made by men. There were a total of 34,899 male victims, which means that almost 100 men are victims of IPV every day in Germany. The results of an anonymous mixed-method online survey of 141 German…

For me the most powerful words were virtually unintelligible. Gary Williams is severely disabled and in a wheelchair, but that did not limit the power of his words, which were flashed up on a screen behind him. He was the first survivor to speak at the event. He spoke directly to the Government and you…

The lack of a new redress system for survivors proves the royal commission of inquiry’s recommendations were pointless, argues Steve Goodlass. It is a cruel irony that on the very day a US cardinal – implicated in covering up abuse – was elevated to Pope, the New Zealand state chose to entrench the status quo…