Silent Struggles: Decades later, sexual-assault victims tell their stories, pursue justice http://readingeagle.com/news/article/decades-later-sexual-assault-victims-tell-their-stories-pursue-justice Each begins with a child whose youth and innocence, they say, was ripped away by a man they trusted above all others and who wielded incredible power over their lives. And each ends with an adult, who decades later, is still grappling with…

Mark Lyon loses appeal against sex and drug offences http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/81589629/Mark-Lyon-loses-appeal-against-sex-and-drug-offences Lyon claimed Ryan had failed to provide a brief of evidence, but Ryan told the Court of Appel Lyon had been reluctant to provide one as he was confident the complainants would not appear to give evidence. In a decision released on Wednesday the Court…

NZ’s shocking level of child rape http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1606/S00327/nzs-shocking-level-of-child-rape.htm Stop Demand Foundation, which calls for action to stop sexual violence against women and children, is calling on the incoming Children’s Commissioner Andrew Becroft to address, as a priority, New Zealand’s shameful litany of sex crimes being committed against children. Its call follows the reporting, in just one…

‘There are serious questions about the viability of the entire mental health system’ https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/there-serious-questions-viability-entire-mental-health-system Lifeline Aotearoa says unless it can get help from the public, it’ll run out of funds by June 2017. The service has operated since 1964 and answers about 15,000 calls a month from people dealing with a range issues, specialising in…

Collins hiding behind flawed crime statistics – NZ First http://www.voxy.co.nz/politics/5/255952 National’s outrageous claim that crime is down 16% is based on piecemeal cherry-picked data which Ms Collins admitted herself when she said ‘no single data source is able to provide a complete picture of offending in New Zealand’. “The Minister refuses to acknowledge that in…

Woman who sold daughter to neighbour ordered into care http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/79146918/woman-who-sold-daughter-to-neighbour-ordered-into-care Shared from Google News & Weather Disposition options are available to the courts when dealing with defendants deemed mentally impaired and who therefore cannot instruct lawyers for a suitable defence.  In those cases, a judge can make an order directing defendants be detained in hospital,…

The Many Faces Of PTSD http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kelley-calkins/the-many-faces-of-ptsd_b_10704166.html Most days, I still don’t think that I look much like someone with PTSD. This is an odd thought whenever I interrogate it: I look like myself, my self has PTSD — ipso facto, if A=B, B=C, then A=C — I look like someone with PTSD. But it’s still…

http://www.thesundaily.my/news/1840739 “Without appropriate trauma counselling, it is very likely that the child’s current and future emotional, familial and social ties are going to be badly affected,” she told theSun. “The child needs time and a lot of support to come to terms with the victimisation and overcome it,” she said, adding that this is done…

Former soldier hopes to ‘slay the stigma’ of post traumatic stress disorder http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/news/81321738/Former-soldier-hopes-to-slay-the-stigma-of-post-traumatic-stress-disorder ensen spent five years at Linton Military Camp, worked as a police officer in Levin and Palmerston North for seven years and worked in Iraq for three years. Though he was not officially diagnosed with PTSD, it manifested after his time in…

UNICEF warns of physical, sexual ‘abuse & exploitation’ for child refugees en route to Europe https://www.rt.com/news/346981-%D1%81hild-refugees-abuse-unicef/ At least nine out of 10 child refugees arriving in Europe through Italy this year are unaccompanied, UNICEF says in a new report. The organization told RT that minors go through “various forms of abuse and exploitation” on their…