Sign Up To Stay In Touch
We send out newsletters only occasionally and we fully respect that your information always remains private.
News & Events
"We need to normalise the discussion around male sexual abuse. If we as adults can't talk about it freely, than how on earth do we expect children to be able to come forward and report it?"
- Ken Clearwater.
Female Dilworth teacher struck off after having sex with students
A female teacher at Auckland’s Dilworth School has been struck off the teacher’s register, after her sexual relationships with two students three decades ago came to light. The discovery was made in 2020 after police began investigating historical sexual abuse…
The Catholic Church said an abuse victim deserved $250,000. A jury gave him $3 million
A Victorian jury has delivered a stinging rebuke to the Catholic Church, awarding $3.3 million to the victim of a notorious paedophile after the church argued compensation should be only $250,000. The Supreme Court case is the first time a…
Silent lambs: Child sexual abuse and the Jehovah’s Witnesses
Best known for their door-to-door evangelising, Jehovah’s Witnesses are on a quest to save the ‘wicked’ from damnation. For victims of sexual abuse within the organisation, however, that quest has seen perpetrators shielded from justice. Amy Parsons-King has met several…
Police investigating allegations against prominent Catholic officials, Court of Appeal considering last-minute injunction
Prominent leaders within New Zealand’s Catholic Church are being investigated by police over historical allegations of abuse. The Herald understands that allegations have been made against three officials who are involved or were previously involved in the church. The individuals are fighting…
Ex-King’s College teacher jailed for child abuse supervised by paedophile, mother says
A King’s College teacher jailed for child abuse offences in the UK was being supervised by a man now known to be a serial paedophile, a mother of a former student has told Stuff. Paul Dodd, now 64-years-old, worked as a history…
Court grapples with Newsroom’s banned story
Crown lawyers endure strong questioning from a panel of judges as Newsroom goes to court to overturn a ban on a video investigation into Oranga Tamariki. Tim Murphy reports. Newsroom has gone to the Court of Appeal to try to reverse…
Survivors want Supreme Court to hold sex offender ‘publicly accountable’
A man who raped and sexually assaulted fellow high school students at parties is asking the Supreme Court to keep his name secret – despite three survivors of his offending taking the brave step of having their name suppression removed. The young…
Dilworth inquiry finds extensive sexual abuse, violence and bullying over half a century at Auckland school
A damning independent inquiry into sexual and physical abuse at Auckland’s Dilworth School has uncovered a “catalogue of damage and injustice” spanning more than half a century, from 1950 to 2005. Led by Dame Sylvia Cartwright and Frances Joychild KC, the inquiry found…
Fotofest Hawke’s Bay 2023: ‘Confronting’ male sexual abuse survivor photos on display
“Confronting”. That’s how Tim Whaitiri Henderson, of Dove Hawke’s Bay, describes the “Hopeful Horizons” exhibition that will be showcased as part of the 2023 Fotofest in Hawke’s Bay. He recalls people breaking down in tears when they first saw the faces that…
Jehovah’s Witness church spends 3 years fighting scrutiny of Royal Commission of Inquiry
The Jehovah’s Witness church has been fighting scrutiny from a national inquiry into the historical abuse of children for three years, court documents show. The church has accused the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care of wilfully “miscasting”…
I was never safe or felt safe in or around the church
After surviving 10 years of hell, Anna* held on to hope her perpetrators would finally atone for the sins of the past. Tim Scott investigates how the Presbyterian Church’s redress retraumatised Anna, convincing her it is washing its hands of accountability. Anna*…
The misery of Marylands
At Marylands School, sexual and physical abuse by Catholic brothers was brutal, prevalent and normalised. Survivors were so traumatised that, after they left, they found it difficult to understand the boundaries between right and wrong. At the frayed edge of…