The Abuse in Care Royal Commission will be holding our Disability, Deaf, and Mental Health institutional care public hearing from July 11-20, 2022. The public hearing will be live-streamed, include New Zealand Sign Language interpreters and audio described, captioned evidence.
Information about the hearing is available in Braille, NZSL, Niuean, Samoan, Cook Island’s Māori and Te Reo Māori. This link will take you to the formats for you to download and this link will take you to the NZSL video information.
The hearing space has also undergone an accessibility review. This link will take you to details about the accessibility of the hearing space. Those planning to attend the hearing in person who have accessibility considerations or questions are invited to contact: contact@abuseincare.org.nz or call 0800 222 727, to talk about what you’ll need. We can plan ahead to make sure you are comfortable getting to and from the venue and during the hearing.
About the hearing
The upcoming hearing focuses on illuminating the experiences of Disabled people, Deaf people and people with lived experiences of mental distress. We expect this hearing will operate at the intersection of many issues covered in previous hearings. because people with lived experience of mental distress, disabled or Deaf people are present in all communities across Aotearoa.
In this hearing, we will hear evidence about these communities’ experiences of abuse and neglect in care. We are doing this by examining care of those in settings such as psychopaedic hospitals and facilities, psychiatric institutions and services, education settings, and residential settings. We will be hearing from people with a broad range of impairments, lived experiences and life contexts.
The hearing will examine the following key themes as they relate to people with lived experience of mental distress, the Deaf and disabled community:
- Control and restraint in care settings.
- Sexual and physical abuse in care settings by staff and residents.
- Neglect across care settings, including lack of care and love; dental care; hygiene; and cultural neglect.
- Access to appropriate education.
- Adequate and accessible complaints procedures.
- The investigation of complaints by monitoring agencies.
- The impacts of long-term institutionalisation on survivors and their whānau,
Survivors and members of the public are welcome to attend in person or to watch the hearing live stream.
Where to watch the hearing
The hearing will take place at Tii Tu Tahi, the Royal Commission’s hearing space at Level 2, 414 Khyber Pass Road, Newmarket, Tāmaki-Makaurau Auckland (entrance via Kingdon St) an accessibility audit of the space has been done to see accessibility information please go to this link.
From 11 July, the hearing will be livestreamed from our website – www.abuseincare.org.nz
**Warning** The hearing includes graphic descriptions of abuse and neglect which may cause difficult emotional or psychological distress. If you would like to talk to a support person there are a range telephone helplines or services listed on our website that offer support, information and help. All services are free. If you have specific access needs for support, please don’t hesitate to contact our support services to find out more about the options available:
Support Services
You can find out more information about the hearing and livestream by visiting our website or contacting our Contact Centre on 0800 222 727.
Royal Commission website – www.abuseincare.org.nz
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