'National disgrace': extent of abuse in New Zealand's care institutions revealed

The treatment of people in New Zealand's state and faith-based care institutions has been described as a "national disgrace" after a landmark report revealed the scale of abuse that an estimated 200,000 children and adults suffered at the hands of those entrusted with their safety.

- Eva Corlett

The royal commission into the abuse, by far the largest New Zealand has held, was put in motion in 2018 to reveal the extent of abuse within the institutions. It primarily covered the period from 1950 to 1999.

The final report was made public yesterday, marking the culmination of more than 100 days of public hearings, nearly 3,000 testimonies and more than 1 million documents received in evidence. Survivors gathered in parliament's public gallery to witness the report being tabled.

"The final report has taken six years, but for many of us, it has been a lifetime of trying to look for, and seek, redress," said Frances Tagaloa, who was sexually abused in Catholicrun institutions from the age of five.