New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon expressed regret on Wednesday after a public enquiry found that approximately 200,000 children, young people, and vulnerable adults were subjected to abuse in state and religious care over the past 70 years. The report revealed that nearly one in three individuals in care from 1950 to 2019 experienced some form of abuse, highlighting a distressing reality that demands attention and action.
The Royal Commission of Inquiry, which engaged with over 2,300 survivors of abuse in New Zealand, uncovered a disturbing pattern of mistreatment in state and faith-based care settings. Shocking abuses such as rape, sterilization, and electric shocks were reported, with a significant increase in incidents during the 1970s.
