People with disabilities experience more violence than non-disabled people. Disabled people, their whānau and advocates share stories of historical abuse among the Abuse in care – Royal Commission of Inquiry on Disability, Deaf and Mental Health Institutional Care† The hearing will run from July 11 to July 20.
Content warning: This story contains reports of abuse that some readers may find distressing.
A clinical psychologist has compared an institution where disabled people lived in the 1970s to World War II “concentration camps” at the Abuse in Care – Royal Commission of Inquiry Disability, Deaf and Mental Health Institutional Care hearing on Wednesday.
dr. Olive Webb began working at Sunnyside Hospital in Christchurch in 1970 as an assistant clinical psychologist.
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She is interested in the influence of environments on people’s behavior and spent a lot of time with long-term residents.
Webb recalled a villa in Sunnyside that was home to about 70 men with learning disabilities.
While bathing, the men were undressed and ‘driven’ together into the shower room, then walked back through the villa, still naked, to get dressed. She said it reminded her of concentration camps, similar to those used during World War II.
After breakfast, the men were taken to a day-care center and left there without doing anything.
DELIVERED
dr. Olive Webb began working at Sunnyside Hospital in Christchurch in 1970 as an assistant clinical psychologist.
“There was a complete removal of thought, creativity, dignity and independence,” she said.
When not in the daycare, residents would be kept in a solitary confinement room, with only a mattress and potty, if they were considered “very disturbed” or punishment.
She saw no explicit physical or sexual abuse, but said it was systemic abuse that took place in the institutions where she worked and was based on the value system of the time.
Webb saw that many of the residents were unable to reach their potential because of the environment they lived in.
She started a work program, originally with 12 men. They put stickers on bibs and were paid in tokens, which meant they could buy coloring books or lollipops at the neighborhood store. The program was so successful that other residents also wanted to participate.
Another time she started playing music for some residents to get them moving. She remembers the difference it made to a woman who would normally sit still with her arms folded all day long. In a few weeks, her “lights would turn on” to the music, Webb said.
Abuse in healthcare Royal Commission of Inquiry
Old video footage from Sunnyside Hospital was played at the Royal Commission of Inquiry on Abuse in Care.
Despite the last New Zealand facility closing in 2006, Webb said some care homes still function as institutions today.
There are homes with many disabled people living together, supported and managed by a few people who hold all the power, and everything is kept “horribly secret,” she said.
She called for moving away from a “one size fits all” model of care for the disabled, and said the state should listen.
Webb said she understood bureaucratic systems to manage funding, but what makes people happy should come first.
“You shouldn’t compromise on individual needs for the sake of an efficient model.”
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A mother has also described how the behavior and physical condition of her two disabled sons deteriorated so much after living at Templeton Hospital near Christchurch that one of them turned into a ‘zombie’. She attributed the change in behavior to the abuse and neglect they suffered at the hands of the staff.
Alison Adams shared evidence on behalf of her sons Nigel, 61, and Malcolm, 62, who both have learning disabilities.
When her sons saw a specialist at the ages of 2 and 3, she was told to forget about her boys and put them in an institution. But she didn’t want to send them away so young and raised them at home.
Finally, Malcolm went to Templeton for respite care in late 1977, before going full-time in 1978. Nigel moved to Templeton a year later.
Abuse in healthcare Royal Commission of Inquiry
Alison Adams is sharing evidence on behalf of her sons Nigel, 61, and Malcolm, 62, who both have learning disabilities.
Two weeks after Malcolm moved into Templeton, she went to see him but was told by staff to be away for six weeks.
At the time, Malcolm “turned into a zombie” because of the medication he was on, she said.
While living at home, Alison had potty trained them, but the brothers lost their ability to go to the bathroom on their own while in the facility.
†[Malcolm] couldn’t even walk and was lying in his own urine,” she said. “It was shocking.”
Behavioral changes led her to believe they were also being sexually abused, she said.
Nigel and Malcolm now live in a house in Christchurch that Alison bought for them, but she says the level of care they receive is still not enough. She said much more support and funding is needed for all people with disabilities.
“I just want the boys to be happy and I’m reaching the end of my life,” Alison said.
“Nigel and Malcolm still give back a lot,” she said. “They’re the reason I’m alive today.”
Where to get help
- 1737, Would you like to talk? Call or text 1737 toll free to speak with a trained counselor.
- Mental Health Foundation 09 623 4812, click here to access its free resource and information service.
- thelowdown.co.nz Web chat, email chat or free SMS 5626
- If it’s an emergency, click here to find your local crisis assessment team number.
- In a life-threatening situation, call 111.