Concerns are mounting over the government’s newly announced national day of remembrance for survivors of abuse in care, with some calling it “tokenism disguised as recognition.”
The one-off day is scheduled to coincide with the anniversary of the prime minister’s formal apology to survivors. While the government has allocated $1 million in contestable funding to support regional and local remembrance events, some survivors say it falls short of genuine recognition.
Tu Chapman, a survivor of abuse in care and spokesperson for He Kura Mōrehu, a tikanga-based movement for survivors of state and faith-based abuse, says she had hoped for something more meaningful.
“The mere fact that it’s been stated as a ‘one-off national day of remembrance’ kāre i te pai tērā. It just makes us think, well, here’s the tick box, here’s like $100 that should keep you quiet for now, and we’ll leave it for the next government to sort out,” she says.
‘Lack of survivor-led decision making’
The remembrance day was first confirmed last year as part of the Crown’s apology to survivors, following the Whanaketia report from the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care.
But nearly a year on, Chapman says survivors have been largely excluded from the process.
“We are left feeling a little bit ostracised from the process. I have to say, though, we were consulted on one meeting about what our thoughts were on what the national day of remembrance should look like. What we’ve seen released is not what we asked for.”
In contrast, fellow survivor Eugene Ryder says that while the effort may be limited, it still represents progress.
“It wasn’t that long ago that there was nothing, and a million dollars is a little bit more than nothing. Whilst I realise that expectations from survivors is high, even from the current coalition government, I just keep thinking about, for a long time, there was nothing. There was no recognition, there was no redress, there was nothing at all,” he says.
The funding includes up to $10,000 for local grassroots initiatives and up to $25,000 for regional events.
But Chapman warns the funding model may favour established organisations and marginalise survivor-led groups.
“This will leave whānau competing against established entities with little time. But also entities that have only just come forward to access that funding pool.
“I called it out last year, I’ve been calling it out for years, organisations accessing funds that weren’t going directly or wholeheartedly in its entirety through the survivor network.”
Ryder acknowledges the limitations, but says the funding can still be put to good use.
“We can be angry about it, or we can take the opportunity as it is and utilise those resources to support whānau that are still suffering from the result of being abused in care.”
More needs to be done
Nō te 31 o Māehe 2024, koni atu i te 500 ngā tamariki me ngā rangatahi i tūkinotia i a rātou e noho nā i raro i ngā manaakitanga o Oranga Tamariki.
Hei tā te nuinga o ngā mōrehu, me nui ake te tautoko a te kāwanatanga kia mutu rā anō ngā mahi tūkino i ngā rangatahi.
E kīia ana e Eugene Ryder, kei reira kē te wāhi me nui kē atu te tautāwhi.
“I think more needs to be done in terms of stopping further abuse. Already, one of the stats is something like 800 children have been abused in care in the last 12 months.”
Hei tua atu, e āki nui ana a Chapman, me whai reo ngā mōrehu ki ngā take e hāngai ana ki a rātou.
“Professionally, we’ve grown ourselves so that we could have the opportunity to sit with the bigwigs and actually talk their language and speak to them about what’s important to us. That’s what we call survivor-led, survivor-centric.”
