NZ Children's Minister Wants Online Pornography to be Regulated But Study Will Miss the Point

By: Isaac Davison
Social Issues Reporter, NZ Herald

New Zealand could follow the United Kingdom in bringing in age restrictions for online pornography and blocking websites which refuse to comply.

Department of Internal Affairs Minister Tracey Martin, who also holds the children's portfolio, says young people are being "bombarded" by internet pornography and she wants censorship laws to be strengthened.

"This is a really, really big issue to New Zealand and we are going to have a serious conversation about it," she told the Herald.

"And I hope to make sure we have this conversation in this term of Government."

Martin supports the approach of the United Kingdom, which has ambitious - and controversial - plans to introduce mandatory age verification for pornographic websites later this year.

She made the comments after the Chief Censor began a major piece of research on New Zealand teenagers' online pornography habits. Expected to be completed in December, the research will be used to inform Government policy, including possible regulation.

"We're pretty excited about it," Chief Censor David Shanks said. "We think it's going to give us some potentially world-leading data on the New Zealand situation and teens and pornography.

"With this research our aim is to get solid evidence about the experiences and perspectives of young people on the table so there can be an informed debate."

Don't forget the pre-teens. Adolescence is the most vulnerable time for boys to be viewing pornography. Adolescence is when the brain re-wires and pornography results in many of the wires getting crossed. I believe it is responsible for the culture of rape in high schools and colleges.

The Office of Film and Literature Classification began the survey last week of 2300 people aged between 14 and 17.

"In our view policy in this area does need some consideration, in terms of how do you regulate use and access to porn in the digital environment," Shanks said.

"The question there is . . . when the average age to get a smartphone is 10 and a half to 11 years old, what sort of tools and restrictions can we really place on access to material that's widely available on the internet?"

Martin said the Chief Censor's research was "vital work", though she is already intent on changes.

"I have already had conversations with the Chief Censor with regard to a particular drive of mine to make sure we as a nation do something about what is the bombardment of pornography and the easy access to pornography that our young people are experiencing.

"Considering our censorship laws were pre-internet, this is an area that we have left for a long time without addressing and I think we need to address it."

New Zealand censorship laws already ban some types of pornography, such as material which includes violence, rape or degrading acts. But the Office of Film and Literature Classification's work is mostly limited to DVDs released in New Zealand, and online pornography is effectively unregulated. The Department of Internal Affairs' work in this area is primarily focused on online content featuring child sexual abuse.

The UK Government has a policy which allows internet service providers to block porn websites unless people older than 18 "opt in" to use them. It plans to go further this year by bringing in age verification requirements for online pornography, which will include powers to block websites which don't offer "age gates".

Martin said she was not interested in wholesale bans on online content because they did not work. But she supported the UK Government's approach, saying she was interested in any policy which helped to protect young people.

"I would really like to watch how they implement it and see what are the challenges for them," she said.

Justice Minister Andrew Little, who would have joint responsibility for any regulation changes, said he was aware of concerns that had been raised about the effects of pornography on children. He was open to ideas about regulatory approaches which New Zealand could take to address these problems, he said.

Shanks said new regulations may not be required at all, or they could be part of a range of solutions including education for young people.

He said any causational link between viewing pornography and sexual assault was "very difficult to prove", but there was enough evidence to urge caution about the impact of widely accessible pornography.

His office was keeping a close eye on the UK model, which has stirred debate about internet freedoms and whether the internet can be effectively regulated.

"It's certainly not an easy thing to implement socially or technologically," Shanks said. "It's just worth paying attention to, to see if gets traction or not."

The survey of internet pornography use will ask if teenagers look at online pornography, how often, what sort of content, why they are looking at it, and how they are viewing it. It requires parental consent, but the participants will fill out the survey anonymously and privately.

You are basically looking at the picture with one eye closed and the other half open if you leave out adolescents. Why the restriction to 14-17 year olds? You will completely miss the point!

PORNOGRAPHY AND THE LAW

• Censorship laws ban "objectionable" publications, which include exploitation of children, violent sex or rape, necrophilia, use of urine or excrement for degrading sexual conduct, bestiality, or torture.

• The Chief Censor reviews all DVDs released or imported into NZ, but online content is effectively unregulated.

• The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) monitors online use and primarily focuses on material related to child sexual abuse.

• A filtering system run by DIA blocks websites which contain child sexual abuse content.

Colt Clan Incest May Have Originated Nearly 100 Years Ago in New Zealand

New Zealand-origin incest Colt clan:

'I'll never get over what I saw there'

news.com.au  
By: Stephen Gibbs

Photos have been obtained that show, for the first time ever, life inside a sickening Australian incest clan which originated in New Zealand and has been described by senior police as like nothing they have ever seen.

The Colt family snaps, given exclusively to News Corp Australia, show the smiling faces of children who would go on to claim their father and uncle were the same man.

They show glimpses of little girls and boys who would tell caseworkers they suffered regular sexual abuse, and when taken into care were described as malnourished, unhygenic and struggling to speak.

In one photo Charlie Colt — a man believed to have fathered children with his sister, according to the testimony of the Colt children — poses for the camera dressed up as Santa Claus on Christmas Day.

Betty Colt's brother Charlie dresses as Santa for the children at the family's rural camp in 2006. Photo / Supplied

"I wanted to keep the children's spirits high," he told The Daily Telegraph.

The Daily Mail reported that the 38-member Colt clan was found crammed into rundown caravans, sheds and tents in the state's south in mid-2012 after a conversation about family sex was overheard in a school playground.

Members of the family previously told authorities the sordid saga began in New Zealand early last century when a June Colt was born to parents who were siblings.

Four generations of incest allegedly began after "Tim and June Colt," a brother and sister emigrated from New Zealand in the 1970s. In 1966, June, the product of brother-sister incest, and Tim married and had seven children together: Martha, Frank, Paula, Cherry, Rhonda, Betty, and Charlie, before moving to Victoria in the 1970s.

In the new photographs, the young victims at the centre of Australia's most shocking abuse case can be seen riding around on quad bikes and smiling among vegetable gardens — masking the revolting reality of their daily lives.

According to a Children's Court hearing, the Colt clan tortured animals and mutilated their genitalia. But in the photos uncovered today, a young Colt girl smiles at a pony kept in a pen on the property raided by authorities in the winter of 2012.

The photos, along with a number of extraordinary documents, were made available to News Corp by Charlie Colt in a bid to absolve the clan of the allegations levelled at them.

"If you look at all the children, I don't think there's too many that look alike, to say that they're interrelated," Charlie Colt said.

"I think it's disgusting the allegations they're making. Both my parents have passed away and I've been asked to clear the family name, to prove all these allegations are false."

However, according to the evidence gathered by the 41-year-old, the Colt children underwent treatment for a number of serious conditions during their time on the compound. Many of the afflictions were described as "congenital" by their local doctor.

"These have varied from Chronic Renal Failure, Acute Glaucoma, Pneumonia, a Congenital heart problem to multiple middle ear and throat infections," a letter dated September 23, 2012 reads.

Charlie Colt repeatedly denied claims of incest, child abuse and sexual assault levelled at the family.

He also said a bus and speedboat owned by the family were paid for with the proceeds of a Victorian farm sold by his parents.

Among the more serious revelations of the Colt children were the claims that Charlie Colt slept regularly with his sister Martha and that he raped young girls.

He claimed NSW police fabricated evidence and that the genetic testing tendered in the Children's Court proceedings — which said 11 of the children removed had parents who were related — was unreliable.

When The Daily Telegraph pointed out a number of apparent defects in the photos of the children, he remained stubborn. "Because a little girl's teeth doesn't quite form properly in the gums, I've travelled the world and seen that thousands of times," he said.

"You say her eyes aren't quite symmetric, you may be right, but that does not mean that she's a product of an evil act.

"For the rest of my life, even if I walk through court tomorrow, I'm going to be called that person that raped that nine-year-old … it makes me feel sick to the stomach, it makes me feel bewildered and I am absolutely disappointed in the justice system."

Charlie Colt was arrested at Sydney airport on September 3, when he returned from a "fact-finding" mission to England and New Zealand and provided DNA evidence to police.

He says he and his relatives will plead "not guilty" to any charges brought against them and would appeal any conviction they received.

The Daily Mail reported that the discovery of the generations of the allegedly incestuous family living in squalid conditions in rural New South Wales six years ago revolted Australia and stunned the world.

The 38-member "Colt" clan was found crammed into rundown caravans, sheds and tents in the state's south in mid-2012 after a conversation about family sex was overheard in a school playground.

Authorities removed 12 illiterate and malnourished children from the camp, including five of Betty Colt's children, and placed them into care. All but one were inbred, reports Daily Mail.

It was described at the time as the worst case of incest uncovered in Australia.

"I'll never get over what I saw there," one female police officer later reportedly told a colleague.

The children told officials of generations of alleged sexual abuse by adults on children and siblings on siblings, involving boys and girls as young as 12.

This tent, which slept three children, was set up inside a large steel shed in the family camp. Photo / Supplied

Officers swooped on the remote property after one of the children was overheard saying his sister was having a baby but the family did not know which brother had fathered the child.

Police were shocked by what they found on the block in the hills surrounding a picturesque farming community. There was no running water, toilets or showers.

Betty Colt's sister Martha and brother Charlie allegedly slept nightly in a "marital" bed inside a tent on the property alongside open buckets of faeces and urine.

Their children - brothers and sisters - allegedly had sex with each other.

Those children had facial deformities, could not speak intelligibly and did not know what a toothbrush or toilet paper were used for.

Their oddly-formed features were later identified as a result of homozygosity, meaning both the children's parents had identical gene patterns.

They had filthy feet, did not know how to wash their hair and slept in dirty tents among cigarette butts and rotting food. A kangaroo was found sleeping on one of the children's beds.

One boy had walking impairments and severe psoriasis, another had hearing and sight problems, while a third had misaligned eyes.

A nine-year-old girl could not hear or write and did not know how to bathe or use a toilet.

It emerged that four generations of the family had moved around the country from South Australia to Victoria, Western Australia and then back across the continent to NSW.

The rural property on which the Colt 'incest family' was living had no toilets or showers. Photo / Supplied

Female adults in the family claimed outsiders including itinerant men and a Swedish backpacker had fathered the children but DNA tests showed otherwise.

The family told authorities the sordid saga began in New Zealand early last century when a June Colt was born to parents who were siblings.

When Daily Mail Australia visited the town nearest to the bush camp where the Colts were found living no one had known of their secrets.

"Those of us who even knew they were there didn't really take any notice of them," one farmer said. "We'd see a four-wheel-drive head down the track full of people and kids, and that would be about it.

"I had no idea what was going on up there, having heard about it only in the past few days. It's just awful." A local woman said: "I can't believe none of us knew what was going on up there."

Judge Peter Johnstone, president of the Children's Court, ordered the children to be taken into care and made the unusual decision to publish his reasons.

All the names used in court proceedings are pseudonyms.

Judge Johnstone said at the time: "Betty Colt's children Bobby, Billy, Brian, Dwayne and Carmen exhibited features indicative of neglect when they were taken into care."

"They were lacking basic life skills, such as the ability to shower and clean their teeth voluntarily.

"Their living environment was inadequate and their health and dental needs had been severely neglected.

"Additionally, their schooling and educational needs had been ignored, contributing to their developmental delay and deficits in intellectual functioning."

The judge said there was a possibility Betty Colt had been a victim of incest herself, saying her own father might have been the father of one or more of her children.

DNA testing proved 16-year-old Bobby was the result of a close incestuous relationship between Betty Colt and either her father or a full brother.

How New Zealand Police Caught a Child Sex Predator

Teens turned into sexual prey

One of Samoa's victims, at just 13, turned to hard drugs and sex work. photo / 123RF

By: Anna Leask

New Zealand Herald.

Last week Auckland man Andy Samoa was jailed for targeting, manipulating and sexually grooming and abusing three young teenagers.

He found them online, preyed on them, persisted with explicit messages and offered to pay cash, drugs and cigarettes for sex.

The 38-year-old was only caught when two of the young victims told their parents about his abuse - described in court as "disgusting".

This is their story. It contains graphic descriptions relation to sexual abuse, and may be confronting or upsetting.

She was only 13 years old when Andy Samoa found her online. 

She was already living life on the troubled side and was particularly vulnerable when he set his sights on her.

But what he did was a catalyst for her downward spiral into intravenous drugs, prostitution and living on the streets.

She was a child - Samoa knew that, and he went for her anyway.

The girl was one of three youths Samoa, 38, offended against over a 15-month period.

His relationship had broken up, soon after he told his partner he'd been unfaithful to her multiple times. He was "lonely" and had a high sex drive that he needed to satisfy, so he turned to social media to meet women.

At first Samoa was meeting adults for sex but he came across the girl, referred to as Victim A in court, and started to message her.

She told Samoa she was 13, and that didn't put him off.

One day in October 2015 he sent her a series of messages about meeting him. He was clear with the girl - he wanted to meet her as soon as possible, and have sex.

The messages became sexually explicit. He sent photos of his penis. The girl resisted, but Samoa persevered, sending her multiple messages at a time and offering to buy her cannabis.

Again, she resisted.

At his sentencing last week the court heard that Samoa got his hooks into the girl at "a very difficult time in her life when she was particularly vulnerable".

After he groomed her and exposed her to images and suggestions no 13-year-old girl should know about, she began to travel down an even darker path.

"Around the time she met you, she went down a spiral," Judge Claire Ryan told Samoa, referring to a Victim Impact Statement written for the court by the girl's mother.

"She had behavioural problems, she stopped going to school - she began using drugs including intravenous drugs and alcohol."

She was a frequent runaway.

She lived on the street.

Her mother made the call to take the girl out of Auckland, to move away for a fresh start away from Samoa and her demons.

Things got worse.

"She began to work as a prostitute," Judge Ryan revealed.

She was then put into the care of the Ministry for Vulnerable Children and lived away from her family for three months.

Eventually the girl was allowed to return to Auckland with her mother and slowly, very slowly, she began to recover from what Samoa had done.

"This time of her life had a significant impact on her," Judge Ryan said.

"Her mother believes she will feel the effects for the rest of her life... she engaged in such risky behaviour - much of which could have led to her death.

"She was suicidal, went on methamphetamine binges and self-harmed, cutting her arms and wrists.

Her self esteem plummeted - missing so much school and feeling so behind only made that worse - and she "carries mental and physical scars daily".

"When Victim A met you, she was really vulnerable and you took advantage of that," her mother told the court.

"Children should be safe, adults should help them - not take advantage of them."

VICTIM B: a bullied boy just looking for a friend

When he didn't get his way with Victim A, Samoa turned to other young people to get the sex he was craving.

Over 15 months he groomed and persisted with three young people in total - but the courts heard that his offending was not constant over that time period.

Samoa had always considered himself straight, but when he met Victim B and Victim C - both teenage-year-old boys - he was more than willing to try his luck sexually with them.

Victim B was 13 when he chanced upon Samoa online.

Samoa said he was 19, and that his name was Alex.

They exchanged messaged through social media applications Viber and Whisper, sent texts and spoke on the phone.

Victim B had also been having a tough time.

He'd been bullied and was desperate for a mate, someone who he could talk to, who understood him.

He never imagined he would fall into the clutches of a sex offender.

Samoa's messages became increasingly explicit - he'd describe sexual acts he wanted to perform on Victim B, and told the boy what he wanted done to him.

He sent a video to the teenager of himself masturbating, asking "you want this ....?".

Until then, Victim B had been considering meeting "Alex", but the obscene video made him uncomfortable and he went to his mother and told her everything.

She read a statement in court last week, speaking clearly and firmly at Samoa, who stood in the dock staring at the floor for much of his sentencing.

She said her son felt "extremely guilty" about his contact with Samoa, especially for disclosing the address of his family home.

Even when he started to feel uncomfortable, her son continued to message the predator because he lived in fear that Samoa would come after him, murder him, hurt his family if he cut off contact.

His mother said the teenager was "immature for his age".

"You exposed him to things he should never have seen or heard," she said.

"I feel he has lost his innocence.

"He didn't have many friends... he thought he had a friend (in you), instead you preyed upon him."

Samoa had turned the boy's life upside down.

He is now introverted, much less trusting and hardly ever leaves his home.

"I can't believe someone would do that to my child - or any child," the mother said.

She was thankful her son resisted meeting Samoa, especially after hearing what happened to the third victim.

She was "totally disgusted" by the 38-year-old and said he should not be allowed to be around children or young people in future.

"You are a danger to society," she said.

VICTIM C: groomed, taken, abused

While Samoa's first two victims resisted his persuasive attempts to meet up, Victim C did not.

His, according to the court, was the most serious case and the charges that gained Samoa the most jail time.

Victim C was also 13 when he met Samoa online.

They too communicated through apps and text messages.

In February last year Samoa started to send explicit messages to the boy.

He asked him to take a photograph of his own genitals and send it to his phone.

The boy agreed to meet Samoa and on February 12 the man the court described as a sexual deviant made a plan.

Andy Samoa used social media apps and text messaging to contact and groom his victims.

New Zealand Herald file photograph

He would drive to a vacant property near the boy's family home, the boy would sneak out and meet Samoa and they would drive somewhere for sex.

At about 9.30pm the boy crept out his bedroom window and walked to the meeting point.

He got in the car and Samoa drove him to a secluded area in Hillsborough.

There, they had sexual contact.

This happened over and over again in the next few weeks, with the sexual contact becoming more brazen each time.

Samoa performed sexual acts on the boy, and had him perform acts in return.

Then, he would drive him home.

Eventually the boy disclosed the abuse to his family and they went to the police.

The victim's mother told the court that she thought Samoa was "an oxygen thief".

"You led him into dangerous and risky behaviour... he's done things he would otherwise not have done.

"No child should have to deal with this type of situation."

She said her son's trust in people was severely damaged and he was going through a slow and painful process to rebuild his life.

Her family were also struggling, having been "dragged into a scene they knew nothing about".

There had been many sleepless nights caused by worry and the thought of Samoa manipulating her son to sneak out of his bedroom window at night to meet and be abused was "frightening".

NABBED: how police caught deviant Andy Samoa

Detective Inspector John Sutton said police took the complaints from the boys separately, but soon clicked that the offender was the same in both cases.

They had no idea who he was, so embarked on a covert operation to catch the predator.

The court heard that police obtained a phone number for Samoa from the boys.

They posed as a teenage girl and set about messaging him, using a police cellphone to send him texts and arrange a meeting.

Samoa thought he was communicating with Victim A again, and was quick to respond.

He offered to give her a bag of cannabis, a packet of cigarettes and $100 cash if she met him for sex.

The police, pretending to be the girl, agreed and a meeting was set up at a domain on the North Shore on March 28 this year.

The court heard that Samoa travelled from his home to the domain by car and sent a text message to say that he had arrived, describing the car he was in.

At 10.10am that day the car was stopped by police in the domain.

In the car was an unopened packet of cigarettes, $100 cash and the phone Samoa had been using to communicate with police.

He was arrested on the spot.

The game was up.

GUILTY: Samoa says high sex drive led to abusing

Samoa never spoke to police, exercising his right as a defendant to silence.

But he opened up during an interview with a probation officer for a pre-sentence report.

Samoa, supported in court by an uncle who travelled from Australia for sentencing, has only one previous conviction for drink driving a few years ago.

So, the child sex offending was "a significant escalation".

Judge Ryan said it appeared Samoa had tried hard to "minimalise" his offending, to excuse and justify it.

He was over-friendly with the pre-sentence report writer and was quick to detail the personal problems that led to him offending.

He said he had financial stress because he owned a leaky apartment.

He'd told his partner he'd been cheating on her, and she left him.

He became lonely and had a high sex drive so wanted to meet people to help him with that.

He said he never intended to offend, but the court reminded him repeatedly that he knew exactly how old each of his victims were when he abused or groomed them.

Samoa admitted during his interview that he "considered the possible consequence" but went ahead anyway.

Judge Ryan said Samoa feigned remorse, but that was more likely because he'd been caught.

"Your remorse, in my view, is extremely limited - largely for the predicament you are in," she said.

"You seem to lack insight into the severity of your offending, trying to excuse it."

She said Samoa had put forward an address to the court, hoping for home detention - but the occupants refused to have him there because they had children visiting regularly.

So, prison was the only option.

And she considered Samoa - because of his attitude towards his offending - was too high a risk for any other form of punitive action.

"You claim you are a good person... (but) your offending was premeditated and involved the grooming of young victims.

"You were surprised at yourself for engaging in sex with young males, you believed yourself to be heterosexual - you were aware of your victims' ages but you said you were lonely and had a high sex drive, that's why you groomed them."

Judge Ryan said Samoa's actions indicated he had "developed a deviant sexual interest" in young people.

"There was a high degree of premeditation, planning and grooming," she said.

"The offending was predatory with clear sexual intent.

"You lied about your age, said you were 19 or 20 - you are not, you are 38.

"This offending is significant."

Judge Ryan sentenced Samoa to four years and three months in prison.

Good grief! That's so pathetic! He could be out in 2 years and the children he abused will still be children.

She also gave him a warning under the Three Strikes law.

He must serve 50 per cent of his sentence before he can seek parole.

Help your kids stay safe online

Some things you can do to help your children stay safe online include:

• install software on your computer which either blocks restricted content so your children cannot access certain sites, or monitors activity so that you can review online behaviour

• know who your children are making contact with online. If they are not your children's actual friends then question their cyber friendship

• know which social networking sites your child is on and what information they are posting

• check that your children understand the dangers of posting personal information on social networking sites

• do not allow your children to use the computer in private areas of your home

• if you or your child becomes suspicious about a person online, stop contact immediately.

If you are concerned about a young person or someone's online behaviour - contact your local police station to speak to an officer.

If you or someone you know is in danger - call 111 immediately.

For more information and safety tips visit:

Police http://www.police.govt.nz/advice/email-and-internet-safety/online-child-safety

Netsafe https://www.netsafe.org.nz/online-safety-for-parents/

'Me Too': The Long-Lasting Effects of Childhood Sexual Abuse

Me too - Several Survivor's Stories

I had to endure weekly molestation sessions for six years until one of his other victims spoke up. (File photo)

JOSEPH CHAN/UNSPLASH

Warning: Some readers may find this content distressing.

Me Too: Believed once, but not again

I was 5 when I first experienced sexual abuse. He was only 11 and was also a victim of abuse, which is why he was confused and did it to me.

It happened at school. He told me not to tell anyone, but it all felt wrong so I planned on telling my mum that evening.

But that was also the day my grandfather died, so mum was grieving, and I couldn't talk to her.

A few days later, it happened again. This time I told my mum. She took action and both the boy and I received counselling. Unfortunately, the school principal accused me of lying as the boy was headboy of the school - but as far as I know the principal got in a lot of trouble for that.

So that’s that. The end of my sexual assault story. Right? Wrong.

I turned 6, changed schools, and my grandmother enrolled me in piano lessons. I was molested by my piano teacher, so I told my mum again, but this time people thought I just wanted attention.

They thought it couldn’t happen again. I was told "lightning doesn't strike twice". So I had to endure weekly molestation sessions for six years until one of his other victims spoke up. People finally listened. But the damage had been done.

Some children are far more vulnerable than others to sexual abuse. I actually think that a sexually abused child is somehow recognized by pedophiles as being particularly vulnerable.

Now I was going through puberty. I turned 13 and I was a damaged young girl. I started smoking weed. A lot of weed. Daily. I took any drug I could get my hands on and, worst of all, I let men have their way with me. Many men - mainly between the ages of 20-24. It is disgusting the number of men in their early 20s who think it’s OK to have sex with a 13-year-old just because she's a ‘slut’. I wasn't just a ‘slut’ - I was broken, and this just broke me more.

I was recently diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, which I feel was heavily affected by the abuse I endured.

Now as a 22-year-old I have my life on track, finally, and I'm learning to cope with everything I've been through.

I want better for future generations. I don’t want people to go through the hell I've been through. We need to end sexual abuse. And no matter what s/he says, if s/he is under 16 it’s not consensual.

Me Too: My earliest memory

I don't like to think too much about my childhood memories, perhaps because my earliest is one I have always struggled with. The grandfather whose games the other adults laughed at was also the man who gave me my first ever sexual experience at the age of 4.

He turned what should have been innocent childhood fun into something else entirely. He forever changed the person I would become. Trying to work out what's a normal relationship, platonic or sexual, has been a challenge ever since.

It made me vulnerable, so when I was sexually harassed by a boss at work while in my 30s, the lines were still not clear to me. I just didn't know what was normal and what was unacceptable.

It made me reluctant to be affectionate with my own kids. It cost me the ability to ever truly trust people close to me. It made it hard for me to rely on my own judgement of a situation. Where did friendship end and something more begin?

I have been so very fortunate to find a safe haven in my marriage, but the memory never fades. It will always be my first.

Me Too: My mother knew about the abuse

I was 10 years old and my mother’s partner would sexually abuse me as 'punishment' for wetting the bed, while my own mother kept my younger sister and his daughter at the other end of the house so they wouldn’t hear my screams.

What made it worse is when I finally spoke up, I was put right back in their care by the agency that should have listened to me.

At 33, I still have scars in places that make me ashamed to let anyone see me without clothing.

Me Too: It started when I was 5

My parents split when I was 2 and after that I lived with my mum in Hamilton. She couldn't afford to support just the two of us so she took on a boarder - a distant relative, my uncle by marriage’s nephew, a man in his mid-20s.

I was 5 when he started abusing me. He manipulated me into not telling anyone, so my mum was none the wiser.

She only picked up on slight things: my misbehaviour; my fear of the dark and my abuser; only being able to sleep in the safety of her bed. She took the first opportunity to relocate to Feilding with her then-boyfriend to start a fresh life.

She still didn’t know what had happened, but my behaviour got worse. Because I was confused I was making rude advances toward males and trying to make myself look older. I was a very sexual little girl who was infatuated by males because I was taught by the abuser that this was normal behaviour.

She realised this wasn’t right for a 7-year-old and finally sat me down and I told her everything. She was very supportive and called the police. She then started collecting all the evidence needed. She took me to see a sexual health specialist and set me up with a rape counsellor.

It went to court and he pleaded not guilty but was found guilty of several charges of sexual abuse and jailed for two years.

I am now 23. I suffer every day from post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression. I self-harm and I had a mental breakdown a year ago and had to leave my full-time job. I am now trying to overcome my many demons with weekly counselling and have been put on anti-depressants by my GP.

All the while he - the abuser - has made a family of his own after being imprisoned and is able to move on like nothing ever happened.

2 Years - probably didn't even leave a red mark on his wrist.

Me Too: By my cousin

As a child I used to love going to stay with my aunty and uncle. Then when my oldest cousin got to his mid-teens he started grabbing at my breasts and crotch when we played in the pool.

It was ongoing for a few months and I soon stopped going to stay over.

My other cousins never noticed. Still no-one knows because for years I made excuses that it was just because he was full of hormones and hadn't had a girlfriend.

Now we are grown adults with our own children and I still avoid him like the plague.

Me Too: ‘Grabbed by the p....’ aged 11

I was 11 years old and going through a crowd on New Year’s Eve in London. I was holding my mother’s hand but as it was so busy she was in front of me as we wove through the throngs of people.

All of a sudden this middle-aged man went past and grabbed me in between my legs. He said nothing but just gave this horrible look.

I didn’t tell my mother as I was shocked and didn’t really know what to say.

It stuck with me for a long time. It was not the first time as a young girl that I was touched, but it was the worst one.

WHERE TO GET HELP

Rape Crisis - 0800 88 33 00 (24hr service), click link for information on local helplines.

Victim Support - 0800 842 846 (24hr service)

The Harbour, online support and information for people affected by sexual abuse.

Women's Refuge (females only) - crisis line available on 0800 733 843.

Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse Trust (males only) - helplines across NZ, click to find out more.

If you are in danger, or are being subjected to sexual violence, call 111.

New Zealand's State-Run Child Abuse Shame

More than 100,000 NZ children were made state wards in the second half of the 20th century. 

Photo / 123RF

By: Toby Manhire

Disappointingly, when it was revealed this week that there will be an investigation into a historic case of transgression in New Zealand welfare, it was about the Metiria Turei shemozzle.

If all the huffing and puffing around the Green co-leader's admission she cheated the system back in the 90s could be harnessed, it would light up the national grid.

But better still, all that imperious energy would be much better applied to a much more grievous and attention-worthy case of welfare betrayal in New Zealand: the abuse of children in state care.

The latest heart-wrenching chapter in one of our country's most shameful stories was published just yesterday.

Departing disability rights commissioner Paul Gibson released a collection of testimonies from people with intellectual disabilities who lived in the haunted houses of public institutions -places where the state played custodian and tormentor.

Intellectually disabled children were beaten. Tied to their beds. Abandoned in seclusion rooms. Sodomised. Lobotomised.

"A lifetime of abuse and distress, and a life devoid of love and family," is Gibson's summary.

"Their abuse was physical, psychological and sexual." These are, he says, "the stories of New Zealand's stolen generations".

The allusion to the term used to describe the Australian Aboriginal children removed from their families through much of the last century - a hideous stain on our neighbour's reputation - can be no accident.

More than 100,000 NZ children were made state wards in the second half of the 20th century. In some cases they came from homes blighted by parental abuse or neglect. Some had fallen foul of the law.

In other cases the children's parents had died or their families splintered. Placed in foster homes, in borstals and other institutions, many hundreds, if not thousands, were indelibly scarred, a blowtorch taken to their faith in humanity. The effects continue to play out today, strained through generations.

Probably the most insidious impact is on Māori. "The funnelling of Māori children into welfare institutions was the real start of our systematic mass imprisonment in this country," says Elizabeth Stanley, who tells the stories of more than 100 former state wards in her book The Road to Hell: State Violence against Children in Postwar New Zealand. Research shows that Māori in the same circumstances as Pakeha were more likely to be taken into state care - "the very definition of institutional racism or systemic discrimination", says race relations commissioner Susan Devoy.

"Without an inquiry into the abuse suffered in our state run institutions," she adds, "we will never know its true extent."

Judge Carolyn Henwood, who led the Confidential Listening and Assistance Service, which heard from more than 1,000 victims of abuse in state care, puts it like this: "If we keep sending Māori children into care, they'll suffer. It is a destructive, self-fulfilling prophecy."

The wider findings of that Listening Service, which ran for seven years to 2015, like almost every account of these decades of abuse, invoke a mix of gut-churning disgust and awe at the survivors' courage.

Henwood's summary: "A picture was painted for us of a careless, neglectful system which allowed cruelty, sexual abuse, bullying and violence to start and continue. Through their words and tears, we could see the invisible welts and bruises, as well as the deeper hurt and emotional damage ... All the people who came forward to speak to us had struggled to make sense of their lives. All wanted a better outcome for the children of the future."

That Listening Service, however, stopped far short of an inquiry proper. It had " done half the job", said Henwood last year. But, "what we don't know is why it went on. We haven't investigated the department itself, we haven't spoken to staff ... So why wouldn't it happen again? ... We do not know the why of it."

And yet the government has repeatedly and steadfastly batted away appeals for a probe of the why. Their reasons? Among them: the trouble similar efforts have encountered overseas; the cost; the distraction; the claim that everything has been sorted in the overhaul of what is now the Ministry for Vulnerable Children.

Social development minister Anne Tolley has even asserted, "there's no evidence that it was a systemic problem". Even if you accept that curious statement to be true, it is a kind of nonsense: evidence is precisely what an inquiry would pursue.

And there's this, from Tolley: "The question I ask is what would we gain from an inquiry that revictimises the victims for whom we are trying to get some compensation and some settlement. It is appalling that we would put those people through that again."

A fair question. But while numerous victims have come forward to call for an inquiry, I've yet to see so much as a single victim arguing to the contrary.

The government has stressed that settlements have been reached with more than 700 victims, with direct apologies offered where sought. But still there has been no blanket apology - presumably at lawyers' advising.

Late last year Tolley, meanwhile, pointed out that "in some cases they've had an apology from me, and I was only a child at the time" - as if anyone was ever suggesting she was personally responsible.

Around the same time, John Key offered as one reason he wouldn't back an inquiry the fact that "you can never right the wrongs" of what happened - as if anyone was ever suggesting you could.

In recent weeks, Key's successor, Bill English, has perceptibly softened the government position, saying he's prepared to listen to representations from those affected. That's something.

But what's to hear? The Human Rights Commission has poured its energy into calling for a formal independent inquiry.

Carolyn Henwood agrees. So does Unicef. So does the Maori Women's Welfare League. So do a host of other experts. 

Most importantly of all, victim after victim has come forward to demand the same.

Very rarely to victims of historical abuse ever get closure until they have had the opportunity to tell their story in public. Until they do, New Zealand will never be able to leave this story behind.

On leaving his post as disabilities commissioner Paul Gibson exhorted the government to take action, to "restore the mana of the state". That is one hell of a chorus, and it is time to crack on.

3 Stories from the UK and 2 from New Zealand on Today's Global P&P List

150 CSA victims, 295 crimes, 11 arrests in football scandal - Scotland

Jury set to retire in CSA case in Plymouth - England

Pervert gets 'sent to his room' for destroying boy - New Zealand

2 of 3 victims of chronic CSA forgive pervert - New Zealand

PMs Brown and Major to give evidence a CSA inquiry - UK

More than 150 people have reported child sex abuse at Scottish football clubs, say police

A major investigation into child sexual abuse in football continues, and police are urging anyone yet to come forward to do so

BY GLASGOW LIVE

More than 150 people have reported being sexually abused as a child in a football setting and some 295 crimes have been recorded, according to the latest figures from Police Scotland.

The authority’s investigation into child sexual abuse in football continues, and head of public protection, Detective Chief Superintendent Lesley Boal, has released details of information received between autumn last year and the present day.

She commented: “Between November 25, 2016 and June 30, 2017 Police Scotland has been contacted directly or indirectly, via the NSPCC and SFA helpline, by 162 individuals wishing to report or provide information about child sexual abuse in football.

“In addition, Police Scotland has proactively made contact with a number of victims and witnesses.

“As of June 30, 11 people have been arrested; more than 150 people have reported being sexually abused as a child within a football club setting and 295 crimes have been recorded.

“Investigations of this nature are highly complex. However, having a dedicated specialist investigation team; major incident administrative system and analytical support we are confident that our investigations, which are risk focused, are progressing well.

“I would wish to thank each and every person who has engaged with the National Child Abuse Investigation Unit.

“We understand how difficult this can be, which is why we work closely with other agencies to ensure that support and advocacy services are available to meet individual needs.

“Many people came forward last year after Andy Woodward bravely waived his right to anonymity. Others have come forward since then and continue to do so.”

The DCS Boal added an appeal for anyone yet to come forward to do so, adding: “You are absolutely not alone - we will listen; we will investigate regardless of where or when the abuse occurred and we will take prompt action to ensure that no-one else is at risk of harm.‎

“We would ask anyone who has concerns or information about any person who may pose a risk to children or who may have abused a child to contact Police Scotland on 101 or their local social work department.”

Jury in Plymouth child sex abuse trial due to retire tomorrow

By sabel  

The jury in the trial of a man accused of sexually abusing a girl more than 15 years ago is expected to retire to consider its verdicts tomorrow.

Scott Barton, aged 42, denies indecently touching the girl four times, usually as she watched television.

Barton of Rydal Close, Estover, has pleaded not guilty at Plymouth Crown Court to four counts of indecent assault against the youngster in 2000 and 2001.

He also denies another charge of attempted rape – an alternative to one of the alleged assaults.

Pervert gets 'sent to his room' for destroying boy

Child sex assault victim wanted to kill North Canterbury abuser Peter Lindsay Armitage 

IAIN MCGREGOR/Stuff.co.nz

Man sexually abused by Peter Armitage talks about the effects it had on him and the lack of justice in the courts

George* was suicidal at 15, alcoholic at 16 and, by age 18, thinking about murder.

He traces his deterioration to six episodes of sexual abuse, which started when he was 8. 

The 47-year-old's life has been troubled since. His first marriage ended in the late 90s, he does not see his children and has battled an alcohol addiction. In 2007, he had a workplace accident and has been on ACC ever since.

Last week, in the Christchurch District Court, he stood metres from the man who abused him and who he thought about murdering.

Former poultry farmer Peter Lindsay Armitage, now 72, was sentenced to 12 months' home detention and ordered to pay $5000 reparation after an earlier guilty plea.

It was the culmination of a two-and-half-year police prosecution, but George still felt robbed of justice.

Armitage and his wife, Joan, knew George's mother through mutual friends and they associated in the same social circles.

Due to the mother's work commitments, Armitage and his wife were asked to babysit the 8-year-old on a couple of occasions at their poultry farm on North Eyre Rd, in Ohoka, north of Christchurch.

When George met Armitage for the first time everything seemed fine. Armitage appeared to be an ordinary, hard-working farmer. "There was nothing really to fear at all."

That night George was woken to find Armitage touching him under the blanket.

"I was asleep, there was no other way of avoiding the situation," George recalls. "It was very confusing to wake up and find a man's hand under the blanket."

Each time George was assaulted Armitage would tell him it was "normal and their little secret".

"The whole time I was not understanding why this was happening, and just perhaps this was just something that happened to all kids."

George thought about the abuse daily growing up. "I hated my life, I hated people, I didn't make any friends because I trusted nobody."

At one point George contemplated killing Armitage. Going to prison did not bother George, but he knew it would not erase the abuse.

His parents were "shocked and sickened" when they eventually found out. His wife of 17 years finds it "disgusting". At his death bed in 2013, George's father apologised for not being there for him. He replied: "You weren't there because you never knew."

In 2015, George decided he'd had enough of living with the secret. It was time to tell police. It was a nerve-wracking experience.

"It was so long ago, a lot of emotions were going through my head. Am I doing the right thing? Are they going to believe me?"

He ended up speaking with Detective Marc Boodee for a two-and-a-half hours. George says Boodee was "sincere and really wanted to help."

Armitage, who has no previous convictions, denied any offending when he was first interviewed by police. During a second interview, he admitted pulling the victim's pants down and looking at his penis.

"In explanation, the defendant stated that he agonised all his life with the size of his own penis and looked at the complainant's penis for comparison," the police summary of facts said. 

By the end of the sentencing last week George wondered if it was worth it. "It just triggered a lot of memories and it was uncomfortable," he said. "I believe I was robbed of any justice.

"Twelve months home detention is all he got and I've been living basically in a home detention myself for 38 years."

This is disgraceful! It's akin to being sent to his room. New Zealand judges are badly in need of education as to the incredible damage child sex abuse inflicts on a victim's entire life. They don't seem to get it.

Stuff contacted Armitage on Thursday. He declined to comment.

*Name changed due to suppression.

Sex abuse victims forgive offender at 'remarkable' meeting

ANDY JACKSON/STUFF

Terrence Solomon Martin, 41, was jailed for 11 years and six months for child sex abuse when he appeared in court on Friday.

Two people sexually molested as young children have shown their abuser compassion and forgiveness, something a sentencing judge has described as "remarkable".

Justice Susan Thomas made the comments at Friday's sentencing of Terrence Solomon Martin, who was jailed for 11 and a half years for the sexual abuse of three children, who were aged between 6 and 15 years at the time of the offending.

Martin's offences, committed between 1993-2001, included representative charges of  sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection, indecency with a boy and attempted rape.

​As a tearful Martin left the dock to begin his jail term, two men performed a haka for him as he was taken away. It was later described by one of the men as giving Martin the strength he needed to continue in his counselling and rehabilitation in order to break the cycle of abuse.

Earlier, Justice Thomas told the High Court at New Plymouth that a two-day restorative justice meeting was held behind bars in early June between Martin and two of his victims.

Prior to his sentencing, Terrence Solomon Martin met with two of his victims at a restorative justice meeting, a process the sentencing judge described as "remarkable".

During the meeting, the 41-year-old admitted to what he had done and apologised to the victims. He also spoke of his own experience of sexual abuse as a child, something which left him hurt and angry.

Martin's contrition was in complete contrast with his attitude to the offending last year.  He originally pleaded not guilty to the offending but on the day his High Court trial was due to begin, he went on the run, only to be caught by police three weeks later.

However following his arrest, he changed his pleas to guilty and agreed to meet with two of the three people he caused irrevocable harm. Despite considering being part of the meeting, the third victim chose not to attend.

Justice Thomas said that Martin's sexual abuse of his three victims, which began when the defendant was 17, had significantly damaged them.

The first victim was aged eight when he was first abused by Martin and the sexual harm continued for seven years. 

It involved kissing, forced oral sex and rape.

The second victim was abused between the ages of 6 and 11 years, when Martin indecently touched the boy and forced him to perform oral sex.

Martin's third victim was aged six when she was first assaulted by the defendant. He kissed parts of her body, forced her to perform oral sex and on repeated occasions would remove her underpants and bounce the child onto his lap.

​Justice Thomas said all three had battled emotionally for years afterwards, a toll which not only effected them, but their wider families. She said one of the victims tried to block out memories of the abuse while another turned to drugs and alcohol as a means of escape.

But despite this, two had shown Martin compassion and forgiveness. 

"Such a position is nothing short of remarkable," Justice Thomas said.

Justice Thomas said one of the victims spoke of how Martin's own disclosure of being sexually abused as a young boy helped her realise he carried the same "mental scars" she did.

Martin was given credit for his guilty pleas and his involvement in the restorative justice meeting, where he agreed to complete counselling, along with a prison based sex offenders programme.  

Justice Thomas said this needed to be balanced against the aggravating factors of the crimes, which included the vulnerability of the victims, the scale of the offending and its detrimental impact.

Crown prosecutor Cherie Clarke sought a minimum non-parole period of 50 per cent for Martin, which if granted, would have meant the defendant would have to serve half his sentence before being considered for release.

Lawyer Paul Keegan said this was not warranted and the parole board would be best placed to make a decision about Martin's return to the community.

After jailing Martin, Justice Thomas declined to impose a minimum non-parole period on Martin but advised  he would be added to the child sex offender register.

Sir John Major and Gordon Brown will give evidence to child sexual abuse inquiry

Sean O’Neill, Chief Reporter

The Times

Two former prime ministers will be called to give evidence to the public inquiry into child abuse next week as it examines the ill-treatment of children sent abroad under state-approved migration programmes.

Sir John Major and Gordon Brown are the first prominent public figures to be asked to account for the conduct of state institutions before the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.

Sir John is to give evidence about his government’s response as the scandal of how British children were abused in farm schools and church institutions in Australia emerged during the 1990s.

In 1993 he wrote to one MP stating that Britain was not responsible for the way child migrants had been treated in other countries. Sir John, who was prime minister from 1990-97, is scheduled to provide written evidence to the inquiry.

However, some participants at the inquiry, including former migrants who suffered abuse, are calling for Sir John to be called to answer questions. One source said: “Sir John did not cover anything up himself but his government sought to deny responsibility and it’s important to understand why it took that position.”

Sir John’s evidence will be heard on Thursday next week and he will be followed by Mr Brown, who was prime minister from 2007-10. In his last months in office, Mr Brown made a public apology on behalf of the government for the way thousands of child migrants had been taken from their families and sent to colonies to often brutal institutions.

Mr Brown, who will appear via videolink, told parliament in February 2010: “We are sorry they were allowed to be sent away at the time when they were most vulnerable. We are sorry that instead of caring for them, this country turned its back. And we are sorry that the voices of these children were not always heard, their cries for help not always heeded. And we are sorry that it has taken so long for this important day to come and for the full and unconditional apology that is justly deserved.”

A key focus of the inquiry will be the role of the Fairbridge Society, which had close links to the royal family, in taking children to its farm schools in Australia where they suffered physical and sexual abuse, hard labour and neglect. Child migration to Australia ended in 1970.

The inquiry, led by Alexis Jay, said yesterday it had sought access to the royal archive before sessions examining the role of Fairbridge, which is now part of the Prince’s Trust, later this week. The inquiry, which was set up by Theresa May in 2014, is running 13 separate investigations into institutional responses to abuse. The examination of the child migration programmes is its first strand to have public hearings and the sessions are scheduled to last for a fortnight.