NEW ZEALAND
Stuff
EMILY SPINK
May 3 2016
A Hollywood film has prompted new disclosures of historical sexual abuse suffered at the hands of religious officials in New Zealand.
Thirty new clients sought the services and support of the Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse Trust following the release of Oscar-winning best picture Spotlight.
The film told the true story of a team of journalists from the Boston Globe, who exposed a cover-up of sexual abuse within the Catholic clergy through their Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation.
Trust manager and national advocate Ken Clearwater said the male victims of officials from various religions thought nobody would believe them, so they had not disclosed the abuse that happened to them years earlier.
“The sad part for me about Spotlight, is that people think ‘oh yeah that’s in America’, but it’s exactly the same here in New Zealand. We’ve got this view that things aren’t as bad, but the damage that these priests have done in NZ is just as bad as anywhere else in the world.”
The new clients came from across the country and included a former pupil of St Patrick’s College in Silverstream, Upper Hutt, where disgraced Catholic priest Alan Woodcock had taught.
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