A group representing some survivors of abuse claims the estimated number of people abused while in care is well off the mark.
Survivors need to see action before they truly trust the Royal Commission, one of their representatives says.
Photo: RNZ
It says of the 655,000 young people in care between 1950 and 2019 nearly 40 percent were abused, about a quarter of a million young people.
The Royal Commission said the true figure of historical abuse in care would never be known because of large gaps and deficiencies in the data collected at the time - and the 250,000 figure may be conservative.
The Network of Survivors of Abuse in faith based care is putting the number close to 400,000.
250,000 estimated to have been abused in state and faith-based care Andrew Mcrae
It has been estimated that up to a quarter of a million children, young people and vulnerable adults were abused in state and faith-based care between 1950 and 2019.
The findings have been released by the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care.
Of 655,000 in care during the period, it is estimated up to 40 percent were abused.
An equal number, about 254,000 were in either social welfare care or church-based care (31 percent).
There were 102,000 (12 percent) in school care and 212,000 (26 percent) in health and disability care.
The exploitation peaked in the 1970s with up to 48,000 victims in that decade
THE DETAIL/RNZ
In this episode of The Detail podcast, RNZ talks to Aaron Smale, who has spent five years tracking down and reporting stories of state care abuse. (First published October 2020)
As many as 655,000 children went through different care institutions between 1950 and last year, and up to 39 per cent of them could have been abused, the Royal Commission on Abuse in Care will say in one of three reports to be presented to Parliament today. They are the first of a series of reports from the commission, which was established in 2018 to respond to calls from survivors and their advocates for an independent inquiry into the institutionalisation and abuse of children, a large majority of them Māori.