The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care looked at what happened to children, young people and vulnerable adults in State and faith-based care in Aotearoa New Zealand between the years 1950–99.
The final report of the Abuse in Care – Royal Commission of Inquiry has now been released. The report can be read on the Commission’s website here.
We acknowledge the courage and strength of those Old Boys who described the abuse that they experienced at Christ’s College to the Commission. We have had direct contact with all of those who gave evidence to the Commission and apologised to them.
We fully accept the content and findings of the report as it relates to Christ’s College and support all the recommendations the Commission has made to keep the most vulnerable people in our society safe from abuse and to establish a meaningful redress scheme.
All our Old Boys should have been safe from harm whilst at College. Sadly, this was not the case. We apologise to any Old Boy who experienced abuse whilst in our care. We invite any survivors of abuse to contact us. Our Historical Abuse Complaints Policy can be found here.
We will continue to recognise our Old Boy survivors for what they went through.
Talking to College about your experience
If you would like to talk about your own experiences at Christ’s College please contact Board Chair Hugh Lindo. Hugh can be reached on 027 711 7171, email at email hidden; JavaScript is required or you can write to him c/- Christ’s College, Private Bag 4900, Christchurch 8140 and marking the envelope ‘Confidential for the attention of Hugh Lindo.’
If you would prefer not to contact Hugh or have direct contact with College about your experiences, you can contact our independent facilitator, Mark Wells. You can reach Mark directly via email at email hidden; JavaScript is required or write to our address (as above) and marking the envelope ‘Confidential for the attention of Mark Wells.’
A support group for Old Boys
A support group for Old Boys who are survivors of abuse has been established by Jim Goodwin, also an Old Boy, who is experienced in running groups that help survivors of abuse. Jim has worked in mental health for many years. We are very grateful to Jim for creating a forum that can support survivors in this way.
The support group will operate independently from Christ’s College under Jim’s guidance. Its purpose is to provide a safe environment where Old Boy survivors can discuss their experiences. If you are interested in finding out more about this group, please contact Jim directly to see if this support group is suitable for you. Jim can be contacted at email hidden; JavaScript is required or on 021 167 9488.