Source: Radio New Zealand
The woman said she lodged a complaint in 2023 about abuse that happened 30 years ago. Women’s Refuge
A woman who complained to the Teaching Council about being sexually abused by a former teacher says its investigation was badly handled and traumatic.
The woman RNZ agreed to call Ellen said she lodged a complaint in 2023 about abuse that happened 30 years ago at a secondary school and is backing recent calls for an overhaul of the organisation’s treatment of victims.
Ellen said her interaction with the council’s investigators was badly handled and traumatic.
She contacted RNZ after a critical review of the council highlighted gaps in its treatment of victims, including lack of specific training for working with the victims of abuse.
Ellen said the secondary school teacher she complained about was no longer registered as a teacher but she wanted to ensure he never worked with children again.
She said the council’s Complaints Assessment Committee – which makes an initial investigation of complaints about teachers – decided her case should proceed to a full Disciplinary Tribunal hearing.
But on the day that was the deadline to confirm if she wanted to go ahead with a hearing, Ellen told RNZ her experience with the council made her reluctant to go further.
“I went into this process to try and protect other kids. And I feel like I failed them. I feel like I failed the kids in my community by not seeing this through. But at the same time, I don’t know how much more I’ve got to give,” she said.
Ellen said she decided to proceed to a hearing but the investigation of her complaint was poorly handled.
“To be honest, the whole process has been really traumatic right from that first contact,” she said.
“I submitted my complaint online and I was phoned at work asking for his address and details to complete their form. Now I’ve moved cities to get away from all of this and I don’t want to know anything about him and I was really shocked that was the first sort of interaction that I had.
“Another example is I was randomly emailed photos to confirm where the abuse occurred. Imagine when you’re just going about your day and this pops up in your email, seeing the photos of where the worst things in your life have happened. I think anybody would understand that it’s very traumatising.”
Praise for police
Ellen said the behaviour of the council’s investigator was in sharp contrast to police, who investigated but decided not to lay charges, and the Accident Compensation Corporation which agreed she had been abused and qualified for support.
She said police were sympathetic and supportive and made it clear what would happen with her evidence, where it would be stored, and who would have access to it.
She said none of that was true of the Teaching Council.
Ellen said in the past four years she had been interviewed 10 times by three different agencies about the abuse she suffered.
She said they needed to find a way of sharing evidence so victims were not re-traumatised by repeated interviews about their abuse.
“You can’t move on with your life when you’re constantly reliving the worst thing that happened,” she said.
Ellen said she understood that if she agreed to continue to a tribunal hearing it would hear the evidence she gave police so she would not have to repeat that.
However, the former teacher’s lawyer would be allowed to cross-examine her.
“Given the interactions that I’ve had with the Teaching Council today, I don’t feel safe that my interests will be looked after in that setting,” she said.
She said the council needed to improve because its role investigating complaints was particularly critical in cases where there was no conviction or prosecution.
“When you’re talking about very serious crimes against children with potentially long-term jail sentences, the threshold for conviction is really high and subsequently, the threshold at which police can prosecute, where they’re confident that they can go ahead and secure a conviction, is very high,” she said.
“For historical cases like mine, where there’s no digital record or physical evidence, that can be really difficult.
“Then this leaves the teaching council as the only quasi-legal body who can prevent predators from being allowed to work with children again. That’s why I made my complaint to them.”
She said the Teaching Council’s approach felt weighted in favour of teachers.
“All of my interactions corresponding to the Teaching Council focused heavily on principles of natural justice and fair treatment of the teacher when their focus should absolutely be on how can we eliminate abuse from our profession,” she said.
Ellen said the council’s investigations should be faster, it should be absolutely clear about what happened with sensitive evidence, and it should be able to use evidence provided to other agencies so victims were protected from repeating their testimony.
“Ultimately, we need that coordinated approach. How can we stop victims and survivors from having to give evidence multiple times to different government agencies,” she said.
Ellen said she was gutted when she saw reports about the independent review of the council, but also relieved because it proved she was not imagining her experience.
“It’s too late to change what happened to me, but I’m trying to make it less hard for… the people to come after [me].”
Council responds
The council told RNZ it acknowledged the courage it took for survivors to come forward, particularly where allegations were historical.
It said its investigators were assigned to cases based on the complexity of the file.
“Investigators assigned to complex cases have experience in trauma-related practice. Where possible our investigators do seek to rely on information and documentation already provided by other agencies,” it said.
The council said it had a dedicated contact pathway for historic allegations, including a specific phone line (0800 002 458) and support information for people affected by sexual harm.
“We recognise concerns raised publicly about timeliness, and complainant experience. We are prioritising strengthening our complainant engagement and communications,” it said.
The council said if a teacher was convicted for child abuse, that would result in the teacher’s registration being immediately cancelled.
“If a disciplinary case was undertaken following a conviction, it would normally be presented on the basis of the evidence heard at the criminal court.”
“We encourage anyone with concerns about a teacher to come forward and contact us. Our priority is safeguarding children and young people and maintaining trust and confidence in the profession.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
