Dear Theresa,
I wanted to send you this message which outlines the seriousness of the issue we are involved in investigating. Deborah met with us here at my home several times and helped us put together our second documentary with TVNZ on the issue. We have the support of leading experts in the various fields in the World. Psychology , Forensic Psychiatry , Forensic Pathology. This is a small piece of a gigantic conspiracy to destroy our Families. I feel that you could become a valuable member of our Team if you wanted to help in some way. Our struggle for truth and justice has defined us as individuals but has come at a huge personal cost .
Hope it doesn't frighten you away. I wanted you to know so that you can decide. With your gentle , compassionate heart I know that you could be of comfort to many people.
Hope you had a lovely day
Love and light
Alan
Wednesday, 12 May 2004
DEBORAH CODDINGTON (ACT):
What I am about to say will shock this House.Every member should be ashamed of what happened. This Government and the last Government have ignored a dreadful scandal. In 1987 three little girls went to the Glenelg Health Camp in Christchurch. They were put in the care of the State. Their parents trusted their children to the care of the
State. A State employee sexually abused these little girls, and no Government has ever done anything except sweep this scandal under the carpet.
The Ministry of Health employed a medical officer of health, Dr Diane Espie, to work at the health camp. Without the parents' permission, and with no other adult present, Dr Espie repeatedly examined these little girls in a way that can only be described as sexual abuse. She inserted swabs into their vaginas. She measured their vaginas with tape measures, not once, not twice, but over and over again. She kept saying to these little girls: "This is what your fathers do to you, isn't it?". One little girl says that Dr Espie rubbed her breasts, and when the little girl cried Dr Espie slapped her and said she was having a bad day.
That was child abuse, but, worse, this doctor convinced the Department of Social Welfare that these girls were being sexually abused by their fathers. The girls were not allowed home to their families until their mothers agreed to separate from their husbands. The police investigated these men and found there was not a shred of evidence that they had sexually abused their daughters. These families have been destroyed. One of the girls, whom I am in contact with now, is a very, very damaged young lady. She was put into foster care. She was abused in foster care. She lived on the streets from the age of 11. Eventually, she found her way back to her father. These people have fought for 17 years for justice, for someone to just stand up and say "I'm sorry.", and for Dr Espie to be accountable. Nothing has ever been done by any Government, despite letters written by Helen Clark and Phil Goff, letters to Katherine O'Regan and Peter Gresham.
In 1987 the Cartwright inquiry was appalled that vaginal swabs were taken from stillborn female fetuses without parental consent. This situation is worse because no Government has been appalled by it. Why did not any one care about these families? I believe that if Dr Espie was a male doctor, she would have been brought to justice and she might well be in jail now. She might well be innocent, but she needs to be brought to an inquiry, which I have asked this House to instigate. I ask members of this House to imagine for one moment that their children had gone off to a health camp with minor health problems and never come home to their families again, and that they had been sexually examined without parental consent. How would fathers feel being accused of sexually abusing their daughters? How would mothers feel being forced to break up their families so that they can keep their children? The State has enormous power. It has huge powers. It has abused its power in this case, and the State can try to do something to put it right. The State has been so wrong, and I implore the Minister of Justice to act on my letter and my petition to do something for these families.
6 comments:
Oh BAD DADDY - banned from Kiwiblog?
Your friend Roger Nome sends his commiserations. But we look forward to hearing from you as "John" and "Spiny Norman".
Yoo hoo... have you been nice to James Sleep?
My partner Shannon was there in 1987 for 9 month and then was taken in to state care . How do we get any info on this place id like to help him
If this is the Glenelg healthcamp that were up by the hills in chch, I went there in the early 80's, I had the worst experience that was never reported, I was sent there because I was underweight for my age under doctors orders, I was forced fed my first two nights and yes I mean force fed literally, after showers we all had to line up completely naked and wait for our clothes to be given to us, I was constantly yelled
I too was there in the early 80's, when I was 9. I hated it - the Matron and one of the female staff were really nasty. They took my own clothes away, and made me wear their donated ones & I can remember being made to stand outside the matrons office at night for at least an hour simply because I wasn't asleep when they did their rounds. Another time, because I didn't finish changing my sheets and making my bed in the allocated 2 minutes, I had to run 100 laps from the kitchen up the long driveway to the school and round the tennis court! From what I've read, I got off quite lucky compared to others.
I also went there in 1977 and it was probably like most places, a few bad eggs. I do remember them being very strict with some nasty older matrons but also some good ones. I recall one night I was made to go to bed with some big tablet on my tongue poking out and of course being 12 I never thought too much about it but now I always wondered what a pill sitting on a tongue could ever do!! I have never heard of so much crap and wish I had the guts to question it. The only thing I can come up with is they may have thought I was going to talk to much during the night. We also were made to have a 1 hour "nap" on Saturday afternoon which I found also rather odd.
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