The Quarter Million

Guest writer

The Quarter Million is The Spinoff's series on the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. It’s believed as many as a quarter of a million children and young people were abused and neglected by state and faith-based institutions between 1950 and 1999.

‘There was no respect or effort to recognise me for who I was’

‘There was no respect or effort to recognise me for who I was’

Lusi spent five years at the Kimberley Centre in Levin, experiencing neglect, alienation from her Sāmoan heritage and a sense of entrapment which has inspired a lifetime of seeking expression and freedom.

By The Quarter Million | 17th May, 2023

‘We didn’t know what was ahead of us, but we knew it wasn’t good’

‘We didn’t know what was ahead of us, but we knew it wasn’t good’

Tupua Urlich was five when he and his sister were put in a van and driven away from their distraught mother. Years of abuse followed.

By The Quarter Million | 3rd May, 2023

‘After shock therapy I would vomit and cry and beg them not to do it again’

‘After shock therapy I would vomit and cry and beg them not to do it again’

Being openly gay in the 1970s led to Joan Bellingham receiving 12 years of shock therapy and psychiatric hospitalisation.

By The Quarter Million | 19th April, 2023

‘We all had something snatched away from us that you can never get back’

‘We all had something snatched away from us that you can never get back’

As boys, Mike and his two brothers were all victims of their local parish priest. They kept the abuse secret for decades – even from each other.

By The Quarter Million | 5th April, 2023