ACC’s changes to therapy for survivors of sexual violence have been a huge success, according to ACC rep Peter Jansen.
Phew, no need to worry then, and that 6 month review Minister Nick “the needs of the victim are paramount” Smith promised us will no doubt show clinical best practise is keeping victims safe.
Fertile ground for a Tui ad, methinks.
Because ACC Southern Manager Karen Walsh told the Fairlie Lions Club last week that it was ACC policy to reduce the number of Sensitive Claims.
Since ACC are not pouring any money into stopping sexual abuse before it happens, the only way to do that is to make it harder for survivors to get therapy.
The reality of the new funding regime is that there are longer delays in assessment from ACC, going back to May this year, as the Sensitive Claims Unit began gearing up for the changes. There are horror stories from all over the country, like the woman raped on a psychiatric ward turned down for ACC counselling because she already had a mental health issue.
No services at all in some parts of the country because ACC registered counsellors have resigned rather than work under this unethical regime.
Sexual violence agencies that support survivors facing huge funding cuts, and resulting job losses, because the people they are seeing are no longer eligible for ACC support.
Survivors say that therapy saves lives. So stopping access to therapy? Those defending this new pathway for ACC – in full knowledge of the problems a hugely united sexual violence intervention sector is communicating – have no integrity at all.
LudditeJourno 