protesting for a good cause

Good protests against the changes to ACC for abuse survivors.

"At least eight survivors of chronic childhood sexual abuse joined 170 people in a rally at Auckland's Albert Park, followed by a march to the city's ACC branch. Others marched in Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin."

"The changes, taking effect from October 27, require sexual abuse victims to be diagnosed with a mental illness under the US Diagnostic and Statistical Manual Version 4."

There is no doubt that using this new system will make it harder for survivors to get help and heal. And this, it seems to me is part of the privatisation process.

"North Shore psychotherapist Christine Hatcher, on her first march since the 1981 Springbok tour, said she would not take any more ACC-funded clients because it was against her code of ethics "to put survivors of sexual abuse through more trauma than they have already been through".



Dr Gudrun Frerichs, also from the North Shore, said that in 20 years of psychotherapy she had never been wrong in assessing whether a client would get ACC funding for sexual abuse counselling - until a tightening in the past three or four months.


"Now I can't say whether someone will get funding or not," she said. "You have to wait for ACC. It might take up to six months for a decision."

Support when it is needed the most is the answer - not trying to reduce the support given to these very brave people who survive this terrible offending.