Last night I hosted a public meeting on changes to ACC. One of the speakers was Eric Medcalf from the NZ Association of Psychotherapists. He gave an impassioned speech that showed how the changes are not only contrary to the principles of ACC but also risk re-victimising survivors of sexual abuse. The changes include requiring a full psychiatric diagnosis of mental illness and reducing treatment hours. As Eric said
When ACC insist that all new claimants must have a full psychiatric assessment and a diagnosis of mental illness they are raising the bar to help for many thousands of people, women, children and men, who have suffered sexual abuse as children, or been sexually assaulted as adults. They are saying “prove to us you are mentally ill before we will give you any help”. This is insulting to victims of sex crimes.
If you want to read the full text of Eric’s speech here it is.
the problem here is this .. rape is NOT an accident and should have nothing to do with ACC.
Why is there not another path available for these victims to have access to?
I think it’s very cruel and I can’t believe they’re doing this to the victims.
{deleted. offensive. final warning, Grant}
SHG, there is a difference between being traumatised and having that misery poison your existence and having an actual mental illness. And yes you can be debilitated by sexual abuse without actually having a mental illness and therefore should receive the counselling.
I don’t think that people go along with tall stories just to get counselling, people go along because there are hurt and need it. This sickens me to the core.
jabba, mugging is not an accident, but ACC will still cover you if you get deliberately beaten. why should victims of sexual abuse be treated any differently?
Believe me, I would rather not go to counselling. I would much prefer that the taxpayer didn’t have to help me by paying for it. I certainly don’t want to take a day off every week to process horrible memories and the effects they’ve had on my life. It is not fun and it is not something I do because I enjoy the attention or because I like spending taxpayers’ money. But the fact is that I need counselling to help me live up to my potential and to become a fully-functioning member of this society. In the meantime, my life isn’t really worth living. All I can say is thank you to those who pay their taxes without criticising or judging those who need state-funded help. No thanks to ACC, whose administrative and diagnostic requirements have made this an even more difficult process than it needs to be.
stargazer .. rape and sexual abuse victims need all the support we can give .. don’t get me wrong here.
My point was about it being an ACC issue.
Your point about muggers victims getting compo is valid.
AJ has pointed out the amount of formal stuff you go through with ACC.
These people need some other sort of support that does NOT put more stress on them. THERE MUST BE a better way.
can’t we just make it easier and announce that victims of sexual abuse should be given some dignity and have the health system pay for proper treatment for victims of sexual abuse? Acc is too political, let’s stop playing football with these people and pay for it from health.
It’s wrong that a victim of sexual abuse now will have to prove that they have a mental illness first before getting any help from ACC, whereas the offender once in custody and given an AT RISK INTERVIEW can immediately get professional help from the state , this proves that national does not care about all kiwis.
Mel .. that would be great
I think the health system thing is a good idea, but sure these people also deserve monetary compensation for all their suffering.
“rape is NOT an accident”
A person doesn’t get raped on purpose. Nor is it an illness. I don’t see what other category it would fall into.
As stargazer says, mugging also is not an accident. An eye gouge in rugby isn’t an accident. Medical misadventure is not necessarily an accident. Asbestosis is an illness, not an accident. Murder is not an accident.
If you want to say rape should have nothing to do with ACC because the raper did it on purpose, you could disqualify an awful lot of other things.
hey guys, don’t rise to jabba’s nonsense, just ignore him. He demonstrates his ignorance by being unaware that ACC has long covered injuries, not accidents. Or maybe he knows this but is just trying to waste our time. Either way, pay no attention, it only encourages him.
excuse me Dorothy BUT what I have said is far better for the vitim that what you are saying.
I hope you ARE NOT implying I don’t care about these people.
A rape victim needs special suuport and I have dealt with ACC before and it was an unpleasent thing to go through.
Re nonsence/ignorance .. HOW RUDE .. mmmm mirror?
Great initiative Grant, I’m also interested to know what the other salient points were raised on the night?
Any comment on the wider insurance implications for those following diagnosis?
A win/win for the big insurance companies – create lots of tight hoops for people to squeeze through, increase the premiums, deny claims on spurious ‘pre-existing conditions’ and continue to bully a vulnerable community…
There are many issues to consider in this debarcal.
1. ACC are not broke. I have seen studies done on where the money goes and far more money goes into administration costs than in claims. They have to many pen pushers sitting behind a desk causing harm to people earning well over $100,00 (just like housing NZ and many other government organisations including MP’s – all feathering their own nests) Its greed. Its about money not people as they keep saying its not about money….of course its about money. They bought shares in Lion breweries (how ironic is that – someone gets drunk has a accident and those involved get ACC coverage)!!! What a mess!!! The reason they are complaining about losing money is because their shares plummetted in the recession. What are they doing buying shares and making money out of the tax payers so they can sit pretty behind their desks. Excess money should be put back into the community. To non profit organisations who are helping victims of crime, of accidents, of muggings or sexual abuse. That excess money should be put into awareness of child sexual assault and voilence. maybe if the government did something about sexual assault and violence they wouldn’t have so many claimants.
2. I have been a tax payer all my life, so have my friends, husband, his parents and mine. So has your family and friends. If something happened to you or a loved one don’t you think you are entitled to compensation. Help to regain your life. Someone close to you could walk down the road tomorrow and be raped. That could totally wreck the rest of her life. Don’t you think that you would want you tax paying to be put into that loved one.
3. They are blaming counsellors etc for feathering their own nests and keeping clients in therapy. This has not been my experience at all. Community Mental Health kept me sick for 16 years. Counsellors etc walked beside me and kept me alive – thank goodness because after alot of help from my GP, counsellors and close friends (and of course God having a hand on my life) I am coming to the end of my traumatic childhood issues. But yes I am at the end and just need about another year of help to pay for my counselling and then I will be finished. But I am scared that is going to get axed too. For the past 2 years I have been studying so that I can give back…. so I can get a decent job and walk beside others that need help. This government has axed the training incentive allowance now which means I cannot go down the path I wanted to as I don’t have the funds. This government have axed funds into tertiary institutions too so fees will be going up and more people are losing jobs. I am applying for a job where I can be a peer support worker and walk beside other to help them regain their life back. I will study part time which will take me longer which means I will be sitting on my benefit longer. What a mess.
Oh man I have so much to write here but have run out of time. I am fighting these cuts and go see a Nat MP on monday. come on NZ join in the fight. If I can do you can.
Eric Medcalf celebrates 1967 as being the year of Cream/Sgt Pepper and the Woodhouse Committee. Unfortunately his speech on ACC changes is a “Strange Brew”…for Medcalf s lemming-like and blinkered vision of his own profession as being “skilled and experienced” (while Psychiatry lacks “training in diagnostic procedures”is ludicrous!Didnt his namesake “Eric” holler “What a fool are you!”
Just recently I was violently raped by a Black Power member, (drug raped), just sitting in a pub having a drink). Has causd me a lot of trauma and is affecting my life quite a lot. Now have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I had some counselling from ACC, but just stopped recently, because too stressful. I am now making a Claim for compensation. From reading different blogs, it sounds like ACC assessors are liars and have no compassion for anyone. Is this true? Just wanting someone to talk to, as I don’t know a lot about this and wondering if it is worth the stress of going ahead with this claim.