NEW ZEALAND
TVNZ
[with video]
Emily Cooper
ONE News Reporter
Grant West was a victim of sexual abuse as a boy and for the past month he has spent his time travelling New Zealand to collect signatures.
His petition, presented to MPs today, asks for a Royal Commission into the handling of historic child sexual abuse.
“I’m 54 now and I’m living with this every day – I have nightmares at night, I have flashbacks,” Mr West said.
It’s estimated that one in three girls and one in six young boys experience some sort of unwanted sexual advance before their 16th birthday – and most don’t report it.
In Australia, Mr West helped push for the establishment of a Royal Commission into child sex abuse, and campaigners say a New Zealand inquiry could be similar, as the same sort of abuse occurred here.
The government insists that the situation in New Zealand is under control, with different reporting procedures in place to address historic abuse.
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