First Psychiatrists Tortured Children, Then the State and the College of Psychiatrists Failed Them…

RANZCP’s Trite “Apology” to the Lake Alice Survivors
A “weak, pathetic waste of words,” one victim called it

In June 2022, New Zealand police confirmed they had identified 136 former patients of the now-closed psychiatric facility, Lake Alice hospital, who had received electroshock (electroconvulsive therapy or ECT) without anesthetic as punishment. This was the third police investigation into allegations of child abuse at Lake Alice’s child and adolescent unit which operated in the 1970s under psychiatrist, the late Dr. Selwyn Leeks.[1]

The police confirmation of the boys’ subjection to electroshock brutality came 46 years after the assault was first exposed by Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) in New Zealand and the Auckland Committee on Racism and Discrimination (ACORD). As later discovered, children’s genitals were part of the electroshock torture, which Leeks passed off as “therapy.”

At a NZ Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State Care in 2021, police apologized for their shortcomings in the matter.[2] The first police investigation was in 1978, the second in 2002, which concluded in 2010. The third was started in 2020 after the United Nations found New Zealand in breach of the Convention Against Torture. [3]

No apology was forthcoming from the Royal Australian and NZ College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) until June 2022, when it issued a paltry “Statement on the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care – New Zealand.” The hint of an apology was appallingly inadequate. The strongest comment the group conveyed to the victims was: “The College expresses its regret for the pain, suffering and loss. We are deeply sorry.” It noted that survivors had been “receiving psychiatric ‘treatments’ that were ineffective, harmful, unethical and traumatizing.”[4] It failed to even mention the now deceased Selwyn Leeks, a former member of the College, who was the perpetrator of the abuse.

Lake Alice survivor Leoni McInroe responded that she felt “sickened and insulted” by the College’s statement.  “The ‘footnote apologies’ offered up in their news releases to the children of Lake Alice continue to diminish and minimize the voices, the stories, the harrowing experiences the children of Lake Alice were subjected to. It is utterly shameful.”[5]

The college refused to be “authentically transparent, honest about their shepherding Dr. Leeks to his grave, protecting him from the accountability of the enormous trauma and harm he has caused,” she added. Another survivor, Malcolm Richards, dismissed the apology as a “weak, pathetic waste of words.” Paul Zentveld, whose complaint to the United Nation’s Committee Against Torture was upheld in 2019, pointed out that the college isn’t off the hook regarding accountability.[6]

Indeed, as journalist David Williams compellingly reported on July 6, 2022, the apology was done “quietly, almost furtively, without approaching survivors or advocacy groups, who called for an apology last year.”[7]

Even the Crown, which repeatedly failed the Lake Alice victims, admitted to the Royal Commission, as Solicitor General Una Jagose put it, that what happened to children in the Lake Alice psychiatric hospital was criminal.

Journalist Aaron Smale reported, “As Jagose admitted in convoluted legalese, it was written and recorded by the state’s own employees in its own documents. The perpetrators had recorded their own crimes in documents held by the state.” [8]  Further, “Dr Leeks was using treatment methods to punish and attempt to modify behavior in a way that the Crown then, and still, thought was unacceptable, an unacceptable way to treat those children….”

The College’s use of quotation marks around the word “treatment” of the Lake Alice patients implied that what the children received didn’t reflect psychiatric therapy. But psychiatrists did consider the torture of these boys as legitimate treatment in the 1970s. In 1977, several members of the college advised two government inquiries that electroshock given without anesthetic and muscle relaxant (to prevent bones being broken), known as unmodified electroshock, was justified in certain situations and was “painless.”[9] In a hearing held in 1977, doctors assured the magistrate that “there is instant loss of consciousness when the current is applied, and that when the patient recovers consciousness he cannot remember receiving the treatment.”[10] The 2021 Royal Commission heard evidence of the opposite.

In 1977, psychiatrist David Gilmore McLachlan, a Fellow of the RANZCP, was asked by police to review the files of Lake Alice-treated children. In response, McLachlan sent a confidential memo to deputy police commissioner Bob Walton, which amounted to a “staunch defense of Leeks and his methods and that allegations against Leeks and his staff were unsubstantiated,”as David Williams described it.[11] Because Leeks thought the “newly advocated technique” was appropriate and justified, McLachlan concluded, “his motive in using it with intended therapeutic benefit cannot justifiably be censured.”[12]  [Emphasis added]

Even more egregious, McLaughlin blamed the children and adolescents, labeling them as “therapeutically recalcitrant, and morale-destroying,” who “would readily ‘gang up’ against authority.”[13]

Leeks, who died in January 2022, was considered unfit to stand trial in 2021 over the criminal abuse of the children due to dementia, although there was enough evidence to charge him, police said.[14] Indeed, he should have been charged in the 70s, but police were blunted in their investigations.

More than 40 years too late, the RANZCP apologized only for: “our failure as a group of doctors to have acted to prevent” the abuse at Lake Alice and “We condemn any unacceptable behavior by individual psychiatrists.” Unacceptable? Leeks tortured children and teens’ genitals! Failure to prevent? How about owning up to the fact that its members could have helped get Leeks and any accomplices brought to trial in the 1970s?  When association members testified before or advised two government inquiries in 1977, it seems the torture was mitigated as treatment, even if considered “unnecessary.” There is no recognition of this in the statement the RANZCP issued in 2022.

David Williams wrote: “The hundreds of youngsters admitted to the unit were often troubled but not always mentally ill. They were certainly traumatized when they left, by being trapped in a state-run facility where electrocution as punishment was routine, seclusion was standard, and sexual abuse rife.”

“Juxtapose the torturous regime against the college’s jarring apology, and you can understand the heated reaction” from the survivors.[15]

Much attention has been given to the NZ government’s failure to protect the Lake Alice children who were often under State care. But it was psychiatrists who were advising them and the police and let’s not forget, the evilest character in all of this was Selwyn Leeks, a member of the RANZCP.

Thirty-one of the 136 boys tortured, according to police records, are now dead! They’ll never see justice.

When the United Nations Charter was drafted in 1945, New Zealand was one of the countries that successfully lobbied for human rights to be included.[16] It played a prominent role in the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which includes Article 5 that no one should be subjected to “torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” With this history, the right thing to have done in the 1970s—and in subsequent years—was to have thoroughly admonished the RANZCP members for their punitive role at Lake Alice as well as those who were apologists for it.

In 2001, NZ High Court Judge Sir Rodney Gallen produced a Lake Alice survivors’ compensation report for the government, describing ECT as “administered not as a therapy in the ordinary sense of that word, but as a punishment.”[17] Behind the safety of the NZ government apologizing and paying a paltry NZ$6.5 million in ex gratia payments to 95 Lake Alice patients, RANZCP said an investigation was needed into Leeks’ involvement in giving shock treatment to children. It stated at the time, “This is the only way we will ever achieve a satisfactory resolution to this matter; for the former ‘patients’ first and foremost, but also for the doctor concerned and for the profession.[18] [Emphasis added]

There was no public apology from the College, despite its executive director Craig Patterson finally admitting in a 20/20 interview that what occurred at Lake Alice was “torture.” He further stated: “It is terror. And this college certainly, this organization and its fellowship, absolutely distances itself from that form of behavior. Electric shocks, for the purposes of getting children to modify behavior, are not medicine. “It is not psychiatry, it is unacceptable.”[19]

Nor did any investigation take place. Instead, the New Zealand government put out a call for any other victims of the Lake Alice ill-treatment to come forward. An additional 103 people did so and a further NZ$6.3 million was paid out, bringing the total to NZ$12.8 million to 198 survivors. The average payment was around $60,000 per person—an appallingly inadequate amount for victims of psychiatric torture.

But it was psychiatry, as evidenced by psychiatric reports to the police in 1977, that helped exonerate Leeks. And the College made no reference to torture in its recent “apology.”

Even up to 2002, the RANZCP opposed the right for mental health consumers to initiate proceedings against psychiatrists before the country’s Human Rights Tribunal. In a submission to the Health Select Committee on the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Bill, the College said this was because, “…psychiatrists tend to have many patients who, as a result of their illness, feel suspicious, aggrieved and persecuted…” which the College envisioned could cause prolonged proceedings.[20] [Emphasis added] To add further insult, the College attributed complaints against psychiatrists are due to the patient’s “mental illness,” not the ill-treatment they received!

It is no small wonder that in 2021, former UN Special Rapporteur Dainius Pūras told the Psychiatric Times. “…the problem of accountability in global mental health and psychiatry remains very serious.” Further, “The most worrying feature of psychiatry is that the leadership, under influence of hard-liners, tends to label those experts who blow the whistle and critically address the status quo as anti-psychiatrists… if influential psychiatrists continue to repeat that values are not a priority in mental healthcare, we should not be surprised that global mental health and global psychiatry is facing a crisis, which to a large extent is a moral crisis, or a crisis of values.”[21]

CCHR NZ filed reports about Lake Alice with the UN Committee on Torture (UNCAT) in 2010 and 2012. RANZCP didn’t.

In December 2019, the UN found NZ breached the Convention against Torture in Lake Alice abuse allegations. This was in response to a complaint filed in 2017 by CCHR on behalf of Lake Alice survivor, Paul Zentveld.[22]

The case was extremely significant. Law Professor Kris Gledhill told Aaron Smale from Newsroom that in international law, torture is one of the most serious crimes. “There is an international justice element to this…One of the very few rights that is absolute is that torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment is never permitted.”[23]

Yet, the RANZCP remained silent.

A second formal complaint was filed to the UNCAT by Lake Alice survivor, Malcolm Richards. The Committee’s findings in June 2022 said his claim met the threshold of torture and was highly critical of the NZ State for not upholding their obligations under the Convention and conducting proper investigations into the Lake Alice psychiatric unit.[24]

Once again, the State was reprimanded but psychiatrists seemed to “get away with it.”

Even the Medical Council of NZ in June 2021 issued a “rare apology” to survivors of Lake Alice for failing to act on allegations of serious abuse. Despite the complaints about the conduct of Dr. Leeks, the Medical Council never took action. The first complaint was made by a survivor in 1977. More than 40 years later, an apology to the survivors was made: “The Medical Council acknowledges the hurt that you have experienced and apologizes for any actions that the Medical Council of the time should have taken but did not,” deputy CEO Aleyna Hall said.[25]  The Medical Council made the apology before the Royal Commission, stating, “Although small, it is valuable, it is an apology.”[26]

Not valuable enough! CCHR calls for a far greater meaningful apology.[27]

And again, the RANZCP remained silent.

Psychiatric Abuse Went Beyond Torture to Rape

The evidence was not just about the torture of children using electric shocks. The government also had evidence of the rape and sexual abuse of children. In a review of the Lake Alice file in 2018 police looked at how the complaints of sexual abuse had been handled in the early 2000s. Despite many of the child victims making complaints of being raped and sexually abused, none of them had been interviewed by police about the allegations, Aaron Smale reported. [28]

He further reported:

• Rangi Wickliffe gave evidence at the Royal Commission of being put into Villa 8, a unit for criminally insane adults, where he was gang-raped after being knocked out by ECT as punishment for running away. He had just turned 11. “We were surrounded by rapists and dangerous mentally ill people,” he said.
• In the 1970s, an Education Department psychologist, Iain Tennent, wrote to his boss about children being sexually assaulted by some of the most dangerous patients in Lake Alice. The document also confirmed that this was well-known among top officials at the time, including the head of mental Health, psychiatrist Stanley Mirams; Don Brown, the head psychologist in the Department of Education, and Sydney Pugmire, the superintendent of Lake Alice. Tennent wrote: “This poses to us as psychologists in the Department of Education acute ethical problems. Are we by our continued involvement in the hospital conniving at what is potentially most anti-therapeutic and perhaps criminally negligent?”
• A Crown memo reinforced that potential litigation took precedence over children’s lives: “The Crown Law Office view is that these claims present a considerable litigation risk to the Crown….”[29]

The RANZCP revered Dr. Mirams, who was its president between 1968 and 1969, stating: “His efforts on behalf of consumers were admirable and long-lasting, and in 1980 his contribution was recognized by his appointment as an Officer in the Order of the British Empire.”[30]  In light of the cover up of children being raped while he was head of mental health, that OBE should be stripped.

High-profile UN Human Rights Council and World Health Organization (WHO) reports have long condemned coercive psychiatric practices and the RANZCP could have been outspoken in support of these, exemplifying Lake Alice as an example:

• In 2013, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Mr. Juan Méndez, called for a ban on forced treatment such as electroshock.[31]
• The WHO 2021 “Guidance on Community Mental Health Services: Promoting Person-Centered and Rights-Based Approaches,” specifically highlighted how coercive psychiatric practices “are pervasive and are increasingly used in services in countries around the world, despite the lack of evidence that they offer any benefits, and the significant evidence that they lead to physical and psychological harm and even death.”[32]
• The February-April 2022 Annual Report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights report called for changes in mental health law to align with the Convention on the Rights of Person with Disabilities (CRPD) (as did the WHO Guidelines). Coercion, involuntary treatment and forced placement are incompatible with human rights, it said.[33]

Lake Alice exemplifies all this.

Ex gratia payments already given to those who survived into adulthood is as inadequate as is the College’s current “apology.” In June 2022, UNCAT recommended that the government properly compensate the survivors.[34]

A formal apology to the survivors with full disclosure is necessary. The German Association of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Neurology (DGPPN) apology is a guideline:

• In 1999 and again in 2010, the DGPPN issued a public apology, admitting psychiatrists during the Nazi era had, “laid the scientific foundations of the euthanasia program” and “observed and controlled the selection of those to be killed” and “even performed killings themselves.”[35]

• Even though the DGPPN itself did not “officially” endorse killing patients, “it is also true that it never officially condemned the practice either. There was never a single word of apology or reprimand.”

• Further, “psychiatrists and representatives of psychiatric associations, repeatedly disregarded and heinously reinterpreted their professional duty to treat and care for their patients… psychiatrists abused and killed vast numbers of people.”[36]

• Psychiatrists assessed and selected who would be killed. Among the “assessors” of the killing process were leading German psychiatrists, some of whom “held the office of President in our association during the post-war period.” Others were honorary members. “Although membership ends with the death of the individual, we condemn both these cases” and formally revoke all honors. 

In January 2021, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) publicly apologized for its long-standing role in perpetuating racism in the U.S. While insufficient, it still surpasses the RANZCP’s trite statement regarding Lake Alice.

• APA detailed how psychiatrists stereotyped African Americans as “primitive,” “savage,” and aggressive; the Association never supported civil rights legislation in the 1960s—quite the contrary, psychiatrists used it to label more African Americans with an invented “disorder,” “protest psychosis.” 

• APA admitted that psychiatrists had subjected indigenous people to “abusive treatment, experimentation, victimization in the name of ‘scientific evidence,’ along with racialized theories that attempted to confirm their [mental/intellectual] deficit status.” They supported the enforced sterilization of minorities.[37]

• This apology went back to the 1800s when African Americans were “diagnosed” with drapetomania, which theorized that Blacks who did not want to be slaves were mentally ill.

• Further, “…the APA failed to act in Black Americans’ best interest. This inactivity was notably evident while white supremacists lynched Black people….”[38]

In other words, there was some semblance of historical detail, unlike the RANZCP’s disingenuous statement.

CCHR, along with several survivors, calls on full disclosure of psychiatrists’ role in torturing—not “treating” patients—at Lake Alice and to denounce all coercive/involuntary use of ECT and coercive practices in alignment with UN human rights conventions and reports.

A much stronger psychiatric apology is needed.  Commensurate compensation for the crimes committed against the former Lace Alice children is also imperative. Indeed, the RANZCP might consider offering to help with financial relief itself for inept psychiatric action and silence. 

_______

The following is a record from which details of the current RANZCP’s apology can be seen as grossly inadequate.

1972: The Adolescent Unit at Lake Alice was opened on the grounds of Lake Alice Hospital. Dr. Sydney Pugmire was Medical Superintendent. Dr. Selwyn Leeks was seconded to the Department of Health to run it.[39] In 1976, Pugmire maintained that Leeks, the children’s unit head psychiatrist, was “really answerable to himself,” thereby attempting to divorce himself and the institution of any responsibility.[40]

1976, January 21: CCHR toured to inspect Lake Alice and spoke with boys who fearfully said ECT was used as punishment, administered for unruly behavior, disobedience and to quiet them down. They had an intense fear of electroshock. They were also given painful injections as punishment.[41]

CCHR and the Auckland Committee on Racism and Discrimination (ACORD) exposed the abuse of children at Lake Alice psychiatric hospital to media and government authorities, helping lead to the first inquiries into the allegations that electroshock and drugs were used as punishment against the children in the unit.[42] In August 1976, CCHR again toured Lake Alice and its concerns were detailed in the Wanganui Chronicle two days later.[43]

1976, July 5—1977, April 5: The NZ Ombudsman, Guy Powles, had received a complaint from the parents of a boy who was detained at Lake Alice. Based on the parents’ information and other correspondence, he determined an investigation was needed.  He contacted the Medical Superintendent of Lake Alice and Leeks.

He found that Dr. Pugmire had examined the boy (point 43 of the Inquiry report), so was fully aware of unmodified electroshock being used on the child and in the adolescent unit. The boy’s general practitioner also wrote to Pugmire about the family’s concern. (Point 45). Yet, in November 1976, Leeks ordered four additional unmodified electroshock treatments be given the boy, justifying the unmodified use, in part, because the boy didn’t like “needles.” Said Leeks, “The practice followed is that the process is explained to the child or adolescent; they are told they will be immediately unconscious and unable to feel anything, and will wake in a few minutes feeling considerably better.” (point 54) [NB: This alone is a violation of informed consent as not true. ]

The Ombudsman was concerned enough to review the consent aspect. (points 59 and 62-67) Neither the parents nor Social Welfare officers were aware the teen was being electroshocked. (point 54)

On November 29, 1976, a staff member from the Ombudsman’s office visited Lake Alice. The boy had been electroshocked again prior to the arrival of the staff: “The usual immediate after-effect of such treatment is substantial temporary loss of memory and disorientation, and indeed, it appears the boy was in a dazed and confused state when being interviewed.” He was unable to recall events and the Ombudsman considered the shock delivery was deliberate to create this effect. She did establish that he was unhappy with ECT being given against his will. (point 54.)

The Ombudsman sought opinion from the following psychiatrists and psychologists:

• • Basil James, Chairman of the Dept of Psychological Medicine at the University of Otago Medical School .
  • F. J. Roberts of Psychological Medicine at the Wellington Clinical School and Director of the Psychiatric Unit at the Wellington Hospital, found it difficult to know why ECT was administered, let alone without anesthetic (unmodified). He also commented that if it was administered because the boy was afraid of needles, “I would be very surprised indeed if the child was not also afraid of ECT.” (point 73)
  • John Werry, professor of psychiatry, Auckland University School of Medicine, glorified the use of ECT as “safe and effective.” (Point 74.1) His analogy regarding why people may fear electroshock was telling: “…if you, when angry with a child, constantly threatened that you were going to give him an ice cream if he didn’t stop misbehaving, that the ice cream would, after a while, acquire fearsome properties.” (Point 74.1)

As an apparent apologist for Leeks at the time, Werry said at Point 74.3, “I refuse to believe without substantial proof that the psychiatrist concerned here deliberately made a false diagnosis so as to be able to inflict treatment upon an unwilling patient.”

Werry justified the use of unmodified ECT: “I believe that this can be justified in situations where there is no skilled anesthetist available, when the attempt to administer anesthesia would result in a violent struggle with the patient…despite popular misconceptions, ECT is painless.” (Point 74.4) [Note: It is not painless to those subjected to i!.]

The Ombudsman determined: “It is my opinion that the course of ECT treatments administered to [the teen]…particularly the instance of unmodified ECT, fell below what I would regard as a minimum standard of desirability within the context of ‘exceptional circumstances.’” (Point 77.)

He recommended that the use of unmodified electroshock on children be discontinued (Point 80.a) and that ECT to children be “discouraged in all but exceptional circumstances and where the principles of consent have been met fully.” (Points 76 & 80.b) Legislative changes should be made to this effect, he said. (Point 80.c) [NB: In 1976, due to CCHR efforts in the U.S., California had already set the precedent of banning all ECT use, aka modified electroshock, on minors, which the Ombudsman may not have been aware of but which the RANZCP knew of and rejected.]

1976, December 1:  ACORD was approached by Lyn Fry, a Department of Education psychologist, about the mistreatment of a Niuean schoolboy, Hake Halo, at Lake Alice. On December 13, ACORD’s Ross Galbreath wrote to Social Welfare Minister Bert Walker. The first story about the case headlined ‘Boy’s shock treatment raises protest,’ appeared in the New Zealand Herald on December 15.

The testimony of Dr. Oliver Sutherland, a spokesperson for ACORD, to the 2021 royal commission indicated that at the time, he informed Dr. Stanley Mirams, who was the Director of the Mental Health Division of Ministry of Health about Lake Alice. (Mirams commissioned Gordon Vial, an Auckland lawyer and district mental health inspector, to investigate, leading to the matter being referred to police, under section 112 of the Mental Health Act, which related to the inhumane treatment of patients, although Mirams felt using electric stimuli as aversion therapy was “quite acceptable.”)

• • “I told him in particular about the enforced administration of electric shocks to children’s bodies, I said publicly and I quote, ‘If the new allegations are proved correct, the misuse of the shock treatment, the shock equipment will constitute perhaps the most appalling abuse of children in the guardianship of the State that this country has known.’”

• • “I got in touch with Dr. Sheila Godfrey at the Child Health Division of the Department of Health and Dr. McLeod at the Auckland Hospital. Then on 7 December 1976, a week after [psychologist] Lyn Fry had come to us, I rang Professor John Werry, a psychiatrist at the Auckland Medical School…[a key member of the RANZCP at the time]… I felt that by talking to him it was, in a sense, talking to the College of Psychiatrists who then might have – who he might be able to pass the information on that children of the age of 13 were being given shock treatment at Lake Alice.” [13-year-old Niuean, whose only offences were for shoplifting.]

• • He presented evidence of a boy being electroshocked [rather than commenting on the torture aspect of this] and Werry told him “ECT has a very specific indication. It is given in cases of severe depression, whereas this boy seems to be suffering from a personality disorder.” [Note: It wouldn’t matter what diagnosis the boy had, the brutal use of ECT was never warranted!][44]

1977,  January 26 – March, 18: The State announced an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the treatment of the Niuean schoolboy (Hake Halo), with the Governor-General of New Zealand, Sir Edward Denis Blundell appointing  Magistrate William Mitchell to oversee this. Hake was under the guardianship of the Director-General of Social Welfare.[45]

The terms of reference were limited, the hearing was held in secret, and it was not clear if anyone from Halo’s family was spoken to.

The inquiry was advertised in the New Zealand Herald, the Auckland Star, and the Dominion, setting out the Order in Council in full, and stating that the Commission would sit at Auckland on the 14th day of February 1977. This was a preliminary meeting to receive written submissions, which included those from CCHR and ACORD. Mrs. Janet Moore represented a group within the Values Party. Dr. James (Jim) Methven appeared for the RANZCP and Prof. Werry as an individual.[46]

The boy himself did not give evidence. The inquiry report was issued on March 18, 1977.[47]

According to the Magistrate, who did not want to investigate ECT: “In the course of the hearing there were several references to the film One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. Clearly, this film had some bearing on recent public interest in electro-convulsive therapy.” It was screened for the Magistrate in a private theater on  February 28. (Page 6)

Halo had behavioral problems and per June 1971 hospital records, “a special problem because of brain damage.” (Page 7) After a series of placements, he was admitted to Lake Alice from 6 Nov-17 Dec. 1975. (Page 14) Leeks administered ECT on November 14, 15 and 17. No one discussed this with Halo’s family or the Dept. of Social Welfare, so no consent was obtained from the guardian.  (Page 15) The teen was returned to Lake Alice February 2-August 13, 1976, and shocked five more times between March 5 and July 23. (Page 19)

The magistrate referenced CCHR’s tour of inspection of Lake Alice on 21 January 1976 and that CCHR members spoke with boys who said they were fearful of being punished because ECT was used as threatened punishment, administered for unruly behavior, disobedience and to quiet them down. They had an intense fear of electroshock. They were also given painful injections as punishment. (Page 21)

The Magistrate rejected the idea that ECT was given as punishment (despite the boys’ assertions), stating: “It is obvious that children suffering from psychotic depression, who constitute a danger to themselves or to others, are likely to behave in an unruly way and it is likely that ECT will follow that behavior.” He didn’t agree that the children had an intense fear [which the Royal Commission in 2021 heard was actually true, vindicating both the children and CCHR.] (Page 21)

The magistrate was not medically trained, yet his comments included: “With children there is less risk of fractures, because their bones are more flexible and their muscles are not developed to the same extent as with adults.  The disadvantages of the relaxant are considerable.” (Page 24) [It begs the question of which psychiatrist(s) advised him of this.]

In fact, he further stated: “Where muscle relaxant is not used, the same necessity for anesthetic does not arise. I was assured by the doctors that there is instant loss of consciousness when the current is applied, and that when the patient recovers consciousness he cannot remember receiving the treatment. Added to that there is the undoubted fact that many people, and particularly children, do not like injections. That in itself is a factor to be weighed where the anesthetic is given only for the patient’s comfort.” (Emphasis added) (Page 24)

Leeks told the inquiry that children had reacted unfavorably to an anesthetic and had “a miserable day or two where it has been used.” (Page 24) [Note: As opposed to the pain and unhappiness experienced from being electroshocked to the genitals.]

For good reason, Halo hated the ECT and wrote to his mother to have the hospital stop administering it. (Page 21)

It was likely that psychiatrists’ objections to the protests being held in support of the Lake Alice victims, prompted the magistrate’s statement critical of “protests from people with no direct interest in the case” – such as ACORD, and CCHR, which were the voice of reason for the patients and would, decades later, spearhead the successful case to a United Nations Committee Against Torture.[48]

1977, April: The Ombudsman, Sir Guy Powles, released his own report into the case, finding the boy’s detention unlawful. Shocks shouldn’t be given to a protesting patient, Powles said. (Nurse Brian Stabb told the later Royal Commission that an hour before the Ombudsman’s representative arrived at Lake Alice, Leeks “insisted” on shocking the boy in question. “As a result, [redacted] was not in a fit state to answer the questions of the representative.” After the report, Leeks called into the unit, “saying he had put his affairs in order as he was expecting to go to prison.”)[49]

The Ombudsman Inquiry denounced the use of electroshock as “not justified.” At the time, a journalist with the New Zealand Herald investigated and published articles for all New Zealanders to read, according to Dr. Sutherland of ACORD.[50]

1977, April 22: Dr. J.R. Dobson, on behalf of, and Chair of the NZ branch of the College of Psychiatrists, wrote to Dr. Janet Moor, a member of the Values Party Women’s Rights Group about the Lake Alice allegations. Dr. Moore and members of her group had been present at a protest with CCHR outside Lake Alice to raise awareness of the plight of the child victims and to support the need for an inquiry. Dr. Dobson’s dismissal of the seriousness of what was happening to children was evident in that he did not address this, but prioritized the fact that it was CCHR that had organized a protest.[51]

• The Royal Commission in 2021 asked Dr. Sutherland[i] a question about Dr. Dobson and the information that went to “professional bodies and the like.”

CHAIR: Do you know enough about the hierarchy of psychiatrists to know whether Dr. Leeks would have been answerable in a professional capacity to that college? DR. SUTHERLAND: Look, they must have had rules, they must have had.  CHAIR: Professional standards. DR. SUTHERLAND: – codes of conduct, must have. CHAIR: Yes.[52]

Per Dr. Sutherland’s statement, ACORD “called the act of punishing children with powerful electric shocks to their body what it is, which was torture. We repeatedly drew attention to complaints of abuse and we repeatedly called for a full inquiry into these allegations. And so it can’t ever be said…that the people in power in the ’70s did not know what was going on at the time. They knew, they knew because we told them repeatedly. The response of the authorities not to hold any department to account or any individual to account through a disciplinary hearing or criminal prosecution is now a matter for this Commission of Inquiry.”

1977, May: Dr. Sutherland filed complaints with the police regarding electroshock being used to torture children at Lake Alice. Police conducted two formal investigations into the activities of Dr. Selwyn Leeks, in 1977 and 2010. On both occasions, they concluded Leeks was not guilty of criminal assault. They had sought advice from the profession regarding Dr. Leeks’ methods.[53]

Psychiatrist David Gilmore McLachlan, a Fellow of the RANZCP, was asked by police to review the files. McLachlan sent a confidential memo to deputy police commissioner Bob Walton. The memo amounted to a “staunch defense of Leeks and his methods” and that allegations against Leeks and his staff were unsubstantiated.[54] For example:

• While admitting “unorthodox” methods were used, McLachlan said those methods had precedent, and none reached the threshold of unethical or unprofessional conduct, even though he conceded that administering shock without anesthetic “should not occur,” but put it down to “faulty technique.”[55]

• “There appears to me to be nothing in the evidence before me to indicate that ECT was deliberately used in any unacceptable way.”

• In one case, Leeks decided “as a last resort” to let the victims of “buggary” to participate in aversion therapy using electric shocks. This was bad judgment and very unwise, McLachlan wrote. But because Leeks thought the “newly advocated technique” was appropriate and justified, McLachlan concluded, “his motive in using it with intended therapeutic benefit cannot justifiably be censured.” [Emphasis added]

• McLachlan also blamed the victims: “…all were regarded as hopeless and beyond control, and it is safe to assume that with their antisocial background and outlook, they would readily ‘gang up’ against authority.” He further described them as “therapeutically recalcitrant, and morale-destroying, as could be assembled anywhere,” the memo said.[56]

• To MacLachlan, it did not matter that there was no consent for this. He believed that all of his colleagues disagreed with the Ombudsman’s views that ECT without consent was an assault because he had “so many misconceptions on psychiatric work.”[57]

According to Professor Werry, doctors working in mental health were protected by the provision in the 1969 mental health legislation that as long as staff were carrying out treatment in good faith, they were protected from criminal and civil liability. Werry stated this legal protection means doctors, theoretically at least, could do anything they liked without facing consequences. “Can you believe it? I could chop off your head and as long as I had a good reason for it, I cannot be prosecuted,” he would state in 2021.[58]

There does not appear to be any attempt by the RANZCP to help change that law for the protection of patients.

In fact, the RANZCP did the opposite. As earlier stated, as late as 2002, in a submission to Ministry of Health Select Committee on the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Bill through its New Zealand branch, the College opposed the right of mental health consumers to initiate proceedings for the Human Rights Tribunal.  Astoundingly, one of the reasons was because, “…psychiatrists tend to have many patients who, as a result of their illness, feel suspicious, aggrieved and persecuted…” which the College envisioned could cause prolonged proceedings.

1977, May: The ECT machine, which delivered the shocks to children as punishment, was removed from Lake Alice.[59]

1977, August: A child at Lake Alice had laid a complaint with the director-general of mental health, which was referred to the Medical Council and reached its penal cases committee. The Medical Association also investigated the complaint.  The Council’s central ethical committee chairman, W.J. Pryor, wrote to Leeks in August to say punishing patients in psychiatric therapy was unacceptable. Astonishingly, it underplayed the serious risk and gave Leeks an “out,” writing: “We appreciate that this could have been carried out by you in good faith at the time, but feel strongly that this constituted grossly unethical conduct likely to bring the reputation of the medical profession into disrepute.” The records show Leeks never denied the allegation. He thought the association and council were wrong.[60] A hearing into the complaint was held but two months later, the Council signed a certificate of good practice enabling him to go and work in Australia for another 28 years.[61]

1977, October:  The NZ Law Journal published an article headed “Children: consent to medical treatment,” that Department of Social Welfare solicitor Rodney Hooker wrote.  It said: “There can of course be little doubt that medical treatment constitutes an assault upon the patient unless the patient consented to the treatment.”

1977, November 23: RANZCP Fellow, Dr. McLachlan (the apologist for Leeks to police), Leeks, and a solicitor for the NZ Medical Defense Union, attended a Penal Cases Committee of the Medical Council hearing into allegations against Leeks from a 19-year-old man who was still dealing with his Lake Alice torture and trauma and had filed a complaint against Leeks, with charges laid of improper use of an ECT machine. The allegation was that Leeks had had four or five boys shock another boy. However, psychiatrists’ apparent mutual agreement to dispel this as anything other than therapeutic meant the case was dismissed. Rather than investigate the practice of Dr. Leeks, the Medical Council was misdirected, as though the real problem was “outside pressure,” as McLachlan put it. [62]

1978, January: The Commissioner of Police said there was no evidence of criminal misconduct.[63]

1978: Leeks moved to Australia and commenced practice in Cheltenham, Victoria. The NZ Medical Council stated that as Leeks was no longer registered with the Council, allegations of ill-treatment would not be investigated by them.[64]

1978: The Journal of Auckland Medico-Legal Society published a paper, “Human Rights in Psychiatry” by psychiatrist, Dr. Roger H. Culpan, president of Society.  Culpan referred to recommendations of the Royal College of Psychiatrists following the Lake Alice enquiries. Specifically related to ECT, he pointed out: “In the case of children and of individuals who, by reason of age or disability, are unable to appreciate the issue, the psychiatrist concerned must obtain a second independent psychiatric opinion and the patient’s nearest relative or legal guardian should be consulted.”

• He appeared more worried about “the psychiatric brotherhood” finding itself “being stigmatized as usurpers of human rights.” Indeed, as an example he completely undermined the seriousness: “…the ‘antipsychiatry movement’ had barely lapped the shores of New Zealand until a couple of teenage boys, who had undergone treatment in Lake Alice hospital, were persuaded by certain protest groups [i.e., CCHR, ACORD and the Values Party Women’s Rights Group] to complain about treatment they had received at the hospital, even though in each case the outcome of the therapy had been favorable.” The level of acceptance of what occurred at Lake Alice was “Undoubtedly the various criticisms made about Lake Alice Hospital had some factual basis….” [Emphasis added.]
• Culpan commented on legislative reforms regarding ECT in California in 1977 but failed to mention that the State had banned the use of electroshock on minors, as it should have been in NZ. He concluded: “…it is my belief that the basic rights of our psychiatric patients will rest secure in the future.”

1978: The Adolescent Unit at Lake Alice was closed due to external pressure from groups such as CCHR and ACORD on behalf of the children.[65]

1991: A Lake Alice survivor filed a formal complaint against Leeks to the Medical Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (a branch of the NZ Medical Council). On June 17, 1991, the MPDC replied that there were no grounds to investigate the conduct of Leeks.[66]

1995, September 21: Lake Alice was officially closed.

1995: RANZCP would have again been put on notice when Dr. John Werry provided a report for Leoni McInroe, a Lake Alice survivor, for her Accident Compensation Corporation claim (ACC) against Lake Alice and Selwyn Leeks. Werry based his opinion on McInroe’s medical notes and concluded that what she experienced at Lake Alice was not medical treatment but medical error and medical misadventure:

• “I therefore conclude that from the data available to me that there is clear evidence of medical misadventure due to medical error resulting from, 1/ inaccurate diagnosis, 2/ inadequate diagnostic and progress procedures, 3/ grossly inadequate documentation by Dr. Leeks of his reasons for treatments, 4/ the type of treatments and the reasons given for treatments prescribed (ECT, neuroleptics in antipsychotic dose [especially fluphenazine decanoate], chlorpromazine, paraldehyde and seclusion), all constitute medical error and medical misadventure.”[67]

1995: Dr. Janice Wilson, a member and Fellow of the RANZCP, was Chief Executive of the Health Quality & Safety Commission of New Zealand, which held the statutory role of Director of Mental Health from 1993 to 2000. She provided testimony to the Royal Commission in 2021.  and from this position, she applied to the High Court to strike out a statement of claim brought by Ms. McInroe against Dr. Leeks and the NZ Attorney General (second defendant.) Ms. McInroe was seeking the action to proceed despite being out of time (as incidents occurred in the 1970s). Dr. Wilson supported this being rejected, arguing inability to obtain all medical records relating to the treatment, witnesses essentially not being available (one doctor was deceased). Astoundingly, she also argued that “Individuals who were in the adolescent unit at the material time who are no longer in contact with mental health services may find the prospect of recounting their experiences distressing. Some individuals may not be able to cope adequately with the stress of the court process….”[68] The application to strike out was unsuccessful and went to mediation.

• In June 1998, Dr. Wilson, who by then was president of the RANZCP (1997 – 1999) attended a mediation conference with Dr. Leeks and Leoni McInroe. Also present were: Ian Carter from Crown Law; David Clark, staff solicitor from the Ministry of Health as well as two others from the Ministry; Dr. Leeks’ lawyer; and Leoni’s two lawyers. (Statement of Leoni McInroe, page 28)
• In her testimony to the Royal Commission in 2021, Dr. Wilson said she could not recall this meeting. (Dr. Janice Wilson’s statement, page 3)

In her statement to the Royal Commission, Leoni McInroe stated, “…I never received closure because Dr. Leeks and those who supported him were not held accountable through the criminal justice system. Neither did his profession take any steps that I am aware of to hold him to account for what he did to me and other vulnerable children and young people unfortunate enough to end up in Lake Alice hospital.” She eventually settled the case for an undisclosed amount.[69]

1997-2001: In her testimony to the Royal Commission in 2021, Janice Wilson said her involvement as Director of Mental Health was in responding to civil litigation filed in 1994 by Leoni McInroe, and a 1999 class action lawsuit filed by lawyer Grant Cameron on behalf of a group of former Lake Alice patients.[70] Key points noted were:

• Between 1997 and 1999, she was President of the RANZCP, during which “it was agreed that I would focus specifically on Australian psychiatric matters to avoid the potential conflict of interest in New Zealand.”[71]
• 2001: “I do not recall any direct contact with the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) regarding Dr. Leeks, but I note that I was provided with letters from its Executive Director that were sent to Minister [Annette] King and copied to me in 2001 titled ‘Re Dr. Selwyn Leeks.’”
• These letters indicated that “allegations against Dr. Leeks were raised with the RANZCP in 2001 (and I note that it was not me who took the allegations to the RANZCP).”
• “To the best of my recollection, allegations against Dr. Leeks did not come onto the RANZCP’s agenda in my time as President; I do not recall such issues being raised. The New Zealand branch did not bring any allegations relating to Dr. Leeks to the knowledge of the Australian branch during my presidency.”[72]

[See 1995 entry that Dr. Wilson tried to stop a patient’s civil action against Dr. Leeks and the NZ Attorney General.]

1997, July: A 20/20 TV current affairs program on Lake Alice sparked a flurry of interest, prompting then Health Minister Bill English to say he was horrified. Lawyers John Edwards and Grant Cameron gathered cases for a class action lawsuit, and negotiations with the Crown ensued. (Cameron told the Royal Commission he thought the Crown’s strategy in 1998 was one of delay “designed to ensure the claimants would run out of money and/or motivation and simply go away.”)[73]

• [Note: Apparently, Lake Alice was not considered serious enough to bring to the attention of the RANZCP president, despite the College in Australia having been lambasted over its failure to address the Deep Sleep Treatment (DST) abuse and deaths at Chelmsford Hospital since CCHR filed complaints with it in the 1970s. The RANZCP asserted to the NSW Royal Commission into Deep Sleep Treatment (1988-1990) that it had no power to compel or coerce its members, as such as three Chelmsford hospital psychiatrists, and justified not expelling the chief DST psychiatrists Harry Bailey and John Herron because the action would not stop them from practicing. The College deferred everything back to the NSW Medical Board, the only body it said, was empowered to revoke medical licenses. Further, if the college did initiate an investigation and expelled a member, other members might be exposed to defamation action. The Royal Commission, however, believed that there was no evidence the College took any steps to even contact Bailey and Herron, much less take effective action against them.[74]]

1999: The Medical Council de-registered Leeks during an investigation into him. [75]  Thirty years later, the Medical Council would apologize for any actions that the Medical Council should have taken but did not. However, as with the RANZCP, its apology was insufficient.[76]

2001: High Court Judge Sir Rodney Gallen produced a compensation report for the government, describing what happened at Lake Alice as “outrageous in the extreme.”[77] He interviewed 41 individuals and read the statements of a further 44 and reported ECT “was administered not as a therapy in the ordinary sense of that word, but as a punishment.” Even more outrageous, Leeks required the victims to “assist by bringing [the ECT device] into the room where it was used, and on some occasions actually watched its use on other patients.” Further, “In chilling terms the applicants describe the pain they sustained, sometimes over considerable periods. There are allegations that in some cases the current was administered, increased, reduced and increased again.”[78]

2001, October: In the wake of the NZ government apologizing and paying $6.5 million in ex gratia payments (admitting no liability) to 95 Lake Alice patients, RANZCP said an investigation was needed into Leeks’ involvement in giving shock treatment to children. Twenty-five years too late, RANZCP executive director Craig Patterson stated: “The prime minister and health minister in New Zealand have seen fit to apologize to and to compensate the former patients of the service operated by Dr. Leeks,” but there was no apology from the college. He further stated: “And yet, despite previous appeals by the college, no investigation into the role played by this doctor in the alleged practices has been successfully completed.”[79] 

• The College issued a media statement calling for a successfully completed investigation, stating: “This is the only way we will ever achieve a satisfactory resolution to this matter; for the former ‘patients’ first and foremost, but also for the doctor concerned and for the profession.”[80] [Emphasis added]

• However, that appeared more like a face-saver—to protect its image and perceived prestige. At this point, the RANZCP could have officially debarred Leeks from the College. In the official history of the College in its book Menders of the Mind: A History of The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, 1946–96 RANZCP reported that it had expelled Dr. John Lindsay of Townsville hospital in 1990. Lindsay had used modified narcosis in the psychiatric ward in the hospital, which a surgeon, former patients and their families and CCHR exposed.[81]

In a 20/20 interview in 2001, Dr. Patterson spoke about how children were treated at Lake Alice:

“It is torture. It is terror. And this college certainly, this organization and its fellowship, absolutely distances itself from that form of behavior.

“Electric shocks, for the purposes of getting children to modify behavior, is not medicine.

“It is not psychiatry, it is unacceptable. And in these circumstances it is assault. It is grievous bodily harm.

“If the allegations against Dr. Leeks are shown to be correct, he should not be a psychiatrist. I’d probably go a step further and say he shouldn’t be a doctor at all.

“We’re calling on action to occur urgently and quickly. This is not something that can just sit around.”[82]

Note: CCHR and ACORD were saying this in the 1970s and Leeks was allowed to continue to practice. For years, the psychiatric profession circled its wagons to fight off any activists for human rights. Why isn’t all this referenced in the “apology” online in June 2022?

2001: The RANZCP, through its then Chief Executive, “was vocal about asking the Medical Practitioners Board of Victoria to investigate the allegations against Dr. Leeks after the New Zealand Government apologized and compensated his former patients.” [83] [Emphasis added.]  (Leeks had been in practice in Victoria since 1979 where he had already allegedly sexually assaulted one or more other patients—within a year after he started practicing there.[84])

2002: CCHR submitted several Lake Alice cases to the police to investigate “ill-treatment and torture” and the law firm Grant Cameron Associates submitted many more. There was a total of just over 40 complaints.

2003, July: The Age newspaper in Melbourne, Australia confirmed that Victorian police were investigating claims made by several patients treated by Leeks after he moved to Australia. The article reported that Leeks, “who oversaw the punishment of children with electric-shock therapy at a New Zealand hospital…could be struck off after the Medical Practitioners Board of Victoria…decided to investigate his conduct.”[85] It took a former Lake Alice patient in NZ to bring Leeks’ torturous practices to the attention of the Victoria board in 2003.[86]

2004: RANZCP issued a positioning statement on the use of ECT: “A review of the literature, the Acts of Parliament and relevant current practices on regulation of the use of ECT in New Zealand and in other like nations; Prepared for the ECT Review Group” by Jeanne Snelling LLB(Hons) RCompN

It gave lip service to Lake Alice stating:

7.2 “In 1977 a commission of inquiry was held into the treatment of a 13 year old Niuean boy who was given ECT while being held in secure confinement at Lake Alice Hospital as an informal patient. The treatment had not been discussed with either his family or the Social Welfare Department who were responsible for his guardianship.”

It also referenced at: 7.3 “In 1982 the Oakley Committee of Inquiry was established after the death of a Māori man, Mr. Michael Watene. Amongst other things the inquiry revealed that ECT had been administered to Mr. Watene, who violently objected, without anesthetic or muscle relaxant and without any attempt to explain the procedure to him in circumstances when it was questionable whether ECT was even indicated. It was stated in the report that ECT procedures were ‘alarmingly deficient,’ and that ‘the procedures adopted after ECT did not meet accepted professional standards.’ The inquiry revealed inadequate care and dangerous practices, with no adequate system of safeguards for patients to make complaints of ill-treatment.”

2006, December 13: The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CPRD) was adopted by the UN General Assembly, and following ratification, it went into force on May 3, 2008.  New Zealand acceded to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on 5 October 2016, which went into force on  November 4, 2016.[87] The convention calls for legislation to repeal forced treatment procedures.

2009, December 11: CCHR’s Victor Boyd followed up with the RANZCP regarding its 2001 press statement stating that Lake Alice survivors could make complaints to the New Zealand and Victorian Medical Boards. CCHR challenged this statement:

“As a profession, we [RANZCP] are not prepared to stand by while such horrific allegations of abuse and torture are associated with our specialty. We are determined to have this matter resolved once and for all.” – Craig Glenroy Patterson, Executive Director of RANZCP

CCHR asked what action the College was taking in regard to allegations against Selwyn Leeks, especially as the Medical Boards of New Zealand and Victoria, Australia were no longer investigating him.[88]

2009, December 18: RANZCP responded by email, claiming they were not in a position to do anything because the only statutory agencies that could were the NZ Medical Council and the Medical Practitioners Board of Victoria. This became a circular argument. RANZCP wrote again suggesting taking the matter back to the NZ Medical Council. [89]

However, it could have expelled him, as a formal disagreement with his practices. (See 2001 entry on expelling Australia’s Dr. John Lindsay.)

2010, May 13: A CCHR submission was filed with the Secretariat of the Committee Against Torture UNOG-Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, also pointing out that Louise Newman, the Chair of the RANZCP’s faculty of child and adolescent psychiatry had said (36 years after the fact):

• “The practices alleged [as happening at Lake Alice] can only be described as severe child abuse and torture.”[90]

2013, February 1: Report of Juan E. Méndez, then UN Special Rapporteur on Torture advised that electroshock (even given with anesthetic and muscle relaxants) may cross a threshold of mistreatment that is tantamount to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Specifically, he called for “an absolute ban on all forced and non-consensual medical interventions against persons with disabilities, including the non-consensual administration of psychosurgery, electroshock and mind-altering drugs….”

“Indeed, the State’s obligation to prevent torture applies not only to public officials, such as law enforcement agents, but also to doctors, health-care professionals and social workers, including those working in private hospitals, other institutions and detention centers.”[91] [Emphasis added]

2016, March: The RANZCP issued a statement, “Acknowledging and learning from past mental health practices,” giving lip service to the serious allegations against psychiatry: Psychiatrists “institutionalized inhumane practices which would have been unacceptable beyond their walls. In time they became feared by the public, with reputations for overcrowding, brutality, separation of children from parents, and permanent exclusion from society. A whole series of Royal Commissions in Australia and New Zealand…confirmed that, for some, these fears were well-founded. Adverse and harmful events have also occurred in general hospitals, specialist psychiatric facilities, and private hospitals (for example, at Lake Alice, Townsville General, and Chelmsford hospitals), and through unacceptable behavior by individual psychiatrists towards their patients (such as sexual exploitation).”[92]

2017, November 27: On behalf of Paul Zentveld, CCHR filed a further complaint with UNCAT.

2018: UNCAT issued a report subsequent to a complaint of torture filed with it on  March 13, 2018.[93]

2019, May 19:  UNCAT issued another report, which led to the NZ Government ordering the Royal Commission inquiry into Lake Alice in 2021. A subsequent report was written on May 12, 2022 and issued  June 16, 2022.[94]

2019, December: The UN found NZ had breached the Convention against Torture in relation to the Lake Alice abuse allegations. This was in response to the  complaint CCHR filed in 2017 on behalf of Paul Zentveld.[95]

2021, June: The Medical Council issued a “rare apology” to survivors of Lake Alice for failing to act on allegations of serious abuse there. Despite the complaints about the conduct of Dr. Leeks, the Medical Council never took action, starting with its failure to handle the first complaint filed with it in 1977. A hearing into the complaint was held but just two months later, the Council signed a certificate of good practice enabling him to go and work in Australia for another 28 years. Two more complaints in 1991 and 1999 didn’t make it far either and there’s no explanation because the council no longer has sufficient records of the allegations. The current Medical Council could not provide reasons for this. CCHR called for a more meaningful apology.[96] The Council made the apology before the Royal Commission, stating, “Although small, it is valuable, it is an apology.”[97]  “The Medical Council acknowledges the hurt that you have experienced and apologizes for any actions that the Medical Council of the time should have taken but did not,” deputy CEO Aleyna Hall said.[98]

2021, November: The Royal Commission Forum, a group that monitors the work of the New Zealand Royal Commission on Abuse in Care asked the RANZCP to apologize for its “complicity” in the abuse of children at the Lake Alice Child and Adolescent Unit from 1972-1978. Dr. Oliver Sutherland, spokesperson for the Forum, said RANZCP had to date been silent on the abuse.[99]

• He said there were at least two psychiatrist members of the college, besides Leeks and his staff, who administered electric shocks to children during the 1970s.
• At the time, numerous members of the college had also publicly lauded and defended Leeks against the allegations, despite Leeks’ methods being well-known and highly publicized.
• “We now think it’s time they should front up with an apology for their complicity – complicity in terms of them not doing anything.”
• He said the College had responded to the Forum’s approach and indicated a willingness to meet and discuss the matter of the apology.
• A spokesman for the RANZCP said it could confirm it had received correspondence from Sutherland and had advised him the association was awaiting the release of the royal commission findings.
• “This is a tragic set of events that we have previously made statements about on many occasions,” the spokesman said.[100]

2022, June 16: New information about the investigation emerged in a decision of the United Nations Committee Against Torture (UNCAT), which urged the government to compensate former patient Malcolm Richards. It urged authorities to investigate promptly.  It also agreed with Paul Zentveld’s uncontested claim that the Government had failed to provide him with adequate compensation and rehabilitation for the torture endured during his time at the Child and Adolescent Unit at Lake Alice.  It urged the State to provide the complainant with access to appropriate redress, including fair compensation and access to the truth. [101]

2022,  June: RANZCP issued a trite apology to the Lake Alice survivors.

[i] Dr. Oliver Sutherland spent 15 years campaigning and advocating for the Lake Alice victims. has dedicated more than 50 years to addressing institutional racism in New Zealand and has advocated for reform within the judicial system.

References:

[1] “More than 130 children and teens wrongly given electric shocks at Lake Alice,” Radio NZ, 26 June 2022, https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/469784/more-than-130-children-and-teens-wrongly-given-electric-shocks-at-lake-alice

[2] “More than 130 children and teens wrongly given electric shocks at Lake Alice,” Radio NZ, 26 June 2022, https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/469784/more-than-130-children-and-teens-wrongly-given-electric-shocks-at-lake-alice

[3] Aaron Smale, “Crown Law blocks the police in rare, costly legal standoff: Exclusive: Did the Government’s legal agency withhold evidence of the rape, torture and abuse of children from police investigations. Aaron Smale unravels an extraordinary paper trail,” Newsroom, 2 Sept. 2022, https://www.newsroom.co.nz/crown-law-vs-the-police?

[4] “Statement on the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care – New Zealand,” RANZCP, 18 June 2022, https://www.ranzcp.org/news-policy/news/statement-royal-commission-of-inquiry-state-care

[5] David Williams, “A statement designed to heal causes more hurt: A psychiatric body makes a belated and bungled apology over child torture in the 1970s,” Newsroom, 6 July 2022,

https://www.newsroom.co.nz/statement-designed-to-heal-causes-more-hurt

[6] David Williams, “A statement designed to heal causes more hurt: A psychiatric body makes a belated and bungled apology over child torture in the 1970s,” Newsroom, 6 July 2022,

https://www.newsroom.co.nz/statement-designed-to-heal-causes-more-hurt

[7] David Williams, “A statement designed to heal causes more hurt: A psychiatric body makes a belated and bungled apology over child torture in the 1970s,” Newsroom, 6 July 2022,

https://www.newsroom.co.nz/statement-designed-to-heal-causes-more-hurt

[8] Aaron Smale, “Crown Law blocks the police in rare, costly legal standoff: Exclusive: Did the Government’s legal agency withhold evidence of the rape, torture and abuse of children from police investigations. Aaron Smale unravels an extraordinary paper trail,” Newsroom, 2 Sept. 2022, https://www.newsroom.co.nz/crown-law-vs-the-police?

[9] “Report on the Complaint of Mr. and Mrs. Rangitaawa in Connection with Their Son, Kenneth, Against the Department of Health and the Departments of Social Welfare,” Office of the Ombudsman, Guy Powles, Chief Ombudsman, 5 Apr. 1977, point 74.4

[10] “Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Case of A Niuean Boy,” 18 Mar. 1977, p. 24

[11] https://www.cchrint.org/2021/12/10/psychiatry-on-trial-criminal-charges-filed-lake-alice/#_edn15 citing: David Williams, “Long read: The shameful history of Lake Alice investigations,” Newsroom, 9 Dec. 2021, https://www.newsroom.co.nz/news/long-read-the-long-shameful-history-of-lake-alice-investigations

[12] https://www.cchrint.org/2021/12/10/psychiatry-on-trial-criminal-charges-filed-lake-alice/#_edn15 citing: David Williams, “Long read: The shameful history of Lake Alice investigations,” Newsroom, 9 Dec. 2021, https://www.newsroom.co.nz/news/long-read-the-long-shameful-history-of-lake-alice-investigations

[13] https://www.cchrint.org/2021/12/10/psychiatry-on-trial-criminal-charges-filed-lake-alice/#_edn15 citing: David Williams, “Long read: The shameful history of Lake Alice investigations,” Newsroom, 9 Dec. 2021, https://www.newsroom.co.nz/news/long-read-the-long-shameful-history-of-lake-alice-investigations

[14] “More than 130 children and teens wrongly given electric shocks at Lake Alice,” Radio NZ, 26 June 2022, https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/469784/more-than-130-children-and-teens-wrongly-given-electric-shocks-at-lake-alice

[15] David Williams, “A statement designed to heal causes more hurt: A psychiatric body makes a belated and bungled apology over child torture in the 1970s,” newsroom, 6 July 2022, https://www.newsroom.co.nz/statement-designed-to-heal-causes-more-hurt

[16] https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/peace-rights-and-security/human-rights/

[17] CCHR NZ Complaint to the Secretariat of the Committee Against Torture UNOG – Office of the High Commission for Human Rights, “Additional information to the submission by the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) New Zealand for the United Nations Committee Against Torture on Recommendation 11, Allegations of ill-treatment,” April 2012; Simon Collins, “Terrible legacy of Lake Alice,” New Zealand Herald, 26 Oct. 2001, https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/terrible-legacy-of-lake-alice/3ODEMSVIO4BEW6EUOI6H5O4YLE/

[18] http://www.lakealicehospital.com/blog/category/all/2

[19] CCHR NZ complaint about Lake Alice to the Secretariat of the Committee Against Torture UNOG-Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on 13 May 2010

[20] Dr. Allen Fraser, on behalf of the NZ National Committee, RANZCP, Submission to the Health Select Committee on the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Bill, Nov. 2002

[21] https://www.cchrint.org/2021/06/07/un-special-rapporteur-dainius-puras-addresses-psychiatrys-global-coercion-crisis/ citing: Awais Aftab, MD, “Global Psychiatry’s Crisis of Values: Dainius Pūras, MD,” Psychiatric Times, 3 June 2021, https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/global-psychiatry-crisis-values

[22] “United Nations finds New Zealand breached Convention against Torture in Lake Alice abuse allegations,” Newshub, 29 Dec. 2019, https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2019/12/united-nations-finds-new-zealand-breached-convention-against-torture-in-lake-alice-abuse-allegations.html

[23] Aaron Smale, “Crown Law blocks the police in rare, costly legal standoff: Exclusive: Did the Government’s legal agency withhold evidence of the rape, torture and abuse of children from police investigations. Aaron Smale unravels an extraordinary paper trail,” Newsroom, 2 Sept. 2022, https://www.newsroom.co.nz/crown-law-vs-the-police?

[24] UNCAT, Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Advance unedited version – 16 June 2022 (Re Lake Alice Hospital: Decision adopted by the Committee under article 22 of the Convention, concerning communication No. 934/2019

[25] Edward O’Driscoll, “Medical Council issues rare apology to Lake Alice survivors,” Newshub, 23 June 2021, https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2021/06/medical-council-issues-rare-apology-to-lake-alice-survivors.html

[26] https://m.facebook.com/abuseincareRCNZ/posts/1176972902775058?locale2=sw_KE

[27] Edward O’Driscoll, “Medical Council issues rare apology to Lake Alice survivors,” Newshub, 23 June 2021, https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2021/06/medical-council-issues-rare-apology-to-lake-alice-survivors.html

[28] Aaron Smale, “Crown Law blocks the police in rare, costly legal standoff: Exclusive: Did the Government’s legal agency withhold evidence of the rape, torture and abuse of children from police investigations. Aaron Smale unravels an extraordinary paper trail,” Newsroom, 2 Sept. 2022, https://www.newsroom.co.nz/crown-law-vs-the-police?

[29] Aaron Smale, “State of denial: How police child abuse inquiries ran aground: In part two of a series on Crown Law withholding evidence from police Aaron Smale asks: how did the government and its lawyers behave when they knew the state was guilty of serious crimes against children?” Newsroom (NZ), 3 Sept. 2022, https://www.newsroom.co.nz/state-of-denial-how-police-child-abuse-cases-ran-aground

[30] https://www.ranzcp.org/about-us/about-the-college/our-history/presidents-of-the-college/stanley-mirams

[31] “Report of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Juan E. Méndez,” UN Human Rights Council, 1 Feb. 2013, http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/RegularSession/Session22/A.HRC.22.53_English.pdf

[32] “Guidance on Community Mental Health Services: Promoting Person-Centered and Rights-Based Approaches,” World Health Organization, 10 June 2021, p. 8, https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240025707 (to download report)

[33] Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General, 49th session, Human Rights Council, “Summary of the outcome of the consultation on ways to harmonize laws, policies and practices relating to mental health with the norms of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and on how to implement them,” 28 February–1 April 2022

[34] “More than 130 children and teens wrongly given electric shocks at Lake Alice,” newshub.com, 26 June 2022, https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/469784/more-than-130-children-and-teens-wrongly-given-electric-shocks-at-lake-alice;  Jimmy Ellingham, “UN pushes government to compensate former state ward Malcolm Richards for torture,” Radio New Zealand, 22 June 2022, https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/469607/un-pushes-government-to-compensate-former-state-ward-malcolm-richards-for-torture

[35] “In Memoriam,” German Assoc. for Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics (DGPPN), 1999, pp. 5, 41; Frank Schneider, “Psychiatry under National Socialism: Remembrance and Responsibility,” European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, Volume 261, Article number: 111 (2011), https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00406-011-0243-1

[36] Frank Schneider, M.D., “Psychiatry under National Socialism: Remembrance and Responsibility,” European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, Volume 261, Article number: 111 (2011), https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00406-011-0243-1

[37] https://www.cchrint.org/2021/01/26/american-psychiatric-associations-apology-for-harming-african-americans-rejected/; “APA’s Apology to Black, Indigenous and People of Color for Its Support of Structural Racism in Psychiatry,” American Psychiatric Association, 18 Jan. 2021, https://psychiatry.org/news-room/apa-apology-for-its-support-of-structural-racism; “Historical Addendum to APA’s Apology to Black, Indigenous and People of Color for Its Support of Structural Racism in Psychiatry,” American Psychiatric Association, 18 Jan. 2021, https://psychiatry.org/news-room/historical-addendum-to-apa-apology

[38] “Historical Addendum to APA’s Apology to Black, Indigenous and People of Color for Its Support of Structural Racism in Psychiatry,” American Psychiatric Association, 18 Jan. 2021, https://www.psychiatry.org/newsroom/historical-addendum-to-apa-apology

[39] https://www.newsroom.co.nz/lake-alice-a-personal-journey

[40] David Williams, “First they were tortured, then the state failed them,” Newsroom, 29 June 2021, https://www.newsroom.co.nz/first-they-were-tortured-then-the-state-failed-them

[41] “Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Case of A Niuean Boy,” 18 Mar. 1977, p. 20

[42] https://www.cchrint.org/2021/12/10/psychiatry-on-trial-criminal-charges-filed-lake-alice/

[43] David Williams, “First they were tortured, then the state failed them,” Newsroom, 29 June 2021, https://www.newsroom.co.nz/first-they-were-tortured-then-the-state-failed-them

[44] Dr. Oliver Sutherland, transcript of evidence before royal commission into Lake Alice, 14 June 2021

[45] David Williams, “First they were tortured, then the state failed them,” Newsroom, 29 June 2021, https://www.newsroom.co.nz/first-they-were-tortured-then-the-state-failed-them; Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Case of A Niuean Boy,” 18 Mar. 1977, p. 3

[46] “Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Case of A Niuean Boy,” 18 Mar. 1977, pp. 4, 5.

[47] David Williams, “First they were tortured, then the state failed them,” Newsroom, 29 June 2021, https://www.newsroom.co.nz/first-they-were-tortured-then-the-state-failed-them

[48] David Williams, “First they were tortured, then the state failed them,” Newsroom, 29 June 2021, https://www.newsroom.co.nz/first-they-were-tortured-then-the-state-failed-them

[49] David Williams, “First they were tortured, then the state failed them,” Newsroom, 29 June 2021, https://www.newsroom.co.nz/first-they-were-tortured-then-the-state-failed-them

[50] Statement of Dr. Oliver Sutherland to the Royal Commission inquiry into Lake Alice, 11 Mar. 20921, citing: New Zealand Herald, 24 May 1977; “Labour Call on ECT”, New Zealand Herald, 25 May 1977; “Sir Guy Has ‘Gone Off At Half-Cock,’ Minister Says Of Report,” Evening Post, 24 May 1977

[51] Letter from Dr. Dobson of the RANZCP to Dr. Janet Moore, 22 Apr. 1977

[52] Dr. Oliver Sutherland, transcript of evidence before royal commission into Lake Alice, 14 June 2021

[53] Tim Newman, “Call for psychiatry profession to be held to account over Lake Alice abuse,” Stuff NZ, 20 Nov. 2021, https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/127027459/call-for-psychiatry-profession-to-be-held-to-account-over-lake-alice-abuse

[54] https://www.cchrint.org/2021/12/10/psychiatry-on-trial-criminal-charges-filed-lake-alice/#_edn15 citing: David Williams, “Long read: The shameful history of Lake Alice investigations,” Newsroom, 9 Dec. 2021, https://www.newsroom.co.nz/news/long-read-the-long-shameful-history-of-lake-alice-investigations

[55] https://www.cchrint.org/2021/12/10/psychiatry-on-trial-criminal-charges-filed-lake-alice/#_edn15 citing: David Williams, “Long read: The shameful history of Lake Alice investigations,” Newsroom, 9 Dec. 2021, https://www.newsroom.co.nz/news/long-read-the-long-shameful-history-of-lake-alice-investigations

[56] https://www.cchrint.org/2021/12/10/psychiatry-on-trial-criminal-charges-filed-lake-alice/#_edn15 citing: David Williams, “Long read: The shameful history of Lake Alice investigations,” Newsroom, 9 Dec. 2021, https://www.newsroom.co.nz/news/long-read-the-long-shameful-history-of-lake-alice-investigations

[57] “CCHR Closing Comments: Royal Commission on Inquiry into State Abuse Lake Alice Child and Adolescent Unit Hearing,” 27 June 2021, https://www.cchrint.org/cchr-closing-comments-royal-commission-on-inquiry-into-state-abuse-lake-alice/

[58] Aaron Smale, “Why were cruel and experimental treatments on the children of Lake Alice overlooked by the medical profession?” Stuff NZ, 28 Oct. 2021

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/126679231/why-were-cruel-and-experimental-treatments-on-the-children-of-lake-alice-overlooked-by-the-medical-profession

[59] David Williams, “First they were tortured, then the state failed them,” Newsroom, 29 June 2021, https://www.newsroom.co.nz/first-they-were-tortured-then-the-state-failed-them

[60] David Williams, “First they were tortured, then the state failed them,” Newsroom, 29 June 2021, https://www.newsroom.co.nz/first-they-were-tortured-then-the-state-failed-them

[61] Edward O’Driscoll, “Medical Council issues rare apology to Lake Alice survivors,” Newshub, 23 June 2021, https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2021/06/medical-council-issues-rare-apology-to-lake-alice-survivors.html

[62] “CCHR Closing Comments: Royal Commission on Inquiry into State Abuse Lake Alice Child and Adolescent Unit Hearing,” 27 June 2021, https://www.cchrint.org/cchr-closing-comments-royal-commission-on-inquiry-into-state-abuse-lake-alice/

[63] David Williams, “First they were tortured, then the state failed them,” Newsroom, 29 June 2021, https://www.newsroom.co.nz/first-they-were-tortured-then-the-state-failed-them

[64] https://www.cchrint.org/2021/06/21/psychiatrist-selwyn-leeks-not-only-tortured-children-he-also-raped-them-lake-alice-nz-inquiry-hears/, Phillip Hickey, Ph.D., “Torture at Lake Alice ‘Hospital,’ New Zealand,” Behaviorism and Mental Health, 2 Mar. 2021, https://www.behaviorismandmentalhealth.com/2021/03/02/torture-at-lake-alice-hospital-new-zealand/

[65] https://www.newsroom.co.nz/lake-alice-a-personal-journey

[66] Copy of Letter sent to Mrs. J. Hartnell, Medical Information Service, Lake Alice Hospital, from G. J. Neville, Deputy Secretary, Medical Practitioners Disciplinary Committee, 17 June 1991

[67] Aaron Smale, “Crown Law Office did not provide significant piece of evidence to police investigations into Lake Alice,” Stuff NZ, 15 Dec. 2015, https://www.stuff.co.nz/pou-tiaki/300476894/crown-law-office-did-not-provide-significant-piece-of-evidence-to-police-investigations-into-lake-alice

[68] Dr. Janet More affidavit to the High Court, 27 Sept. 1995

[69] “Lake Alice survivor’s grim testimony of abuse and mistreatment at psychiatric hospital,” 1 News, 24 Sept. 2020, https://www.1news.co.nz/2020/09/24/lake-alice-survivors-grim-testimony-of-abuse-and-mistreatment-at-psychiatric-hospital/; statement to the Royal Commission into Lake Alice.

[70] Dr. Janice Wilson, psychiatrist, transcript of statement or evidence given Royal Commission into Lake Alice, 22 June 2021

[71] Transcript of Janice Wilson before the RC of Inquiry. 22 June 202, pp: 554,lines 7-10

[72] Dr. Janice Wilson, psychiatrist, transcript of statement or evidence given Royal Commission into Lake Alice, 22 June 2021

[73] David Williams, “First they were tortured, then the state failed them,” Newsroom, 29 June 2021, https://www.newsroom.co.nz/first-they-were-tortured-then-the-state-failed-them

[74] NSW Government Royal Commission into Deep Sleep Therapy, Vol 3. pp. 231-233, Dec. 1990

[75] Phillip Hickey, Ph.D., “Torture at Lake Alice ‘Hospital,’ New Zealand,” Behaviorism and Mental Health, 2 Mar. 2021, https://www.behaviorismandmentalhealth.com/2021/03/02/torture-at-lake-alice-hospital-new-zealand/

[76] David Williams, “First they were tortured, then the state failed them,” Newsroom, 29 June 2021, https://www.newsroom.co.nz/first-they-were-tortured-then-the-state-failed-them

[77] https://www.newsroom.co.nz/long-read-the-long-shameful-history-of-lake-alice-investigations

[78] CCHR NZ Complaint to the Secreteriat of the Committee Against Torture UNOG – Office of the High Commission for Human Rights, “Additional information to the submission by the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) New Zealand for the United Nations Committee Against Torture on Recommendation 11, Allegations of ill-treatment,” April 2012

[79] http://kiwijustice2.blogspot.com/2015/03/probe-into-lake-alice-treatment.html

[80] http://www.lakealicehospital.com/blog/category/all/2

[81] RANZCP, Menders of the Mind: A History of The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, 1946–96, Chapter 12, pp. 177-178

[82] CCHR NZ complaint about Lake Alice to the Secretariat of the Committee Against Torture UNOG-Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on 13 May 2010

[83] Dr. Janice Wilson, psychiatrist, transcript of statement or evidence given Royal Commission into Lake Alice, 22 June 2021

[84] https://www.cchrint.org/2021/06/21/psychiatrist-selwyn-leeks-not-only-tortured-children-he-also-raped-them-lake-alice-nz-inquiry-hears/; Phillip Hickey, Ph.D., “Torture at Lake Alice ‘Hospital,’ New Zealand,” Behaviorism and Mental Health, 2 Mar. 2021, https://www.behaviorismandmentalhealth.com/2021/03/02/torture-at-lake-alice-hospital-new-zealand/

[85] https://www.cchrint.org/2021/06/21/psychiatrist-selwyn-leeks-not-only-tortured-children-he-also-raped-them-lake-alice-nz-inquiry-hears/; “Probe on shock doctor claims,” The Age, 11 July 2003, https://www.theage.com.au/national/probe-on-shock-doctor-claims-20030711-gdw0ze.html

[86] https://www.cchrint.org/2021/06/21/psychiatrist-selwyn-leeks-not-only-tortured-children-he-also-raped-them-lake-alice-nz-inquiry-hears/; Phillip Hickey, Ph.D., “Torture at Lake Alice ‘Hospital,’ New Zealand,” Behaviorism and Mental Health, 2 Mar. 2021, https://www.behaviorismandmentalhealth.com/2021/03/02/torture-at-lake-alice-hospital-new-zealand/

[87] https://www.justice.govt.nz/justice-sector-policy/constitutional-issues-and-human-rights/human-rights/international-human-rights/crpd/

[88] Victor Boyd statement, CCHR, submitted to the Royal Commission into Lake Alice, 2021

[89] Victor Boyd statement, CCHR, submitted to the Royal Commission into Lake Alice, 2021

[90] CCHR NZ complaint about Lake Alice to the Secretariat of the Committee Against Torture UNOG-Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights On 13 May 2010

[91] A/HRC/22/53, “Report of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Juan E. Méndez,” United Nations, General Assembly, Human Rights Council, Twenty-second Session, Agenda Item 3, 1 Feb. 2013

[92] “Acknowledging and learning from past mental health practices,” giving lip service to serious allegations against psychiatry,” RANZCP, Mar. 2016, https://www.ranzcp.org/news-policy/policy-and-advocacy/position-statements/acknowledge-learn-past-mental-health-practices

[93] UNCAT, “Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Advance unedited version – 16 June 2022 (Re Lake Alice Hospital: Decision adopted by the Committee under article 22 of the Convention, concerning communication No. 934/2019

[94] UNCAT, “Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Advance unedited version – 16 June 2022 (Re Lake Alice Hospital: Decision adopted by the Committee under article 22 of the Convention, concerning communication No. 934/2019

[95] “United Nations finds New Zealand breached Convention against Torture in Lake Alice abuse allegations,” Newshub, 29 Dec. 2019,

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2019/12/united-nations-finds-new-zealand-breached-convention-against-torture-in-lake-alice-abuse-allegations.html

[96] Edward O’Driscoll, “Medical Council issues rare apology to Lake Alice survivors,” Newshub, 23 June 2021, https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2021/06/medical-council-issues-rare-apology-to-lake-alice-survivors.html

[97] https://m.facebook.com/abuseincareRCNZ/posts/1176972902775058?locale2=sw_KE

[98] Edward O’Driscoll, “Medical Council issues rare apology to Lake Alice survivors,” Newshub, 23 June 2021, https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2021/06/medical-council-issues-rare-apology-to-lake-alice-survivors.html

[99] Tim Newman, “Call for psychiatry profession to be held to account over Lake Alice abuse,” Stuff NZ, 20 Nov. 2021, https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/127027459/call-for-psychiatry-profession-to-be-held-to-account-over-lake-alice-abuse

[100] Tim Newman, “Call for psychiatry profession to be held to account over Lake Alice abuse,” Stuff NZ, 20 Nov. 2021, https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/127027459/call-for-psychiatry-profession-to-be-held-to-account-over-lake-alice-abuse

[101] UNCAT, “Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Advance unedited version – 16 June 2022 (Re Lake Alice Hospital: Decision adopted by the Committee under article 22 of the Convention, concerning communication No. 934/2019