Miriama Kamo | Abuse in care

In the 1960s and 70s, children as young as eight were placed in Porirua Psychiatric Hospital alongside the most mentally unwell adults. In 2005, Miriama Kamo told their story of startling abuse.

In 2005, TVNZ journalist Miriama Kamo reported on historic abuses of children in state care at Porirua Psychiatric Hospital.

A tragic picture emerged of a toxic culture that had developed amongst the staff. Allegations of severe neglect and outright abuse were corroborated by former staff members and even perpetrators.

In this interview with media chaplain Rev. Frank Ritchie, Miriama Kamo speaks of the profound impact those stories have had on her personally and the discipline she needed to develop to maintain a level of distance and neutrality, in order to tell the whole story.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details