Uncomfortable reality

There is still some awful ongoing realities which persist amongst the wreckage that remains of the Centrepoint Community. These are some of those realities:

• Justice has occurred for very few ex-child residents who were sexually abused while living at Centrepoint Community.

• Abuse that occurred there was not always secret. It was often condoned, and at times encouraged by care-givers.

• A culture that normalised sexual activity, drug use, and psychological abuse for children has subsequently made it hard for stories to be shared, experiences of trauma to be revealed and damaged family relationships to be repaired.

• Not everyone is on the same page about discussing their experiences. People have encountered strong resistance to talking with others about what happened. This now makes it challenging to openly and honestly talk about past events with others from the community and to feel safe in doing so.

 

Part of a wider story

Some of the former children of Centrepoint have shared their stories publicly but by and large most have been silent. The silence has resulted in confusion, misinformation and isolation. These pages are an attempt to bring together those people who want to participate in a restorative and healing process which may have the power to break the hold of shame and guilt for many ex-residents of Centrepoint. 

 

This story is part of a wider story about living under the impact of cohesive control in a high demand or psychologically abusive groups. There is plenty of evidence that adults in high demand - or cult - groups, experience harm, but there is even more data that shows that children raised in such groups are seriously harmed. For these groups to be recognised, avoided, and for people to safely leave such groups, and to recover from the impact of living in one, there needs to be greater awareness and understanding in New Zealand. The general public needs to have a better understanding of what group psychological abuse looks like, and how to support people to leave, and how to prevent engagement.

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