Abstract
A review of Elizabeth Stanley's recent publication on state violence against children in New Zealand.
Highlights
Elizabeth Stanley’s Road to Hell is an important and timely book
Drawing on records of over 100 former child residents of New Zealand welfare institutions and in depth interviews, it meticulously documents their experiences and catalogues the systemic abuse that they suffered as children under the guise of state ‘care and protection’
The book offers a significant and powerful contribution to our growing understanding of the impact of the colonising state’s harm on its citizens, by bearing witness to children’s experiences as well as highlighting the secondary victimisation experienced when justice continues to be delayed and denied. It has been published at a time when yet again physical, sexual and psychological abuse of children in immigration detention, in youth justice detention and by key institutions like schools, churches, government departments and the entertainment industry are under scrutiny in Australia and elsewhere
Summary
Drawing on records of over 100 former child residents of New Zealand welfare institutions and in depth interviews, it meticulously documents their experiences and catalogues the systemic abuse that they suffered as children under the guise of state ‘care and protection’. The book offers a significant and powerful contribution to our growing understanding of the impact of the colonising state’s harm on its citizens, by bearing witness to children’s experiences as well as highlighting the secondary victimisation experienced when justice continues to be delayed and denied.
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