A prestigious award recognized five decades of relentless advocacy for justice and reform fought by CCHR and survivors of electroshock torture at a psychiatric hospital.
By Jan Eastgate
President CCHR International
March 28, 2025
- CCHR and survivors of the Lake Alice Psychiatric Unit abuse received the prestigious New Zealand Community of the Year Award for their decades-long advocacy and exposure of psychiatric human rights violations.
- The Lake Alice abuses included electroshocking children without anesthesia, sexual assault, chemical restraints, and medical experimentation, leading the UN and NZ to recognize it as torture.
- CCHR’s relentless pursuit of justice led to police investigations, a Royal Commission Inquiry, and government acknowledgment of state failures, ensuring survivor voices were heard.
- The award reflects CCHR’s global impact, reinforcing the call to ban electroshock treatment and protect mental health patients from abuse worldwide.
The Citizens Commission on Human Rights New Zealand chapter and survivors of the now-closed Lake Alice Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Unit in New Zealand have been honored with the prestigious New Zealand Community of the Year Award for their decades-long fight for justice and mental health reform.[1]
Presented through the Mitre 10-Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year Awards, the honor recognizes individuals and organizations that significantly contribute to the social, economic, cultural, or environmental well-being of their communities.[2] CCHR and the Lake Alice survivors were recognized for their unwavering advocacy against human rights abuses in psychiatric institutions.
The horrific abuses at Lake Alice gained international attention last year when an official report confirmed the abuse amounted to torture. The New York Times detailed the findings, stating: “The abuse included sexual assault, electric shocks, chemical restraints, medical experimentation, sterilization, starvation, and beatings.”[3]
Among the most shocking revelations was the use of electroshock treatment without anesthesia on children as young as five. In the 1970s, psychiatrist Selwyn Leeks administered this brutal procedure to over 300 children and youths, applying shocks to their heads, arms, and even genitals.[4]
A New Zealand Royal Commission Inquiry report issued in 2022 acknowledged that CCHR had played a significant role in bringing the public’s attention to allegations of abuse at the unit: CCHR is a “non-profit mental health watchdog. It was co-founded by the Church of Scientology and an emeritus professor of psychiatry named Dr. Thomas Szasz.… CCHR has remained involved in advocating for survivors of the unit and bringing attention to what went on there.”[5]
In a landmark legal development, New Zealand Solicitor-General Una Jagose determined that the “treatment” administered to children at Lake Alice met the legal definition of torture.[6]
Lake Alice survivor Bruce Harkness praised the organization’s efforts:
“CCHR have dedicated themselves for decades to fight for this. They are the moralistic people that have got behind us and without them we would not be here today. They are true champions.”
CCHR’s Role in Exposing the Abuses
In the presentation of the award, it was stated:
The former Lake Alice patients bravely fought for justice with steadfast support from the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (NZ), which first uncovered the ill-treatment in 1976. CCHR continued its advocacy, taking the matter before government agencies, health officials, and ultimately the United Nations Committee Against Torture. In a landmark decision the UN Committee upheld their formal complaint in 2020 urging the New Zealand government to properly investigate what took place at Lake Alice.
In 2020, the United Nations upheld CCHR’s formal complaint and urged the New Zealand government to conduct a thorough investigation. This resulted in inquiries by the New Zealand Police and the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care, which concluded that the abuses at Lake Alice amounted to torture.
“The ongoing courage and commitment displayed by the survivors and CCHR—led by director Mike Ferriss and researcher Victor Boyd—has resulted in real impact, ensuring survivor voices are finally heard, paving the way for systemic change and accountability.”[7]
As a result of CCHR’s advocacy and the survivors’ perseverance, the New Zealand government finally acknowledged the harm endured by victims. The award judges noted: The Crown prosecutor’s office has since reimbursed survivors for the abuse they suffered.[8]
Recognition from New Zealand Leaders
During the Royal Commission hearings (2022-2024), Chair Judge Coral Shaw praised CCHR for its dedication:
“CCHR has gone to extraordinary efforts since the 1970s to keep this flame alive on behalf of survivors. It’s been an extraordinary effort.”[9]
Royal Commissioner Paul Gibson added:
We acknowledged CCHR’s role in uncovering the truth about Lake Alice in the 1970s and its ongoing advocacy, including taking the matter to the UN. Their extensive evidence is impressive, and we thank them for their tenacity and endurance.[10]
Prime Minister’s Apology to Survivors
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon addressed survivors last year, stating:
“The State was supposed to care for you, but instead, many of you were subjected to the most horrendous physical, emotional, mental, and sexual abuse.”
“People in positions of authority—whom you should have been able to trust—failed you in the worst possible way. When you tried to speak up, those same people turned a blind eye, covered it up, and prevented you from seeking justice for far too long.”
A Global Call for Reform
The Royal Commission called for a ban on all forms of inhumane treatment in psychiatric and state-run institutions.[11]
The Commission’s recommendations have a global relevance: They don’t just apply to New Zealand. They apply to the U.S. and worldwide. There is no place for electroshock treatment in any healthcare system. It must be banned.”
The New Zealand Community of the Year Award is a monumental recognition of the decades of advocacy by CCHR and the Lake Alice survivors. It underscores the importance of justice, accountability, and systemic reform to protect future generations from similar abuses.”
CCHR International has supported its New Zealand chapter’s commendable actions for decades, featuring many articles about the Lake Alice hospital abuses on its websites: www.cchrint.org and truthaboutect.org
References:
[1] Lake Alice Survivors and the Citizens Commission on Human Rights New Zealand
New Zealand Community of the Year, https://nzawards.org.nz/winners/lake-alice-survivors-and-the-citizens-commission-on-human-rights-new-zealand/
[2] https://nzawards.org.nz/winners/kindness-collective/
[3] https://www.cchrint.org/2024/07/26/new-zealand-inquiry-findings-child-psychiatric-torture-prompt-us-reforms/; “200,000 Children and Vulnerable Adults Abused in New Zealand, Report Finds,” The New York Times, 24 July 2024, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/24/world/asia/new-zealand-abuse-in-care-report.html; https://nzawards.org.nz/nomination/lake-alice-survivors-and-mike-ferris/
[4] https://www.cchrint.org/2021/07/01/cchrs-work-acknowledged-nz-inquiry-lake-alice-psychiatric-child-torture/
[5] https://www.cchrint.org/2022/12/30/lake-alice-psychiatric-hospital-children-were-tortured/
[6] https://www.cchrint.org/2022/12/30/lake-alice-psychiatric-hospital-children-were-tortured/; Ric Stevens, “Royal Commission of Inquiry into state care finds Lake Alice children were tortured,” NZ Herald, 14 Dec. 2022, https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/royal-commission-of-inquiry-into-state-care-finds-lake-alice-children-were-tortured/ZB3EVQL765ATLMDKSX6XHSTXEA/
[7] Alecia Rousseau, “‘Real impact’: Lake Alice survivors win at NZer of the Year awards” The Post, 20 Mar. 2025, https://www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/360619822/real-impact-lake-alice-survivors-win-nzer-year-awards; https://nzawards.org.nz/nomination/lake-alice-survivors-and-mike-ferris/
[8] Alecia Rousseau, “‘Real impact’: Lake Alice survivors win at NZer of the Year awards” The Post, 20 Mar. 2025, https://www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/360619822/real-impact-lake-alice-survivors-win-nzer-year-awards; https://nzawards.org.nz/nomination/lake-alice-survivors-and-mike-ferris/
[9] https://www.cchrint.org/2021/07/01/cchrs-work-acknowledged-nz-inquiry-lake-alice-psychiatric-child-torture/
[10] https://www.cchrint.org/2022/07/11/cchr-praised-for-47-years-of-exposing-psychiatric-abuses-in-new-zealand/
[11] https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/07/24/horrific-and-harrowing-parliament-responds-to-abuse-in-care-report/; https://www.cchrint.org/2024/07/26/new-zealand-inquiry-findings-child-psychiatric-torture-prompt-us-reforms/
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