***Distressing content warning***

Allison Campbell is of Pākehā descent. She started working for IHC as a social worker in 1980 and continued to work for IHC in various roles until she retired in 2002. Allison spoke about the abuse and neglect she witnessed in psychopaedic hospitals and in IHC care. Allison discussed how people with learning disabilities were treated in a way that removed their individual autonomy and personhood. She spoke about her experiences seeing people’s quality of life significantly improve once they were able to become a valuable member of the community. Allison provided her opinion on how we need to continue to improve the way we treat people with learning disabilities today.  

Witness Statement