Health NZ apologizes for abuse of abuse after ignoring John Middleditch Sculpture’s complaint

WARNING: This story deals with sexual abuse of children.

New Zealand health apologized to the woman who was sexually abused by the artist Dundin John Middleditch after ignoring 2012 The complaint regarding the sculpture of the late artist exposed to Dundedin Hospital.

Apologies comes after RNZ has revealed a The second complaint made this year by a woman in which he said Health Nz again that Middleditch sexually abused her when he participated in his art courses as an 11-year-old in 1972.

In a letter on March 5, Hamish Brown, the operations director of the South NZ group, Hamish Brown, said the woman -who does not want to be called -sympathized with her concerns and thanked her for bringing her the problem.

“In the name of New Zealand health, I apologize that your original concerns in 2012 have not responded in a timely or adequate useful.

“I hope the meeting on Monday will give you a certain comfort and that you felt that your concerns have been listened to and answer.”

It comes after two paintings by Middleditch, including one of the three bare girls and a plate that calls him in front of his water fountain at Dundedin Hospital, were removed this week.

Brown has confirmed in the letter and to RNZ, the works of art will not be displayed at the new Dundin hospital.

RNZ obtained judicial children with nine convictions against Middleditch in December 1976, eight for the indecent aggression of girls between the eight and 11 years old and one of the indecent attack attempts.

Police confirmed that Middleditch, who died in 1987, was also convicted for two other indecent attacks, including one on a teenager.

The woman says she was targeted and taken care of by Middleditch and he was seriously sexually assaulted on two occasions, while learning art at home courses.

She was confronted for the first time by the sculpture with copper water when she returned to Dunedin in 2012 to take care of her dying brother.

“He feels like a truly authentic excuse and a desire to advance things before in a constructive way,” the woman said about the letter.

“I was actually excited enough that they took care of it so quickly.

“It feels like a huge weight lifted from the shoulders and that people are ready to take this seriously now means a huge sum for me.”

Brown also wrote that there have been several possible options for the future of sculpture, including removing it from the current hospital.

“We welcome your continuous involvement in this process.”

After the grandmother spoke to another victim came forward, saying Otago Daily Times It was sexually abused by Middleditch in the late 1960s.

Brown told RNZ in a Health NZ statement in consultation with Otago Charitable Trust health care, which has art and currently considered the following steps for water sculpture.

“We sympathize with all the victims of sexual crimes and appreciate the continuous impact that this has on their lives.

“We have hired ourselves to make sure that our healthcare units are a safe and welcoming environment for everyone.”

Yesterday, the grandmother was contacted by the University of Otago, who was alerted to the Middleditch crimes by RNZ last week, because she displays an artist’s 1969 sculpture on her Dunedin campus.

Clerk Clark’s clerk, former labor parliamentarian and Minister of Health, said he set up a trial for the University to “cope with the fact that he has an art work in a prominent location that was produced by a sex offender convicted for children.”

“While our process has not yet been completed, I expect this to happen in the coming days,” Clark wrote.

“You will probably be aware that, in a university framework, decisions are challenged and provocable by internal government mechanisms (and frequently media), so if a decision to eliminate the work of art (which I understood it was gathered as a centenary gift for the University), it must be rational.

“I am eager to happen carefully and robustly but also quickly.”

Clark said that since the problem was in attention that he was in contact with several academics who accepted his invitation to be part of a group who “establishes a contemporary view” about how such art works should be treated.

“After the completion of that panel, I would like to be in touch with you as a matter of priority.”

Clark did not say who the academics were, but last week, a former history reader at the University told The ODT Middleditch the work of art should remain in force.

The woman responded to Clark asking that this initial discussion with the University involved and maintaining the process supervision.

“I appreciate that the university seeks to work for a contemporary vision of how such art works should be treated,” she wrote.

“In view of this, I propose that a voice of survivor and an educator to prevent sexual abuse to be included as a member of the group, given that this is not simply an academic problem.”

The woman volunteered to participate as a voice of the survivor and still heard back.

Meanwhile, the public art heritage of Aotaoa New Zealand has updated the bio about Middleditch to reflect the revelations.

The bio summarizes the work of art and the prominence of Middleditch in New Zealand and international recognition, with a new sentence added Wednesday: “Starting March 2025, the future of public artist works of the regretted artist is considered in relation to his convictions of sexual abuse of the 1970s.”

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