Victim Support, the charity set up to comfort people hurt by crime and trauma, has itself been accused of creating victims.
It's been alleged managers at Victim Support have bullied and harassed both paid and volunteer staff members.
There are multiple allegations about Victim Support from various paid or volunteer staff members. Newshub has agreed to keep three of five people anonymous for legal or personal reasons.
"I was going home in tears every day," Janine Schmidt said.
"He was very racist, he discriminated against me," one person said.
"I witnessed some absolutely horrific treatment of paid staff," said Claire Buckley.
"I felt trodden on, I call it bullying," an anonymous person said.
"I felt like a victim myself, working for Victim Support," another person said.
Five survivors - all of whom are of different races, have different backgrounds, and are different ages - all have the same story. They say they were bullied, harassed, or let down by their workplace, Victim Support.
"I was made to feel incompetent, I was made to feel like I didn't know what I was doing, that I was inexperienced," one said.
"His expectations were very demanding, to be told you don't know what you are doing, who the hell do you think you are, you can't function," another said.
"It's been a traumatising time... Why are they treating me like this? I had to look - is it the colour of my skin? I am a qualified social worker, and I'm trying my best. Every time I tried my best, it was never good enough for him. I was always blamed for things that were not happening," a third added.
Victim Support was created 36 years ago in Gisborne to help victims of crime and trauma. It's now an independent charitable organisation, with more than 600 support workers nationwide. And while it's not a government agency, it does have a close working relationship with the Ministry of Justice, its primary funder.
While you may think it would be the last place to create victims, that's exactly what these women say it's doing.
They said staff are bullied and loaded up with dangerously high caseloads, and that then leads to the very victims they're meant to support suffering even more.
They complained but said nothing happened.
"It's tough but it's dangerous for the victims, it's dangerous for myself, it's dangerous for the organisation," one person said.
It's still raw for Janine Schmidt. She volunteered at Victim Support for 13 years but left in 2020 after laying a complaint. She returned last year but had to walk away a second time last month because she felt nothing had changed.
"I just can't work for an organisation that doesn't respect its volunteers, doesn't respect its workers," she said.
"Bullied, harassed, overworked, underpaid, just not appreciated and in a job like Victim Support, that's creating victims, that's not good enough."
Last year, Victim Support hired an independent investigator to look into allegations of bullying, harassment, and poor training. The investigation lasted 12 months and 88 people were interviewed. The report has now been completed, but only a summary has been released. Victim Support refused to make the full report public.
"If you didn't have anything to hide, why wouldn't you hand over the report," victims' advocate Ruth Money said.
Some of the managers accused of bullying left the organisation before the report was finalised.
"It's no coincidence that a number of them jumped during the independent report... and the silence from the board has been very interesting," Money added.
Victim Support gets about $16 million a year, funded largely by the taxpayer. And there's no denying it does some incredible and crucial work, helping by its own estimation about 43,000 victims of crime and trauma every year.
But going forward, these women said they now want Victim Support overhauled so victims continue to be supported and not created.
"It needs to change from the top," Schmidt said.
"New Zealand deserves better," Money added.
In response to the allegations, Lorraine Scanlon, the CEO of the Victim Support board, sat down for an interview with Newshub national correspondent Amanda Gillies. The following is their exchange.
Scanlon: First and foremost can I reiterate our sincere apologies to those people ... And also we apologise for the time it took to process those complaints ... The report tells us that it was around one area and did not substantiate widespread bullying at Victim Support.
Gillies: But I have spoken to five people myself - is that not a problem?
Scanlon: I think the problem we have got is Victim Support doesn't suit everybody. And we have some fabulous people out there doing fabulous work every day ... I know that that work is not going to work or be there or be the right environment for everyone.
Gillies: These ladies loved their work, they were passionate about it. They were leaving work every day in tears because of the behaviour of managers, the expectations, the demands, the way they were spoken to. That shouldn't happen at Victim Support or anywhere.
Scanlon: I agree, it should not happen anywhere.
Gillies: So how did it happen and why did it happen, especially at Victim Support?
Scanlon: I feel that the report tells us that the environment... [Scanlon stopped speaking and looked at her manager]
Gillies: If someone comes to you tomorrow and says, 'I'm being bullied', how will you deal with that?
Scanlon: It's important that those people are listened to, it's important that those people are believed, and it's important that those people are supported.
Gillies: Why won't you release the report publicly? People want to see it. Why won't you release it?
Scanlon: We committed to anonymity and confidentiality and we absolutely respect that ... So we went back to the investigator and asked her to prepare a summary so we could be open. We put that summary on our website.
Gillies: Did any of the managers who left while the report was being done receive a payout from Victim Support?
Scanlon: Absolutely not, they received no additional funding or money at all.
Gillies: Are you able to give us an insight into why they did leave before the report was finalised?
Scanlon: That's definitely their choice. It's people's choice to work with us and be with us and it's people's choice to leave us.
Gillies: Yes or no, should there be an overhaul?
Scanlon: I would need to understand the basis - what basis would there be to be an overhaul.
Gillies: To get rid of the bullies, to get better training, to look after the employees and volunteers.
Scanlon: My answer to that is it's happening.
