Ms Laura Almenar1
1Care Manager (IDCCR Act), Northern Regional Forensic Intellectual Disability Secure Services, Mason Clinic, Te Whatu Ora, Waitemāta District, Aotearoa / New Zealand
Biography:
Laura Almenar is a passionate professional with a diverse background. Originally from Argentina, she is now a citizen of New Zealand. With a background in psychology, Laura is a registered psychologist in Argentina and has been actively engaged in the disability sector for over a decade since relocating to New Zealand. Her commitment to helping others led her to complete her Postgraduate in Health Science in Psychology last year and obtain her Counselling registration early this year. Laura's dedication and passion for her work make her a valuable asset in the sector, where she continually strives to make a positive impact in the lives of those she serves.
Abstract:
There is an urgent need for an equitable and coordinated process to improve the advocacy support and voice of people with intellectual disabilities (ID) in the New Zealand forensic context. Currently advocacy is not specifically addressed within the statutory roles within legislation and is piecemeal provided unsystematically between multiple individuals, agencies, statutory bodies and non-governmental agencies. Advocacy is most frequently linked to complaints or in the context of specific breaches of rights being therefore reactive rather than proactive and individually focussed, leaving many without any access or voice. If we are reliant on human rights lawyers, District Inspectors and Health and Disability Commission complaints advocates for advocacy then this highlights a significant missed opportunity and gap in support.
This paper highlights the benefits of advocacy, the gaps, limitations and challenges in the current system and proposes the need to establish a dedicated, accessible, advocacy system available to all people with ID (tāngata whaikaha hinengaro), subject to restrictions through the interface of the criminal justice system and the health or disability systems. In Aotearoa, New Zealand, echoing other Criminal Justice systems across the World, there is over representation of tangata whenua, Māori, the original peoples of the land before colonisation. Inequities in access and outcomes in education, health, disability and justice systems are known and solutions that offer choice and self determination including options for advocacy by Māori and for Māori need to be central to any effective solutions being considered. (240)