A Whanganui woman hopes sharing her story of harrowing years in state care will help other people who have experienced abuse know they are not alone.
Annasophia Calman was taken in to care in the 1960s when she was 12. Her mother had escaped domestic violence and left Calman and her siblings with their father. After multiple reports of neglect and physical abuse, the children became wards of the state.
Calman says years of physical, sexual and mental abuse followed as she was moved around the country to various homes, leaving state care at the age of 21.
"It was the people who looked after us who failed to do their job," Calman said.
"The Department of Social Welfare put us in the care of people they thought we could trust. I'm not blaming CYFS. They were at fault but it's really the fault of the people who took children in for money."