A second woman who alleges sexual abuse by artist John Middleditch says she feels traumatised every time she sees his sculpture in Dunedin Hospital.
The Dunedin woman — who the Otago Daily Times has agreed not to name — alleges she was molested by the late Dunedin-born artist as a child, in the late 1960s, after meeting him through an art teacher at an Otago school.
Middleditch’s behaviour had a "profound impact" on her life, and she said every time she visited the hospital and walked past the sculpture "I too have to look away because of the trauma it induces in me".
"Personally, I do not want to see the sculpture in the new hospital, and would like to see it destroyed as soon as possible.
"A hospital should be a safe place and the continued presence of it doesn’t assist in signifying safety for the victims, patients or staff who work there."
Until recent media coverage resurfaced Middleditch’s convictions, the woman said she had not known about them or that others had been abused — the extent of which was "the most shocking thing".
"I heard it on the radio and I thought, ‘Oh my god, it's like a bad dream’."
The woman is the second this week to call for Middleditch’s 1980 work Water Sculpture in Dunedin Hospital to be removed, after it was reported a Dunedin grandmother formally complained to police late last year that Middleditch sexually abused her when she was 11 in 1972.
Police confirmed to RNZ Middleditch was convicted in an unrelated case in December 1976 of indecently assaulting a girl aged between 12 and 16 and of other indecent assault.
Reports in the ODT from the same month said Middleditch was convicted of seven charges of indecently assaulting girls aged between 8 and 11, and one of attempting to indecently assault a girl.
The second woman to come forward said her abuse was traumatic, and she had not filed a police report.
She empathised with the other woman for speaking out and said now the abuse had entered the public consciousness, it would make people feel uncomfortable.
It was "another example of how New Zealand just doesn't address the issues of this kind of violence and abuse", and it was up to individual institutions to decide what they did with their collections of Middleditch’s work, she said.
The University of Otago and Tūhura Otago Museum have confirmed they have works by Middleditch on display.
Speaking in a personal capacity, Health New Zealand (HNZ) Southern clinical lead, southern sexual abuse assessment and treatment service, Dr Jill McIlraith MNZM said there could be another solution.
Rather than removing or destroying Middleditch's sculptures, they should be used to apologise to his victims and highlight the prevalence and effects of child sexual abuse in the country.
Victims often felt unheard or blamed when they had the courage to speak out, which all of society was complicit in — including health and academic institutions, Dr McIlraith said.
She suggested the sculptures be left in place but with a plaque attached to them, apologising to victims for the harm caused and encouraging people to seek help, which would "shine a light on the evil of his actions alongside his talent".
"I've always thought it's not a particularly pretty sculpture or anything, but it is part of Dunedin history and all of our history.
"We're better to acknowledge our horrible history and learn from it than we are to just pretend it didn't exist."
Destroying Middleditch’s works could not undo the harm that was already done, but they could try to prevent more harm from happening to others, she said.
HNZ needed to either remove the sculpture or acknowledge the actions of its creator. To do nothing would be wrong, and it would be controversial whatever the outcome, she said.
HNZ Southern group director of operations Hamish Brown said they appreciated the concerns raised.
They did not wish to comment further until they discussed these concerns and the next steps with the complainant.
"We expect this to occur soon," he said.
