Two survivors of sexual abuse at Auckland's Dilworth School say it should face repercussions for allowing the abuse of children to continue for three decades.
They've filed a complaint to the Human Rights Commission, and they're asking other survivors to join in.
Neil Harding speaking at the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. (File photo). Photo: RNZ/ Andrew McRae
Neil Harding is a survivor of sexual abuse at Dilworth, and one of the two men launching the class action.
He said after analysing over the past few months, the Human Rights Commission was the right place to take this case.
"... due to the fact that Dilworth knowingly failed to protect boys in its care and perpetuated a culture of sexual abuse for over 30 years."
He said he would be looking for compensation.
"It's part of a restitution redress process, I mean it's just about natural justice and following those principles really."
"This isn't just about the perpetrators. This is Dilworth's part" - Neil Harding
He said the argument was more than not being protected at the boys school.
"It's not that Dilworth didn't conduct proper investigations into reported ... instances of sexual abuse, it's that they actively covered it up.
"In fact, boys were punished ... for lying. There was a culture of violence of fear and of silence and we have seen instances, many instances, where the school knew what was going on but chose to, effectively ... the reputation of Dilworth was more important than their duty of care and responsibility to the boys, and they failed in that."
Already 11 men have been charged as part of a police investigation into sexual abuse allegations at Dilworth.
"This isn't just about the perpetrators - a lot of them are about to go to the High Court next year. This is Dilworth's part.
"Three-and-a-half years ago I approached Dilworth Trust Board looking to find personal peace and healing through working collaboratively with Dilworth on redoing that child safety policy and developing a pathway for dealing with historical abuse.
"In the process of doing that I discovered things that showed that Dilworth knew what was going on and there had been this cover-up."
He said under Operation Beverly there were 122 old boys that had complained to the police.
Harding appealed to all former students who wanted justice to join him in the class action. There's a website with more information.
He said all the lawyers were working pro-bono on the case.