[CjChris]

More often than not, there is a story in the NZ Herald about a murder or abuse trial of some sort. I am alarmed at the apparent disregard some people seem to have toward women and children, esp. children. (The recent case of three year old Nia Glassie just made me sick to my stomach).

While I have known for a while what the stats are for abuse and other crimes in NZ, this problem seems to have either escalated in recent months or maybe it is just being focused on more by the press...not sure. A recent UNICEF report revealed that so many children are exposed to violence each year in NZ that most New Zealanders know a child who has witnessed or been a part of violence at home.

I understand how various factors--i.e., low socio-economic status, alcoholism, drug abuse, etc.--can play a role in this horrible cycle, but what is being done about this problem? Are there ad campaigns in place? Are there classes available to educate or programs to provide therapy? (I know this is a touchy subject for Maori, and I'm not suggesting that this is a "Maori only problem" in NZ, although some statistical reports have indicated that the Maori custom of silence plays a large role in this.)

From today's news:

Twins Taken to McDonald's, Then Doctor

Macsyna King today admitted she did not fully understand the seriousness of her twin sons' injuries after visiting the family doctor.

Ms King, 30, made the admission under cross-examination after earlier saying that her then partner Chris Kahui had driven the critically ill three month old boys home despite being told to take them to hospital.

She was giving evidence on the second day of the depositions hearing in Manukau District Court to determine whether Chris Kahui be committed to trial for murdering their three month old twins.

You can read the whole story in the NZ Herald
here (http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10457650)

[holland]

Hi CJChris,

I know there are Family Start Programmes in NZ in low socio-economic areas, that provide help, support and guidance to families with children under the age of 5 years. I believe there are 33 in NZ in total, they are the equivalent to the SureStart Programmes in the UK. They tailor their services to the local area, but usually provide support for parents, training for parents...in areas such as 'signs and symptoms of child abuse, how to effectively communicate with your child' etc....in some cases parents are taught how to play/interact with their child....these services only work though if people/families decide to register themselves...

These type of stories turn my stomach also

J x

[Sam B]

There is definitely a high incidence of child abuse here when compared to the small population, and it is very worrying. I think that statistics show that it is more prevalent in Maori and Pacific island populations, and one underlying reason is sure to be poverty. I recently attended 2 days of training on working with people from the Pacific Islands, and the trainer pointed out that Pacific Island people never hit their kids until the British missionaries arrived and taught them to beat their kids if they were naughty. Unfortunately this custom has remained in some families. I think many problems can be traced back to colonialisation in this way, as it does not seem to me, with my limited understanding of Maori culture, that this fits with general Maori beliefs and culture - which generally sees children as very special, and to be treasured.

I may be wrong, what do others think?

I also see much higher levels of neglect where I work, and there are children who I would have routinely referred to Social Services in Britain, but I do not here, as they would not be considered a priority at all. It makes me sad.

[dbonnett]

I have wondered about the rate of child and partner abuse in NZ and how it compares with other countries (the US especially since I am there now). I keep hearing that New Zealand has a far higher incidence than average, but no attribution - so I went looking for more concrete info (http://www.socialreport.msd.govt.nz/2004/safety/child-abuse-neglect.html):
A UNICEF report on child maltreatment deaths in 27 OECD countries, averaged over a five-year period during the 1990s, placed New Zealand twenty-fourth out of 27 countries, with a rate of 1.2 deaths per 100,000 children under the age of 15 years.82 (http://www.socialreport.msd.govt.nz/2004/notes-references/endnotes.html#82) This was high compared to an OECD median of 0.6 deaths per 100,000.
Only Mexico and the United States (both 2.2 per 100,000) had higher child maltreatment death rates than New Zealand. Outcomes for other countries include Australia and Canada (both 0.7 per 100,000, 18th equal), and the United Kingdom (0.4 per 100,000, 6th equal). These findings should be treated with caution because the very small numbers involved produce highly volatile rates. In addition, although the data comes from the same World Health Organization database and uses the same international classification of death by cause, there may be differences between countries, and within countries over time, in the classification of death by intention. [Italics mine]In the US, the numbers are getting worse: http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/fatality.cfm, even adjusting for more frequent reporting - they cite research that up to 50 to 60% of fatalities from abuse aren't recorded as such. This is likely to be true in NZ as well.

I wonder if the higher rate is partly due to people now being more willing to report abuse, rather than more actual cases compared to other countries. Unfortunately kids have been injured or killed on purpose for ever; it was just not talked about openly. It does appear that certain cultures (not just in NZ) consider physical abuse to be acceptable and "normal." If the families and friends around them don't stand up and call out the perpetrators then nothing is going to change.

That all said, the number of people and time involved in the Nia case is stomach turning - anyone who knew what was going on and didn't call the police should go to jail for a long time.

[Lupin]

Pacific Island people never hit their kids until the British missionaries arrived and taught them to beat their kids if they were naughty. Unfortunately this custom has remained in some families. I think many problems can be traced back to colonialisation in this way, as it does not seem to me, with my limited understanding of Maori culture, that this fits with general Maori beliefs and culture - which generally sees children as very special, and to be treasured.

I may be wrong, what do others think?

I also see much higher levels of neglect where I work, and there are children who I would have routinely referred to Social Services in Britain, but I do not here, as they would not be considered a priority at all. It makes me sad.

That's my understanding too Sam. The news here seems to move from one harrowing child abuse case to another :no

[willsken]

I think there is certainly more awareness now. The yr 12 pupils are studying the film "Once We Were Warriors" The English teacher recommended that I see it but did say it was harrowing. I am going to watch it but out of interest, has anyone seen it?

[sfordjasiri]

I think there is certainly more awareness now. The yr 12 pupils are studying the film "Once We Were Warriors" The English teacher recommended that I see it but did say it was harrowing. I am going to watch it but out of interest, has anyone seen it?

I've seen it. It's a hard movie to watch.

[Lupin]

It makes pretty tough viewing, but well worth watching :)

[willowshouse]

A great movie (although now dated) .. but it does leave you a little down after your first viewing. A very difficult subject tackled very well in the film. Don't let that put you off watching it... it isn't depressing from scene one.

Dawn

[Sam B]

Yeah, it's great. Seems really dated at first, but you forget about that as you become absorbed by it.

[willsken]

Thanks. After what I'd heard I wasn't really looking forward to it. I just felt, after the comments of a few other teachers, I should watch it. I'll let you know how it made me feel. :yes

[hball]

Saw the film in the UK just before getting on the plane in 1994 thinking it would be a great introduction to the cultural/historical side of NZ. Came out of the cinema as stunned mullets wondering what on earth we had let ourselves in for. Saw the follow up films here in NZ.

Alan Duff is a very good social commentator - has anyone read his books?

[Nick88]

Alan Duff is part maori, I heard an interview with him on the radio and he said that his white father never hit him or his siblings, but his maori mother used to knock the daylights out of them. He also said quite plainly that maori and Pacific islanders "own the child abuse statistics in this country".

Isn't it perverse that Hone Harawera goes to Aus to protest the Govt measures to counteract abuse in Aboriginal communities and stays silent on what is happening in his own? Sadly violence is an everyday part of many maori and PI families, and until there is an official recognition of the problem and someone with the stomach to tackle it the issue will be avoided.

[thepiesleys]

I recently attended 2 days of training on working with people from the Pacific Islands, and the trainer pointed out that Pacific Island people never hit their kids until the British missionaries arrived and taught them to beat their kids if they were naughty. Unfortunately this custom has remained in some families. I think many problems can be traced back to colonialisation in this way, as it does not seem to me, with my limited understanding of Maori culture, that this fits with general Maori beliefs and culture - which generally sees children as very special, and to be treasured.

It is my understanding that Samoan culture has always treated there children as second class citizens - I for one would take the statement that it is 'our' fault with a huge pinch of salt. I read a fairly detailed article on the life of the samoan woman who died after her ventilator was turned off. The article digressed fairly heavily into samoan life and it's culture. the reporter visited samoa to research the item.

Samoans on the whole are, apparently, gobsmacked at the anti smacking laws that have been introduced over here and are offering family members in NZ to send there kids back to Samoa for discipline. The discipline the reported saw meeted out to children while he was there ranged from a smack on the bum, being hit with a stick to a child having his hair held and his face punched repetedly.

If it is the case and island people adopted draconian punishment techniques from there colonisers then surely they would, excuse the phrase, roll with the punches and adopt new ways of thinking. I think it is firmly engraved in their culture as the horrific recent cases highlight. The 17 year old and the 34 year old putting a 3 year old into a tumble dryer, on the roof of a house and laughing as the poor thing screamed in terror and later died.

It is also not just the acts carried out by a broad ranging section of the society but the acts of the mothers after the abuse that are shocking.

In the case of the three year and the twin babies the mothers put themselves and their partners before the dying babies. In both cases neither mothers were present as the children died in their hospital beds. One was in a nightclub.

If we can do anything we should highlight these issues and educate as much as we can.

I for one was wholly shocked when I arrived in NZ and read of horrific child abuse cases on a seemingly weekly basis.

Dan

[willsken]

This is such a sensitive subject. I remember a thread about just this subject, not long ago and it got quite emotive. We all hold different views on the whys and wherefores on the abuse committed in NZ.

Just the other day we were talking in the staff room about the problem and there were some people very vocal about it. I felt really uncomfortable with the way the conversation was going, as there was a Maori teacher sitting with us and believe me I'm not a very PC kind of person. As it turned out he wasn't offended by it at all and joined the debate about how the problem should be dealt with.

At the end of the day it's not about blame and who does what. It's about the children who live with this abuse every day and how, as a society, we can help to put this right. No child should see this kind of treatment as the norm, unfortunately too many do.

[Nick88]

In my opinion the tribal way that children are raised is a large part of the problem. The activists like to bandy words like whanau and whakapapa alot as if we ignorant white people couldn't possibly understand what family is all about (all of the normal working class maori I have ever met don't do this). Unfortunately when a so-called community raises a child everyone has responsibility for that child's welfare, tragically what it often means is that nobody has.

There are many thousands of maori that have left NZ specifically to escape the tribal system. It is rigidly hierarchical and those at the bottom of the pile are discouraged from improving their lot in life. "Don't get above your station!" they are told, I have a friend in London in this situation. Sadly this Brown Poppy Syndrome is helping to perpetuate an underclass that is always involved when these tragedies happen. Even more tragic is the way that PC attitudes stop anyone from even trying to tackle these problems and saving the lives of these poor little mites.

[thepiesleys]

^^^^^ Well said.

[willsken]

Even more tragic is the way that PC attitudes stop anyone from even trying to tackle these problems and saving the lives of these poor little mites.


:clap :clap So very true.