NEW ZEALAND News

Police have acknowledged their failings in handling child abuse
cases, following a review by the Independent Police Conduct Authority.
In June 2009 the discovery of over 100 backlogged child abuse cases
in the Wairarapa prompted a major inquiry into the way police handle
complaints.
“A fundamental purpose of this inquiry is to ensure shortcomings are
remedied so that they do not occur in the future,” says IPCA chairwoman
Justice Lowell Goddard.
Today, part one of the inquiry reported back – announcing 34
recommendations for change.

• Ensuring police agree on a consistent definition of child abuse
  
• Limiting the number of cases per investigator
  
• Guaranteeing child abuse teams exclusively focus on child abuse
  investigations
  
• Making sure those teams have specialist staff with willingness
  and aptitude for child abuse investigations
  
• Introduce random checks on case progress.
  

“The IPCA is saying there is really nothing more than the protection
of a child and the pursuit of those who abuse them, and I agree,’ says
Police Commissioner Howard Broad.
The worse offenders were police in Westport, Rotorua and the
Wairarapa, where there was no priority given to following up child abuse
complaints after initial investigations.
“I apologise for those, they are quite significant service failures,”
says Mr Broad.
But the IPCA says a large majority of the 5000 to 6000 complaints
seen each year by police are handled well.
“Failures in the Wairarapa and, on a much lesser scale, Rotorua and
Westport, should not be taken as representative of the police child
abuse investigations nationwide.”
This is just part one of the IPCA’s inquiry.
Part two, due later this year, will look at specific case failings
and how they impacted on victims.

Thanks for posting this Tom. I was thinking where to put it. It is huge news over here. So many cases have not been investigated. All these areas mentioned are where a lot of Maori, the indigenous people of New Zealand live. There are a lot of gang members in these areas. The main gangs are Black Power and The Mongel Mob. These gangs are involved in drugs and other crimes and are vicious. I wonder if a lot of times the person charged with the file was just too scared to investigate in some cases. It's pathetic. I hope that once all the investigations are completed the problems with our system gets sorted out. An excellent movie to watch to get an idea is called Once Were Warriors.

It's hoped a new victim support centre in south Auckland will
encourage more sufferers of family violence to come forward.
Counties Manukau police investigate more than 12,000 cases a
year but it's estimated 82% of cases go unreported.
Number 267 Great South Road in south Auckland hopes that the
centre will be a sanctuary for abuse victims.


"(Arriving at the centre) you're not feeling like you're walking
into a police station or a hospital to deal with some very
difficult and horrific experiences," says child psychologist Caryn
Trent.
The new centre brings several agencies together under one roof
for the first time - the police, medical staff and Child, Youth and
Family Services (CYFS).
"We haven't been as victim-focused as we should have been, over
the years. And it's simply because we haven't had the agencies
necessarily working together like this," says police minister
Judith Collins.
Staff expect to work with mainly child victims and according to
CYFS that number is at nearly 1000 a year."Throughout the design we thought about what it would be like to
be a child walking through this building," says Trent.
Police hope the comforting environment will help catch more
offenders.
"The foundation for us is the interview of our victims, if we
can get a good clear interview it's going to help us with the
investigation and then the subsequent prosecution," detective
inspector John Timms of Counties Manukau Police.
But police are also bracing themselves for abuse statistics to
rise as more is reported.
"I know we could get stats down by simply having people not
report crime. I don't want to see that happen. I want this sort of
crime reported, dealt with and the victims helped," says
Collins.
If successful, similar centres will open across the country.

New centre provides support to abuse victims

A new Multi-Agency
Centre in Counties-Manukau represents the commitment of the Government
and community to providing support, care and justice to the victims of
child abuse, Police Minister Judith Collins said.

Speaking at the
opening of the new centre, a joint initiative between Police, Child,
Youth and Family, and the Counties-Manukau District Health Board, Ms
Collins said all children had the right to grow up free from abuse and
violence.

"Sadly, for too many children in this country, home is
not a loving, supportive or even a safe place," Ms Collins said.

"When
a child's life is marred by the horror of abuse or violence, that child
must have somewhere to go, and someone they can turn to for help. That
child must be assured of a caring, compassionate, speedy and
professional response.

"This innovative facility will help meet
the needs of victims by providing a safe and supportive environment
where child victims can interact with a team of Police, Child Youth and
Family and health professionals."

The centre will also
investigate sexual assault against adults and will assess and
co-ordinate the need for intervention with the families of these
victims. It will allow one-stop access to specialised medical, forensic
and psychological services, and enable investigations to be more easily
co-ordinated and carried out.

It will also provide a vital link
from these agencies back to the many community groups who provide
ongoing support to the victims.

"This centre represents the
commitment of the Government and this community to better deal with
abuse," Ms Collins said.

"It represents our promise to our
children and other victims of abuse that we will stand by them, we will
protect them and we will bring justice for them."

"There has been a considerable amount of public and media attention
to the matter of child abuse over recent years. I believe that the high
degree of debate concerning the amendment to Section 59 of the Crimes
Act raised consciousness and promoted awareness of the need for children
to be protected from assault" said Dennis McKinlay, Executive Director
of UNICEF NZ today.
Mr McKinlay was responding to information reported to the Social
Services Select Committee by Minister Paula Bennet that reports of child
abuse have risen 119% in the last five years and are expected to
increase.
He added that it was well evidenced that many cases of assault on
children begin in the name of discipline.
Mr McKinlay was referring to a law change in 2007 that removed the
defence of reasonable force for the purpose of disciplining children. A
review of the law in late 2009 found that it was working as intended and
that parents were not being unfairly investigated.
"What seems like a monumental problem in New Zealand will only be
solved if families and communities stand up for all children's right to
be protected from violence, abuse and neglect" he said. "What was
previously a hidden disgrace is now out there for us to see and deal
with"
"Acting to protect children from harm is the duty of every adult in
New Zealand" he said "Child abuse is being taken seriously and people
are obviously taking more responsibility to report to authorities" said
Dennis McKinlay,
He said that it was pleasing to see that Child Youth and Family
believed that they were on top of the problem but added "The true
measure of success in dealing with child abuse will be when those
appalling statistics of children hurt, hospitalised and traumatised
through abuse are genuinely reduced and children can be safe in their
homes and within their communities".
"New Zealand features poorly among the countries of the developed
world for child abuse. The fact that children here now have legal
protection from assault in all circumstances is a milestone for child
protection. It sends a clear signal that children's safety, dignity and
protection is high on our nation's agenda and is an emphatic message in
support of children's right to protection from any form of violence"

New measures to tackle New Zealand's high rate of child abuse are
being worked on and there will be announcements in coming months, says
Social Development Minister Paula Bennett.
Ms Bennett today commented following the latest incident involving
the death of six-month-old baby Cezar Taylor in Auckland yesterday from
head injuries.
James Allan Hemana, 30, the boyfriend of Cezar's mother, has appeared in court charged with assaulting the boy.
"I wish it was absolutely unique, but we know that last year alone 79
babies were hospitalized for serious abuse and neglect in New Zealand,"
Ms Bennett said.
"You have got quite frankly mongrels in a home who are hurting and
killing our children and you have adults there who should be protecting
them and loving and caring for them and they are not."
Ms Bennett said "a number of announcements" would be made by the Government in coming months around tackling child abuse.
Asked today about whether she would support moves to make it a crime
to not report serious child abuse, Ms Bennett said she would.
"I think that we do need to look at where that reporting is, where
people need to step up and say what has been happening. But quite
frankly if you have a child it is your duty to care, protect and love
that child."
Ms Bennett said abuse was often an inter-generational problem with a
cycle of poor parenting or no parenting, and that cycle needed to be
broken.
Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei said it was a complex problem,
but a long-term community response was needed which sent a clear message
that violence against children was never acceptable.
Support systems were also needed for at risk families which dealt with inequality and the gap between rich and poor, she said.
But Ms Turei was not keen on the idea of singling out those not reporting abuse.
"I'm not sure that would necessarily help. How could you identify
whether somebody knew sufficiently that there might have been incidents
of child abuse such that they could be held criminally liable for not
reporting it."
Punishing people for the community responsibility was likely to make them more fearful, she said.
The New Zealand branch of the United Nations' children's fund also
said yesterday's death was a reminder to communities to remain vigilant
in the fight against child abuse.

Thursday, 29 July, 2010 - 08:03



'How many more children have to die before we do something?'
Family First NZ is repeating its call for a Commission of Inquiry
into the unacceptable levels of child abuse and deaths in NZ, and says
that it will be an important first step in identifying and targeting the
real causes of child abuse.
The call comes following the death of 6 month old Cezar Taylor. More
than 20 children have been killed since the passing of the anti-smacking
law, maintaining the rate of child abuse deaths that existed before the
law change.
"We are tip-toeing around the real issues of alcohol abuse, drugs,
declining rates of marriage, increasing levels of violence and sexual
content in our media, and welfare which rewards dysfunction," says Bob
McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ.
"We must take pro-active action and tackle head-on these difficult
issues as well as mental illness, low maternal age, and other key
factors identified by UNICEF and CYF reports."
"The 88% of voters in the recent Referendum who opposed the
anti-smacking law are NZ'ers exasperated with the fact that politicians
and government funded groups seem more interested in targeting good
parents than tackling these much tougher issues."
"These latest cases are yet another wake-up call that children will
never be safe until we are honest enough as a country to identify and
tackle the real causes of child abuse."
"An independent Inquiry free of political correctness and agendas would be an important first step," says Mr McCoskrie.

TomTerrific0420 wrote:Thursday, 29 July, 2010 - 08:03



'How many more children have to die before we do something?'
Family First NZ is repeating its call for a Commission of Inquiry
into the unacceptable levels of child abuse and deaths in NZ, and says
that it will be an important first step in identifying and targeting the
real causes of child abuse.
The call comes following the death of 6 month old Cezar Taylor. More
than 20 children have been killed since the passing of the anti-smacking
law, maintaining the rate of child abuse deaths that existed before the
law change.
"We are tip-toeing around the real issues of alcohol abuse, drugs,
declining rates of marriage, increasing levels of violence and sexual
content in our media, and welfare which rewards dysfunction," says Bob
McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ.
"We must take pro-active action and tackle head-on these difficult
issues as well as mental illness, low maternal age, and other key
factors identified by UNICEF and CYF reports."
"The 88% of voters in the recent Referendum who opposed the
anti-smacking law are NZ'ers exasperated with the fact that politicians
and government funded groups seem more interested in targeting good
parents than tackling these much tougher issues."
"These latest cases are yet another wake-up call that children will
never be safe until we are honest enough as a country to identify and
tackle the real causes of child abuse."
"An independent Inquiry free of political correctness and agendas would be an important first step," says Mr McCoskrie.

Amen!

Child sex tourism arrest an NZ first
9:21 AM Saturday Aug 21, 2010
There is hope the first ever New Zealand arrest over the child sex tourism industry will send a strong message.

A 46-year-old Auckland motel and property manager is accused of organising and promoting child sex tours to South East Asia, and dealing in children for sexual exploitation.

Alan Bell of the anti-child-prostitution group ECPAT hopes the arrest will serve as a strong warning. He says all types of child exploitation are driven by profit - and where there is money to be made, people are willing to get involved.

Mr Bell says the international organisation is dedicated to ending child prostitution and works tirelessly to stop the trade.

- Newstalk ZB

Child sex tour organiser to appear in court
7:45 PM Friday Aug 20, 2010
A man is to appear in court tomorrow, charged with organising and promoting child sex tours to Southeast Asia and dealing in children for sexual exploitation.
The man, a 46-year-old Auckland motel and property manager, was arrested this morning after police swooped on addresses in Remuera and Mangere.
It followed an eight-month investigation in which an undercover police officer was used to gather evidence.
The manager was due in Manukau District Court today but because it took police longer than expected to process him, he will appear tomorrow morning.
Members of the Counties Manukau Child Protection Team are still searching the man's home.
The operation was co-ordinated by the Police Online Child Exploitation Across New Zealand (OCEANZ) unit, a specialist team set up in 2009 as part of a global task force focused on online child sexual exploitation.
OCEANZ head Detective Senior Sergeant John-Paul Michael said the man was arrested shortly before he was due to leave the country for Thailand.
"The unit is working closely with other agencies and international partners to identify and track offenders involved in the online sexual exploitation of children in New Zealand and overseas.
"New Zealanders who think they can travel abroad to commit these horrendous offences against children can expect to be targeted and arrested," he said.
It was the first time a charge of organising a child sex tour had been laid against an individual in New Zealand, Mr Michael said.

- NZPA

Here in the US, the perps in these sex tour jaunts, when caught, are prosecuted as though the crime was committed here. Travel to commit this crime and you will do lots of time!

6 September, 2010 - 14:25

This week is Child Protection Week, an initiative supported by (ANZPAA) the Australian New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency.
The week aims to highlight the fact that it is everyone's responsibility to make their children and community safe.
Child abuse is any action, behaviour or inaction by an adult towards a
child that harms or endangers the child's physical, psychological or
emotional health, development or well-being.
Acting Assistant Commissioner, Win Van Der Velde says there is no excuse for beating, abusing, or neglecting children.
"No child's life should begin this way. When it does - the harm is substantial and long-lasting", Mr Van Der Velde.

Police manage between 5000-6000 cases of child abuse every year.
"We are committed to holding offenders to account for crimes against
children and to working with other agencies to protect children."
Protecting children is the key purpose of an updated protocol signed earlier this year by Police and Child, Youth and Family.
The Child Protection Protocol (CPP) clearly defines the roles of each
organisation and sets out the process for working together when
responding to serious child abuse.
"Updating the protocol was important, not only to capture advances in
working practices but to ensure we provide a timely and coordinated
response to young victims," Mr Van Der Velde said.
Police are also involved in the development of multi-agency centres
where children who are thought to have experienced abuse or neglect are
assessed and treated in an anonymous environment that is not a police
station.
"Child, Youth and Family, Police, medical and other specialist staff
work together as part of a multi-agency team to streamline the work that
needs to be done and to minimise the trauma as far as possible for the
victims."
Online Abuse
A specialist Online Child Exploitation Agency (OCEANZ) coordinates
international operations into online paedophile networks working to
identify and rescue victims of abuse. It also targets those who produce
images of abuse for financial gain.
NZ Police have recently joined the Virtual Global Taskforce, which is
made up of law enforcement agencies from around the world, working
together to fight child abuse online.
Family Violence
Reducing violence within families and whanau is a priority for Police.
Last year police attended 91,000 family violence related occurrences and
offences.
Children are present at about half of all family violence
occurrences. In 2009 approximately 70 percent of reported child abuse
was also family violence.
Since July Police have had the ability to issue Police Safety Orders
(PSOs). These require any person who represents a threat to leave the
premises for up to five days. PSOs also protect the person at risk and
any children in the home by putting in place standard conditions that
mirror those in Protection Orders, for the duration of the PSO.
Police issued 290 PSOs in the month of July.
"This is a significant tool for Police to use to protect and support
families experiencing violence in their home," Mr Van Der Velde said.
"We know that family violence is the cradle for future offending in
New Zealand. We need to work together to reduce violence in the home."
"If you know of a child who you suspect is being abused or mistreated, please do something about it."
"You can contact your local Police, or the Child Youth and Family
notification line 0508 FAMILY (0508 326 459) or you can call
Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111."
Police will be profiling some of the above initiatives in more detail throughout the week on our website.
Click the following link to see the Commissioner of Police, Howard Broad talk about Child Protection Week. http://www.police.govt.nz/featured/police-commissioner-child-protection-...

Paula Bennett: Why you should care about child abuse

10:21 AM Monday Aug 23, 2010
Paula Bennett, National Party MP and Minister for Social Development and Employment.

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett's speech to iwi leaders last week, calling for a co-operative effort to address child abuse. New Zealand is a land of opportunity and for most, a great place to bring up kids. But there is a dark side to this remarkable country which resides within too many homes. Thousands of children are growing up unsafe and unprotected in chaotic homes. Many are abused and neglected by the very people who should love and protect them. This is New Zealand's ugly secret. In the last year Child, Youth and Family received over 125,000 reports from people concerned enough about a child's safety to notify authorities. In over 21,000 of these cases, child abuse or neglect was confirmed. So that's over 340 notifications and 57 confirmed serious abuse and neglect cases every day. That's 2,400 reports of child abuse and neglect every week in New Zealand. There is no excuse for beating, abusing and neglecting our children. No child's life should begin this way. And when it does, the harm is substantial and long lasting. The social and economic costs of abuse and neglect are beyond comprehension. A baby shaken in anger and out of ignorance may be left with permanent brain damage, or even die as a result. Children beaten and sexually abused grow up carrying the burden of that abuse. Many driven by anger, low self esteem and distrustful of others, follow a path to crime and violence and many repeat their experience on the next generation. The neglected child is a silent timebomb. Left alone, unwashed and unloved this child may not be physically bruised or injured but will be deeply affected and is unlikely to grow into a healthy, loving individual who is a productive member of the community unless we step in to help. What we are discussing here is ugly, it is shameful and it is unpalatable. But it is New Zealand's reality and one we must all address. Not just the Government, not just Police and Child, Youth and Family, but community, families, individuals, neighbours, teachers, friends, uncles, aunties. We must face this together. We must do everything we can to protect our children from abuse and neglect. This is a challenge for all New Zealanders. It is a challenge for Maori. Maori children are over-represented in abuse and neglect statistics. Maori clients make up more than half of all findings of abuse. In New Zealand, there can be no excuse for beating and neglecting children. I invite you to read this document. It shows that Child, Youth and Family is more responsive now than any time in the past two decades and able to respond to increasing notifications and reach out to more at-risk families. It outlines important changes to further improve the way we protect children which are in the pipeline as well as some recent initiatives. It's clear there is a lot of work being done and more to do because protecting children and keeping them safe will always be a Government priority. Which is why we need to think about the following things: No matter how efficient and how innovative Child, Youth and Family continues to be, resources are limited. The organisation and its dedicated, hard working staff are coping well with current demand but in truth that only takes care of the critical cases. We all know early intervention is the best way to make a difference, but Child, Youth and Family is in the position of having to throw the bulk of its resources into dealing with critical cases when the aim is to be more involved with families before things get really bad. Surely, the answer ultimately lies in a change in our country's culture; a change which leads to zero-tolerance for child abuse and neglect. Otherwise, we will continue to lead the world in beating, neglecting and abusing our children. And we know those children who are abused and neglected are the same adults we see years later filling New Zealand courts and prisons. Many of those who live ruined lives will ruin the lives of others - the victims of their crimes and also their own children. That is the price for tolerating child abuse. We must work together to protect our children. - Hon Paula Bennett
Minister for Social Development and Employment

Kiwi singer Tiki Taane has found a musical way to raise money for the Starship Foundation - drawing on his own child as inspiration.The 'Always on My Mind' singer regularly plays guitar and sings to his 19-month-old son Charlie, and back when the toddler was two months old Tiki Taane created a lullaby for him.

Tiki Taane and his son Charlie

After playing it to his son for about a year, the award-winning performer one night dreamed of how he could use it to help children. The idea came to him to release it as a fund-raising single for the Starship Children's Hospital."I wrote this song for my son, Charlie Te Marama" said Tiki. "I wanted to write a lullaby that all parents could play and sing to their child - one that isn't difficult to learn, but most importantly is from this country. My whanau helped by translating part of the track into Maori, which connects it with the spirit of Aotearoa New Zealand."He said he emailed Starship with his idea and they were delighted."It's been an amazing journey so far" Tiki said. "Through the making of this tune, I've been blessed to meet and work with some very special people.""We were so humbled by Tiki's generosity," said Starship Foundation CEO Andrew Young. "Donating all the proceeds from every download will help our charity support so many young New Zealand children in real need."Next Monday October 4, the song "Starship Lullaby" will be released on iTunes, amplifier.co.nz , Tiki Taane'sown site and through Vodafone and Telecom. All money from the sale of the downloads goes to Starship.

A new child abuse campaign aimed at improving the lives of Kiwi children will launch this week.
The Family Works Guardian Angel initiative will help raise funds for
Kiwi children and families in need, with one child every three days
hospitalised* from child abuse.
Family Works spokesperson Jude Simpson says it’s a statistic we should be ashamed of.
Family violence is not a single outburst, she says, but rather an
escalating pressure that gets more damaging every day until it finally
explodes. Family Works hopes to help more families before they reach
that point.
With a growing waiting list of families requiring help, Simpson says
the new Guardian Angel campaign is aimed at getting New Zealanders to
help the many families queuing for their services.
Kiwis wanting to assist those in their community are able to do so by
donating around a dollar a day. The $30 donated will be used within the
sponsors’ own region to help families in need reach their potential,
says Simpson.
Family Works services include; counselling, parenting programmes and
child therapy so that families can work through their issues and change
their behaviours, says Simpson.
“When home is no longer safe, where there’s poverty, family breakdown
or children in trouble, we begin by helping a family identify their
issues and their strengths. We help them find solutions, set goals and
create a plan. Then together we work towards achieving those goals with
as much support as possible,” she says.
The campaign television commercial has been given an added boost with
Stan Walker, his management and Sony Music Entertainment Australia and
Sony Music Entertainment New Zealand allowing Family Works to use Stan’s
recording of “Amazing Grace” without charge.
Family Works is the family services branch of Presbyterian Support,
New Zealand’s largest provider of social services outside Government.
For more information on the Guardian Angel campaign see www.angel.org.nz
Family Works Guardian Angel


http://www.showroom.co.nz/news/new-campaign-to-address-kiwi-child-abuse-launches-1415.html