Abuse prevention must be supported

In 2001, half-sisters Saliel Aplin and Olympia Jetson were murdered by their stepfather, Bruce Howse, in a knife-attack - a tragic ending to two young lives marred by abuse and violence.

The Masterton sisters were 11 and 12 at the time of their deaths and the case served to illustrate New Zealand's poor track record on child abuse.

Something had to be done. A more co-ordinated and systematic approach to protecting young lives was desperately needed.

Out of the inquiry into the deaths came the recommendation that specialist advocates should exist for children. Their purpose: to make sure that children impacted in any way by violence in their neighbourhood or community could have their needs effectively met.

This would be done by the advocates educating, informing, connecting and motivating professionals. They would co-ordinate action to help children living with violence. In essence, they would be essential to the survival of many children.

In 2006, Unicef was part of a group of NGOs which supported and welcomed a government programme to make this recommendation a reality by funding the advocates in communities across the country.

The need for the role of the advocate was further cemented when an experts forum was convened and reported to the Minister of Social Development in November 2009.

The forum noted that the issue of child abuse needed a significant level of both financial and human capital investment. It further said that families of abuse victims were often known to multiple agencies, but this did not protect their children as the system did not provide for adequate information sharing. Information was generally shared through an informal arrangement built on relationships between various players in the community.

The forum made it clear that the State could not rely on such an ad hoc arrangement. Having specialists on the ground addressing these very issues is a no-brainer. In 2010, nine years after Saliel and Olympia lost their young lives, the child advocates programme was finally fully implemented.

Today, a total of 45 child advocates are in place. This includes 22 Maori advocates working with their own kaupapa to gain the confidence of their communities.

The question must be asked, why now, with the scheme still in its infancy, the Government is considering withdrawing the funds that support it?

Unicef New Zealand is part of the governing body for the programme, and has been monitoring reports that funds may be diverted to the new Whanau Ora initiative. While we support and applaud Whanau Ora, we do not believe that it should be funded at the expense of established programmes. Abolishing a well-thought-out programme to fill a void in another area is not a logical approach.

The programme needs to be properly evaluated and decisions on its future grounded in evidence. We also believe that Whanau Ora deserves its own funding source.

We simply cannot afford to give up on children. A recent report to the New Zealand Government from the UN committee on the rights of the child described New Zealand's child abuse rates as staggering. The committee was commenting on the Government's report on its compliance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The committee did commend the Government for its initiative in amending the Crimes Act so that children have the same protection from assault in their home as any other citizen.

But we do have to confront the terrible statistics that shock us, shame us and show us to be among the very worst of countries in the developed world for failing to protect our most vulnerable citizens. The reality is that most abused children are harmed by members of, or people close to, their own families.

In the aftermath of events in Christchurch, anecdotal evidence suggests that alcohol consumption and violence has increased. We live in uncertain times. We need advocates who can support children for the long-haul. It takes time for trusting relationships to be established. The child advocates have already proved their worth.

We all want this situation to be fixed - but this is not a quick fix or band-aid situation. If we are serious about breaking the cycle of family violence and moving towards a generation that does not accept violence as a normalised part of family life, we must have informed advocates for children.

A well-tested abuse prevention mechanism that reaches into all sectors of the community is up and running and in danger of being abolished at the expense of our vulnerable children.

 Barbara Lambourn is national advocacy manager for Unicef.

 

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