Reality Check Needed on Shameful Child Abuse says Family First NZ

December 11, 2011 by Leave a Comment

MEDIA RELEASE

In a media release issued  on 10 December 2011, Family First NZ, a registered charity with the Charities Commission, states:

Family First  is rejecting claims by the Children’s Commissioner and others that rising child abuse statistics are ‘good news’ and ‘delightful’, and is repeating its call for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into child abuse as a result of continuing ‘tragic’ figures. 

“It is time we stopped ‘marketing’ child abuse statistics and trying to give them a positive spin, under the illusion that we are succeeding. We need a reality check,” says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ.

 “The rates of child abuse have been rocketing up for the last decade – even before the flawed anti-smacking law was passed and the Family Violence awareness campaign began. Between 2003 and 2007 alone, notifications more than doubled from 31,000 to 72,000. The latest statistics give no confidence that children are any safer.”

 “To label our atrocious statistics as ‘good news’ and ‘delightful’ is an insult to the victims. Government groups cannot attribute the increase to greater awareness and better practice. The rates have been increasing markedly well before the public awareness campaigns, and the increase in admissions to Starship Hospital alone are proof that the problem is deterioriating.” [Read more...]

Filed Under: Anti-smacking Bill, Violence Tagged With: , , , ,

Government Must Release Child Abuse Report now – says Family First NZ

November 4, 2011 by Leave a Comment

In a media release issued today, Family First NZ, a registered charity with the Charities Commission, has demanded that Government release a Report on Child Abuse. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Crime, Violence Tagged With:

Lawmakers urged to appeal ‘pathetic sentence’ imposed by Judge MacKenzie

March 26, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Lawmakers have been urged to appeal the “pathetic” sentence handed down by Judge Alan MacKenzie on Friday in the Palmerston North High Court to a man who killed his former partner’s toddler because she wouldn’t listen to him. She suffered horrific injuries after Sean James Donnelly, 23, a former security guard, swung her around by her ankles as punishment, before letting the wee girl go after he became dizzy.

He initially denied any wrong-doing, claiming Cash had suffered the injuries after his own four-year-old daughter had hit her with a doll. As the Judge noted, Donnelly chose not to treat the toddler’s sickening injuries until a friend arrived at his house about 90 minutes after the incident.

Donnelly was handed a seven-year jail sentence on Friday after earlier pleading guilty to three-year-old Cash McKinnon’s manslaughter. But as judge Alan MacKenzie did not impose a statutory non-parole period, Donnelly could be released back into the community in as little as 18 months. In summing up the judge noted that Donnelly did not intend to kill the girl and had yet to face up to the totality of what he had done.

Sensible Sentencing Trust boss Garth McVicar last night hit out at the sentence imposed, saying it was abhorrent and needed to be reviewed. He said the sentence failed to send a strong message to the community that horrendous offences of child abuse would not be tolerated.

“What is the message in this pathetic sentence that children don’t matter, that we as a society accept and tolerate this sort of behaviour? With a stroke of the pen our judiciary has single-handedly underwritten and endorsed New Zealand’s horrendous child abuse statistics. The high level of child abuse in New Zealand is already eyed with disdain by the rest of the world. We are a pathetic little country that does not treasure its children and simply allows them to be treated as cannon fodder,” McVicar said.

Full story by Neil Reid – Stuff News: 26 March 2011 http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/4813808/Lawmakers-urged-to-appeal-pathetic-sentence

Filed Under: Crime, Violence Tagged With: , , , , ,

‘Crass’ News Item on Child Abuse Draws Formal Complaint [from Family First NZ]

December 28, 2010 by Leave a Comment

MEDIA RELEASE: 28 December 2010 Source www.familyfirst.org.nz

Family First NZ has laid an official complaint with the Broadcasting Standards Authority over a disgraceful TV3 Nightline news story (ref. 1) broadcast on the day before Christmas Eve which trivialised and made light of child sex abuse. [Family First NZ is a registered charity with the NZ Charities Commission and its objectives are supported by SPCS].

“It was broadcast only 24 hours after it had been revealed (ref. 2) that the horrendous case of child abuse of a West Auckland 9 year old that had shocked the nation also involved sexual abuse by a CYF caregiver. It was also introduced by the presenter with the pun ‘a touching Christmas story’,” says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ.

“It was crass, completely inappropriate, and offensive to many people who would have been shocked, revolted and upset by the revelations of severe and long-term abuse of a nine year old which was in the news.” [Read more...]

Filed Under: Announcement, Broadcasting Standards Authority, Family Tagged With: , , , , ,

Did the ‘anti-smacking’ legislation reduce Child Abuse?

May 19, 2009 by 1 Comment

A Growing list of child homicides in New Zealand suggests that the repeal of section 59 of the Crimes Act 1961 has had no positive impact whatsoever on reducting the incidence of child abuse and child homicides in New Zealand. If anything the problem has become worse. The legislation, championed by Green MP Sue Bradford, that criminalises every parent that uses any form of force “for the purpose of correction” must be repealed. The latest shocking report of yet another child homicide must cause all decent-minded citizens to cry out “Enough is enough! We must fix this disasterous problem!” [Read more...]

Filed Under: Anti-smacking Bill, Crime, Moral Values, Violence Tagged With: , , ,
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