Average Kiwi families could be subject to greater state scrutiny if proposed rules around mandatory reporting of suspected child abuse are introduced.
A Families Commission report, released today, says agencies' inadequate systems are putting vulnerable children at risk.
It calls for better information-sharing between government departments and enhanced reporting by health professionals to safeguard at-risk children.
But it also suggests controversial new measures that could expose innocent mums and dads to greater government intervention if child abuse is suspected.
More than 22,000 children suffered emotional, physical and sexual abuse, or neglect, in the last financial year. Every year an average of 10 children die at the hands of their family or carers.
And how many of those abused children live with their biological married parents?
That is the elephant in the room - children are far more likely to be abused if their parent is a single mother and she has a live in boyfriend, but is the Government even directing their attention to irregular relationship setups? No. They just want greater scrutiny of parents who love and care for their children and live in such a way that abuse would be incredibly rare.
Related link : Plan to keep Kiwi kids safe
The same article admits that these "controversial new measures" are unlikely to be effective!
ReplyDeleteI heard the talking heads in the studio on Close Up last night, and it was mostly liberal progressive double-speak and rhetoric. Lots of serious sounding big words being thrown around and talk of programmes, information sharing and the like. I had to flick off the sound - it was like fingernails on a chalkboard..
ReplyDeleteKG,
ReplyDeleteYes, but that's never stopped Governments! I need to find out more about what is going here.
Fletch, I wonder if the Close Up episode in online? I'll have to look after lunch.
Hi Lucia:
ReplyDeleteOf the women I know who were sexually abused they all lived with their married biological parents. One was abused by an uncle, one by a family friend and three were abused by their own fathers.
Whilst I agree that bringing in new men to a family situation can increase risk, I think it's important to acknowledge that children can be abused by people outside the nuclear family and sometimes by their own biological parents.
In some families abuse is a cycle that just keeps happening through the generations.
Muerk,
ReplyDeleteYou make a good point. That is why I never say that married biological parents are an absolute guarantor of safety for a child.
Childhood sexual abuse is a horrific thing that some children somehow survive, and it seems that pornography also plays a very large part in it. Given the now ready availability of porn on the internet now, I expect it will get worse as well.
Pornography really should be outlawed, but no Government today is going to do that. Maybe in the future?
"Years ago, a cartoon appeared in a Russian newspaper picturing a fork in the road. One path was labeled freedom; the other path was labeled sausage. As we might guess, the path to freedom had few takers; the path to sausage was crowded with footprints. When given a choice people will choose bread and sausage above the free market and individual liberties. The promise of bread gets votes, even if the bread is at the expense of freedom.
ReplyDeleteThe people of Nazi Germany weren’t any more barbaric, uncivilized, or depraved than any other Western nation of the early Twentieth Century, yet the Nazi regime will forever serve as an example of brutality and extreme racism run amok. What led so many people to such extreme ends?
According to Dr. Lutzer, the German people’s progression from civility to barbarity was not extraordinary, and more than a few benchmarks from their transition can be observed in present day American society (Do any of these sound familiar?):
- The Church is silenced
- The economy is king
- The lawmakers determine behaviors
- The media controls beliefs
- The Gospel and nationalism become inextricably tied to each other
- And yet, heroes still have power
This short, manageable book does not suggest the United States is definitely marching toward authoritarian oblivion, but that we — especially we believers — must be vigilant in our stand for truth, justice, and righteousness.
We must take note of these lessons from history. The parallels are real, but the conclusion is not a foregone one.
"
http://www.amazon.com/When-Nation-Forgets-God-Lessons/dp/0802446566
Hm, pasted more than I thought.
ReplyDeleteBut the point I make is, when it comes to freedom or sausage (which, in this debate means getting rid of child abuse) I'm voting for freedom.
Scrubone,
ReplyDeleteEven mentioning anything to do with Nazi Germany may get a person a reprimand - Godwin's Law, I think. It's as if we are not supposed to have learned from it. Though, as your link to the book infers, people don't believe it could happen again, that it was specific to that time and place.
As for getting rid of child abuse (completely), it's impossible anyway. Taking into account human nature, there will always be those that abuse their children. With the right stuff in place, we might be able to reduce it by 80% - but the last 20% would require absolute control of the type that North Korea exercise over their population, and even then, it would exist.
So, in my opinion, the assumption should be that most of us are NOT abusing their children and increasing surveillance to catch those that do isn't worth it. Especially since many of the factors that aid and abet child abuse are actively encouraged by Government (thinking their sex ed that tells kids to go out and do it, but wear a condom).