Hamilton, New Zealand – As the annual child protection community awareness campaign Buddy Day gets underway today, one of New Zealand’s leading experts on child protection says her overseas counterparts are interested in the outcomes.

Anthea Simcock, chief executive of Child Matters, recently returned from a fact-finding trip to the UK and USA about child protection issues.

Mrs Simcock said there was a great deal of interest in Buddy Day, which was developed by Child Matters and is in its second year. She has received a number of suggestions and invitations for how Child Matters might share New Zealand’s experience of the awareness event internationally.

She went on to say Child Matters’ own research shows most New Zealanders think child abuse is a big problem in New Zealand. However, she said many people still think it is “someone else’s problem.”

“Most people think child abuse is something that happens to ‘other people’, and there’s nothing they can do to stop it. But there is something every adult can do. We can speak up for children; children can’t prevent child abuse, adults can.

“Educating the adult population about where they can go if they suspect abuse, and empowering them to speak up if they do, is part of the solution to preventing child abuse. Raising awareness is also very important. That’s what Buddy Day is all about.”

Buddy Day itself has two components. The lead-up to the 16 November event kicked off today (2 November) as schools and childcare centres around the Waikato took delivery of 335 life-size cutouts of cardboard children that thousands of school and pre-school children will decorate, name, clothe and turn into ‘Buddies’.

These ‘Buddies’ will be adopted and cared for by adults on Buddy Day, Friday, 16 November. The Buddy carers take the Buddies everywhere they go to generate conversations about preventing child abuse.

Buddy Day manager Janine Evans said Child Matters had received an overwhelming response from schools and childcare centres to be involved in decorating Buddies for Buddy Day. She also said registrations for adult ‘Carers’ on 16 November were coming in thick and fast, and there had been interest from people throughout New Zealand wondering how they could get involved.

“We’re not going to have any problems getting 335 people to care for our Buddies in Hamilton – and next year we are going to have more Buddies in more communities.”

The long-term goal is to make Buddy Day a national event, with every community in New Zealand participating. The addition of Buddy Day Supporter’s Packs, which can be ordered online this year, is the first step toward creating the national event.

For more information on participating in Buddy Day in Hamilton or ordering a Buddy Day Supporter’s Pack, visit www.buddyday.org.nz .

Follow Buddy Day on Facebook: www.facebook.com/buddydaynz .

-ENDS-

About Buddy Day:

This year there are 335 Buddies being decorated by schoolchildren and adopted by Carers on Buddy Day. This number represents 20% of the substantiated cases of child abuse in the Waikato last year.

Buddy Day has two components:

Buddies are Created, 2 November – 12 November:

• The week before Buddy Day, school children create Buddies from blank, life-sized cardboard cut-outs.
• Each ‘Buddy’ is given its own name and life story that is written by the children who decorate them.

Buddies are Adopted by Carers on Buddy Day, 16 November:

• Carers are adults who adopt the Buddies after they have been decorated, for the day only. This year Buddy Day is 16 November. The hub of the event is in Hamilton.
• On 16 November the 335 Carers collect their Buddies at a breakfast at the Claudelands Event Centre where they are also briefed about their responsibilities for the day.
• Carers take their ‘Buddy’ with them for the day – to the office, to meetings, to lunch, or running errands. The more places the Buddy visits the better!
• When others see Carers with their Buddy, this opens up conversation about the responsibility of every adult in our community to speak up for children and keep them safe.
• Throughout Buddy Day, when Carers have conversations about how adults need to speak up for children, they get people to sign a ‘Buddy diary.’ This is a way to spread the message of Buddy Day and its message about preventing child abuse.
• After the event, many of the schools involved in creating the Buddies ask for them back, and they are returned to them. Carers can also keep their Buddies if they wish. All other Buddies are returned to Child Matters.

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