"Merepeka Raukawa-Tait's claims that child abuse by women is increasing is extremely misleading. It is the recognition, and not the incidence, of such abuse that is rising", FARE spokesperson Darryl Ward said today. He was commenting on Raukawa-Tait's comments made to the Wellington Rotary Club yesterday, in which she claimed that "Abuse of children by their mothers is increasing at an alarming rate".

"Men and women are equally likely to commit acts of violence, and indeed the majority of physical abuse of children is committed by women, but for a long time it has been fashionable to lay the blame at the foot of men."

"We say that the best remedy for child abuse is to ensure that a child has a right to love and care from both of its natural parents. Children who are denied a meaningful relationship with one of their parents, as happens every day in the Family Court, are at a far higher risk of being victims of abuse compared to those who retain both a mother and a father."

"Until we recognise that family violence and child abuse are human problems that can not be blamed on politicised mythical gender stereotypes, these blights will never be removed from our society. Better family law is the answer, not spending more money on ambulances at the bottom of the cliff", concluded Ward.

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