Childhood Maltreatment Report ‘Wake Up Call’ Says PHA
17 January 2007

New Zealand society needs to recognise the lifelong impact of violence against children, says PHA Director Dr Gay Keating.

Dr Keating was commenting on research from the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Research Unit that found children who were physically or emotionally abused were at increased risk of disease and illness later in life.

“This report adds weight to what we have always suspected – that stress early in life impacts on a person’s physical as well as mental health as an adult. It’s a wake up call for families, politicians, policy-makers, health services, and society in general.

“Violence against children is not something that simply happens in the distant past and is forgotten; it has serious lasting effects.”

Dr Keating says the establishment of the Family Violence Ministerial Team and the Taskforce for Action on Violence within Families was a positive step. The Taskforce’s vision is for all families and whanau to have healthy respectful stable relationships free from violence.

However, she says that legislation is needed to back up work being done at a strategic and policy level.

“We must repeal section 59 of the Crimes Act, which currently provides a statutory defense which can be used by parents if they are prosecuted for assaulting a child.

“Physical punishment is part of the ‘violence continuum’. Not only is there a risk of children being injured by mistake or on purpose, but of them becoming aggressive, developing a poor relationship with their parents, and becoming violent parents. It is far better not to hit at all and the law should reflect this fact by not excusing any assault.”

A consistent approach to violence against children, with no anomalies, is needed if we are to protect their future health, she says.

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