UNICEF NZ (UN Children’s Fund)

Media Release

Good sense prevails with Section 59 review - UNICEF

Wellington, 8 December 2009. – UNICEF NZ believes that the outcome of the recent review of the Child Discipline law is a victory for common sense and should finally put to rest unfounded claims of parents being unfairly treated.

UNICEF NZ Executive Director, Dennis McKinlay, welcomes the findings that the law was working as intended and is pleased that the campaign of misinformation opposing the amendment of Section 59 of the Crimes Act is behind us.

“We can now move on and work towards supporting parents to understand that more positive ways of helping children to learn and be well disciplined are far more effective that hitting or otherwise hurting them.

“We support of the right of children to be protected from any form of assault and the old law had allowed parents to commit serious acts of cruelty and abuse towards children and use the defence of reasonable force.

“There is nothing reasonable about an adult assaulting a child”.

UNICEF NZ sees the Child Discipline law of 2007 as a milestone for children’s rights.

“We have just observed the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and New Zealand was there at the beginning,”says McKinlay.

“It is particularly pleasing that our Government can report that children now have the same legal protection from assault as every other citizen”.

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