Child abuse prevention agency welcomes changes to Bill

Anthea Simcock, CEO of Child Matters, New Zealands child abuse prevention specialists, is welcoming changes announced by Justice Minister Simon Power in a new Bill tabled in Parliament yesterday. The changes address family accountability in protecting children and also sexual ‘grooming’ online.

First of the key changes is creating a new offence of failing to protect a child or vulnerable adult from death, harm, or sexual assault as a consequence of another person.

Mrs Simcock strongly supports this change to make families more accountable which she believes is clearly in response to the unacceptable outcomes from the investigations into the deaths of Hail Sage McCluskey and the Kahui twins. In both of these cases families colluded to protect the offender in preference to protecting the children.

“These families potentially put other children at risk, by setting a precedent for other families to believe that there is no accountability for child abuse, and by putting other children in their own extended families in a high risk situation. They are clearly accountable.”

“The huge trap here, is that so many people simply do not recognise abuse. There are a raft of reasons for this: for some, the treatment is what some believe and expect as normal, others simply do not recognise that the signs that the child is displaying are symptomatic of abuse, while others who may have been abused themselves, find it hard to face and deal with.”

“Without training and educating people, the evidence is clear, that abuse will not be recognised and acted on. The starting point is that all professionals and organisations should not be endorsed unless the staff have the basic training.” Says Mrs Simcock.

The other key change to the bill means that people who ‘groom’ undercover police officers online - who they believe are children - can be charged with a crime.

“I believe such a change is entirely justified and timely for a few basic reasons. Firstly, if any intervention can reduce the number of people grooming and exploiting children online we should be using it.

Secondly, this is a tool that could assist in possibly exposing and removing offenders from their offending, and thirdly, it can also provide an opportunity to use the findings from the police work to educate children, parents and schools, which in turn may protect other children.”

Some people may have issues about the concept of entrapment but Mrs Simcock believes that if offenders groom someone they believe to be a child, then their intent (mens rea) is clear, and they should be held accountable.

The process is not unusual in other parts of the world. Shaquille O’Neal has been doing just this in the USA, posing as an under-age girl and helping police identify and charge sexual predators.

Child Matters has been working to raise understanding and awareness of the issue of child abuse for many years and welcomes changes like these that support the rights of children and that we all have a responsibility for keeping children safe.

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