Marketing Of Smacking Law Better Spent On Targeting Abuse

Family First NZ says that Child Youth and Family (CYF) should save the cost of the 20,000 booklets ‘marketing’ the anti-smacking law and re-direct those resources to better targeting and monitoring at-risk families.

“The real issue is that both the police and CYF, with nine reports to date, are trying to market a law which has been misrepresented by its promoters as to its effect, is confusing to most parents, and fails to address the real causes of child abuse,” says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ.

“And the Prime Minister is representing the law differently to the way the police and CYF are applying it. We know from the just-released police report that hundreds of families are receiving official police warnings and also intervention from CYF for smacking or minor acts of physical discipline.”

‘This approach doesn't reassure us as parents. We want to be allowed to raise law-abiding and positive members of society and the real abusers targeted and dealt with. CYF should focus their time and resources to pay attention to the real issues of family dysfunction and breakdown, substance abuse, and mental health issues,” says Mr McCoskrie.

“A law that requires so many compromises, guidelines, helplines, reviews, and parent education could be easily fixed with a simple amendment - the Boscawen amendment. Tha

ENDS

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