29 October 2013

Vulnerable Children’s Bill - a step in the right direction

The Government’s Vulnerable Children’s Bill, for which submissions close on 30 October, is receiving support, in principle, from the national injury prevention organisation Injury Prevention Network.

The Network’s General Manager Justine Ropata says “New Zealand has a horrific record of child abuse that in the worst cases leads to hospitalisation and premature death. Exposure to harm can have serious and ongoing negative impacts on children. These impacts are preventable and the Vulnerable Children’s Bill will go a long way towards providing greater oversight, transparency, and accountability towards the protection and wellbeing of our most at-risk children. However, we would like to see the Bill extended further.”

The Bill aims to ensure that frontline staff from government agencies are jointly accountable and responsible for keeping children safe from abuse and neglect. The Bill also introduces measures to protect children from adults who may harm them. “The Injury Prevention Network supports the fact that professional bodies, workers and caregivers who come into contact with children will require mandatory safety checks and screening. However we identify that these checks may be difficult for the non-profit sector where resources are tight and many rely on volunteers so we recommend that a relevant government department takes responsibility for screening non-regulated staff in the non-profit and volunteer sectors.”

The Bill recommends that people with convictions for specified serious offences will not be able to work with children or young people. “We agree with this but would like to see the list of specified criminal offences be extended to include criminal acts that are indicators of either predatory or abusive behaviours which could result in harm and injury to children. This includes additional criminal acts in the Crimes Act 1961 and Animal Welfare Act 1999. We know from recently published research conducted by the SPCA and National Collective of Women’s Refuge that there is a correlation between cruelty to animals and family violence (including children) in New Zealand. Therefore people with animal cruelty convictions should not be able to work in key roles with children or young people.” says Ms Ropata.

During the 1990s New Zealand ranked third-highest amongst rich nations for its child maltreatment death rates, with 49 children under 15 years dying as a result of maltreatment between 1996 and 2000. In 2009/10 Child, Youth and Family received around 125,000 notifications of possible abuse or neglect, with just over half of such notifications typically requiring follow up action. Childhood injuries account for approximately 34% of all childhood deaths and 80% of all adolescent and young adult deaths.

The Injury Prevention Network is a national leader in the injury prevention sector, advocating for the reduction and severity of unintentional and intentional injury in New Zealand.

ENDS

© Scoop Media