Not exactly light or cheerful Saturday morning reading – but we should all read it anyway. Stuff’s (Katie Kenny & Blair Ensor) excellent special investigation:
Special investigation: New Zealand’s shameful record of child abuse
New Zealand remains one of the most dangerous countries in the developed world in which to grow up, despite efforts from successive governments.
Thirteen Kiwi kids have died in suspicious circumstances so far this year – one of the worst years on record and much higher than the annual average of nine.
Every second day, a child is admitted to hospital suffering from inflicted injuries, including burns, broken bones and head wounds – with Starship children’s hospital in Auckland seeing more cases of serious abuse than ever before.
Police are being swamped with child abuse complaints and have boosted the number of detectives working on the sensitive cases in recent months. …
Read on on Stuff for plenty more. The piece concludes:
REPORT CHILD ABUSE NOW
If you have concerns about the safety of a child, you can call police on 111 or Child, Youth and Family on 0508 FAMILY (0508 326 459) for advice.
If the social worker thinks the child is in immediate danger they will act on it within 24 hours.
Information can be provided anonymously to police via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
If you are a young person worried about what’s happening to you or someone you know, call Youthline for advice on free phone 0800 37 66 33, free txt 234 or email talk@youthline.co.nz.
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