MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
13 April 2011
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.
ENDS
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For more information or to arrange an interview please contact:
Anthea Simcock, CEO - 021 402 430 or anthea@childmatters.org.nz. Anthea will be
available between 12.30 and 1.30pm today.
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www.childmatters.org.nz