Truth of abuse too powerful to ignore

By LINDA HERRICK

The issue of child abuse in New Zealand is never easy to stomach, but watching drama-documentary Questions 2: Killing Tomorrow was like being king-hit by proxy.

The banal, savage fate of each of the three featured children (played by actors) was made even more devastating at the end of the first part of the programme, when Detective Inspector Graham Bell suddenly appeared on screen to reveal that the stories were based on real cases, and tell us what had become of Paul, Mo and Tilly and their tormenters.

Only those with ice in their veins could fail to be moved - and there lies the problem.

In each case, one adult or more had failed to take responsibility for the safety of a defenceless child. They were numbed by their own history, passing on behaviour they had learned from their own parents. And so it goes on.

Killing Tomorrow addressed abuse going on in Pakeha, Maori and Polynesian families whose circumstances are familiar to us all.

Paul, the 9-year-old Pacific Island boy, suffered in the name of God, as his strict church-going parents administered incrementally severe beatings. They called it "discipline"; the new minister called it abuse.

The light in rugby-mad Paul's eyes slowly died when he was in too much pain to play, but his parents never understood until it was too late.

After all, their parents had taught them "the values we've held all of our lives".

Meanwhile, single Pakeha mother Sue was a good, loving mum to little Tilly, but Sue had a big problem: her violent boyfriend Danny.

Sue was trying to do the right thing and earn money in a straight job, but Danny took it from her - as well as her self-esteem.

And however hard she tried, Sue had never had much of a chance in life, as a brief encounter with her slimy father showed.

Behind in her rent, Sue went back on the game, leaving Tilly home alone. Then, when Sue tried to make a run for a new life, away from Danny, she left it too late and Tilly died as a result. Horribly.

And then there were solo mum Meri and 7-year-old Mo, whose nightly routine of escaping to the shed to avoid mummy's animalistic boyfriend was observed by the intimidated neighbours - who didn't want to get involved.

Meri, herself an abuse victim, had had her other children taken from her and was likely to lose Mo after a shoplifting bust. Depressed and desperate after being raped and dumped, she flipped out and turned on her helpless daughter.

It was devastating to hear Bell say that although Mo survived and went on to university as an adult, she too was locked in the cycle, eventually killing her own child.

What can programmes like this possibly expect to achieve?

Twenty years ago, polite society didn't even acknowledge abuse existed, let alone talk about it. So shows like this, which provoke thought and discussion, must be a sign of progress, even if the statistics say otherwise.

Killing Tomorrow was punishing if compelling viewing.

Speaking of which, people like "Danny", who is now languishing in jail for what he did to tiny Tilly, should be forced to watch it 24/7.

* Questions 2: Killing Tomorrow, TV3, last night