Child groups urge clarification on smacking law repeal

The fear of being treated as criminals for disciplining their children is stopping parents supporting the removal of section 59 from the Crimes Act, child advocates said today.

Section 59 allows parents to defend charges of assault against their children by claiming use of reasonable force.

The spokesman for umbrella group Every Child Counts, Mike Coleman, updated a group of about 100 delegates at the group's conference in Wellington on the progress made towards removing section 59.

Child advocates including representatives from Plunket, Barnardos, Save the Children and Unicef said the fear of criminalisation was preventing parents from seriously examining the arguments for repealing the section.

"People who have no desire to beat their children are a bit worried that they may get prosecuted if they smack their child," Mr Coleman said.

The conference leaders pointed out police today did not arrest parents, or social workers remove children from their homes simply because their parents had smacked them.

"There is no reason for this to change," the group said.

"In fact, our organisations would be outraged if police and Child Youth and Family did change their current behaviour."

Prosecution and the removal of children from homes were only used as last resorts.

Every Child Counts chairman Murray Edridge said while police needed to offer assurances this would not change if Section 59 was repealed, the group understood it would not.

Police would have discretion whether to prosecute an alleged assault against a child - in the same way they already had with regards to assaults against adults.

It was a matter of consistency, Mr Edridge said.

"We have a domestic violence act that has a zero tolerance towards violence and yet we have a crimes act that says you can use force against your children," he said.

"You cannot hit adults, you cannot hit animals but you can hit your kids."

John Bowis of Save the Children said it was time for Parliament to lead New Zealand out of its culture of unacceptable child abuse.

Mr Coleman said he hoped by Christmas children would have the same human right adults shared of being protected from hitting.

- NZPA