Juries not supporting children, says Kiro

Cindy Kiro

Children's Commissioner Cindy Kiro wants a law change after a North Otago woman who give her son "six of the best" with a bamboo cane and several strikes with a horse whip was found not guilty of assault.

In Timaru District Court yesterday, a jury took just over an hour to find the 39-year-old woman not guilty. The woman was also granted permanent name suppression.

Dr Kiro told NZPA today that the use of the whip and cane, the woman's admission of what she did, and the fact the beatings left marks indicated child abuse.

"To be quite frank I am amazed that it would be considered anything other than that...these are all elements of a child abuse investigation and they are all present."

In the Timaru court case, the woman admitted giving her son "six of the best" with a cane for misbehaving at school and striking him three to four times with a horse whip after the boy waved a baseball bat at her partner.

Dr Kiro said even people who supported the continuation of allowing the use of reasonable physical force by parents under section 59 of the Crimes Act did not want the use of implements to be allowed.

She said New Zealand had one of the highest rates of child death from maltreatment in the developed world, ranking about fifth out of 27 countries.

"We seem to have an attitude that continuing to basically hit our children is acceptable and it's certainly not acceptable."

She said the jury's verdict sent a clear message such child abuse was acceptable.

Section 59 needed to be repealed immediately as juries generally were supporting parents over children when court action was taken.

"New Zealanders have very ambivalent attitudes about the use of physical discipline against children. I think on one hand most of us, not, all, have experienced it. Most of us were raised by parents who basically hit us, Dr Kiro said.

"They did it in moments of anger. This is often about parents venting their anger … not about teaching children how to behave properly."

She said there were better ways to discipline children.

"I've been a parent and I know how stressful it can be.

"I can understand exactly what drives people to feeling so frustrated that they want to hit their child. But I just think you shouldn't do it."

Dr Kiro said punishments should not be cruel or degrading -- she had heard of children being forced to eat hot chillies, washing mouths out with soap or being made to sit still on a chair for hours.

"I get to see some of the data from Child Youth and Family.

"People would be incredulous at some of the things that are devised as punishment for children. They are totally humiliating and degrading and I don't know why people persist in this type of behaviour."

- NZPA