More help for child abuse victims urged

A "one-stop shop" for child abuse victims and a chain of child advocacy centres are being proposed for South Auckland in the wake of repeated tragedies such as this week's deaths of Mangere twins Chris and Cru Kahui.

A study funded by Baptist Action proposes a multi-agency centre in Manukau for children suspected of having been abused, bringing together police, health and Child, Youth and Family Services (CYFS).

It also proposes child advocacy centres in the north, east, south and west of the Counties-Manukau district where families could go for all kinds of help, ranging from financial and housing problems to parenting programmes and domestic violence counselling. It says cases of children interviewed by the police evidential video unit about abuses have more than trebled in South Auckland since 1997.

Takanini family therapist Sue Ushaw, who carried out the study, said the figures were understating the problem because delays in responding to abuse disclosures were so long that many families could not cope.

"There is a very long time lapse in getting through the procedures around physical or sexual abuse," she said.

"The reality is that it can take six weeks to six months to get a child seen by CYFS, get them through the video unit, get them through the medical system and then get them into therapy.

"It's unjust. Families in central, west and north Auckland are getting a service that is more child-friendly and more supportive for families.

She said the problem was recognised in the 1990s. Agencies in both south and central Auckland began talks about a one-stop shop that could get children the interviews they needed in one place on the same day or two, and support families through the process.

The idea was picked up by the Starship Foundation and Sky City, which raised $300,000 to convert an office building in Grafton Rd opposite Starship children's hospital into a one-stop shop, in 2002. But the South Auckland steering committee was unable to find funding.

CYFS northern regional director Marion Heeney said its Otahuhu office already worked closely with police.