KEY POINTS:
A children's nurse who has worked with parents who abuse their children plans to walk barefoot from Cape Reinga to Wellington to try to get things done about the problem.
Parani Howes, 49, a Ngapuhi from Kaikohe, works in Palmerston North as a Whanau Tamariki Ora (Well Child) nurse - the Maori equivalent of a Plunket nurse - for Te Runanga O Raukawa Health Services.
Her bare feet on the walk from September 17 will signify the pain felt by abused children. She will also be gagged because abused babies cannot talk.
Mrs Howes works at the frontline and has a detailed agenda for change. She has dealt with about 12 cases of abuse in eight years as a child nurse.
"Normally there is some indication physically, and often cognitive ability will be the first sign I have - the child is not responding in a way that would be normal for its age range," she said.
"Then I do a more in-depth assessment and if I suspect anything I say, `I'm concerned about this baby and we need to get them to a doctor as soon as possible,' and I will stay with them until the whole process is done."
She believes it's no accident that abuse is often perpetrated by step-parents.
"It's an animal instinct that you don't look after someone else's child," she said.
"Maybe if we acknowledge it we are on the path to doing something about it."
She says society should respond with a mix of heavier jail sentences and early intervention, including specific parenting courses for step-parents.
"Make them available through the same organisations and venues [as other parenting and antenatal classes], but specifically about the feelings that step-parents may have towards these children," she said.
More controversially, she says the Family Court should give day-to-day care to more biological fathers when couples separate to keep children safe from future stepfathers.
"I think the dad should get them [children] to protect them physically more than the mums are capable of doing."
She advocates making antenatal classes and Well Child checks compulsory, with benefits being stopped if parents fail to attend.
She wants more resources for Child, Youth and Family Services to help families look after their children, rather than just removing the children.
She suggests free childcare to give stressed parents a break, parenting courses for senior high school students and more funding for family planning.
And she supports Family Start, a Government programme that helps parents draw up goals for their families and work out ways to achieve them. But the programme is still not available in much of the country, including Palmerston North.
"It needs to be everywhere because abuse is across all social classes."
PARANI HOWES' AGENDA
* Preventive detention for killing a child under 5.
* Stop benefits for parents who don't attend antenatal classes and Get Well Child checks.
* More funding for CYF to support families, not just remove children.
* Free childcare.
* More funding for parent support schemes such as Family Start.
* Parenting classes for high school students.
* Free step-parenting courses.
