YWCA joins worldwide effort to stop violence

By CATHERINE MASTERS

New Zealand's child abuse record has again been highlighted, this time at the start of an international week against violence.

The campaign, titled Saying No to Violence: YWCA Week Without Violence, is part of an annual week held in more than 40 countries - including Palestine, now on the brink of war with Israel - which New Zealand has joined for the first time.

President Mary O'Regan said it had been organised by the YWCA and other social service agencies in recognition of the "pandemic" of violence in New Zealand.

"When we started considering this campaign the news was full of sports violence, children's deaths, the rape and murder of women, a proposal to increase our military budget and the hardly noticeable male-on-male assault cases.

"We realised we couldn't let our tolerance for violence increase. To prevent this we are taking action."

Events have been organised around the country and each day focus will be on a different theme, including school safety, domestic violence, fair play in sports and young men as victims and perpetrators of abuse.

At an unrelated annual forum in Wellington yesterday, staged by the welfare agency Barnardos, chief executive Ian Calder spoke passionately about hundreds of abused New Zealand children who would not be looking forward to going home at the end of classes.

Home was a battlefield for many, he said in a speech highlighting New Zealand's child abuse statistics.

New Zealand had had more child deaths from family abuse in the past nine months than Sweden, with a population of 8.8 million, had had in the past nine years, he said.

As well as the killings there were many cases of beatings, tortures, rapes, other indecencies, failure to provide the necessities of life and of general neglect.

In 1998-1999, Child, Youth and Family Services received 27,218 care and protection notifications.

It found 1660 cases of physical abuse, 1375 of sexual abuse, 1414 of emotional abuse, 2260 of neglect and 4088 of behavioural or relationship difficulties.

Meanwhile, the Safe and Sound appeal being run by the Starship Foundation and Sky City has raised more than $130,000 to set up a multi-agency centre in Auckland, coordinating and streamlining agencies who work with abused children.

Yesterday, the foundation received a "flood of cheques" totalling more than $12,000 for the centre from Xena: Warrior Princess fans.

The star of the TV series, Aucklander Lucy Lawless, is the public face of the campaign.

United States-based fans - and many of her New Zealand-based film crew - have already given around $5000.

Herald Online feature: Violence at home

Donations to the Safe and Sound Appeal can be sent to PO Box 91939, Auckland Mail Centre

Free phone: 0800 946 010