Editorial: Tackling Rotorua's child abuse problem

Its fitting Rotorua has been chosen as the launching point for a pilot programme to tackle child abuse.

It was the horrific tale of Nia Glassie - the Rotorua 3-year-old subjected to such abuse she died from her injuries - that shocked a city, and a country, into taking a long, hard look at itself. Details of the sheer cruelty meted out by those entrusted with her care were a wake-up call for many, and sparked a public outcry about the need for action on child abuse.

Rotorua Mayor Kevin Winters said yesterday that Nia's death in 2007 was "a shell shock to the whole community". As a result of the toddler's death he set up the Rotorua Safe Families Leadership Group to address the issue of child abuse, and the group still meets monthly.

Nia's is not an isolated case. It's a sad indictment that Cris and Cru Kahui, Olympia Jetson and Soleil Aplin, Coral Burrows and Delcelia Witika are household names. This country's list of shame is long and getting longer.

According to Every Child Counts - a child advocacy group comprising Barnardos, Plunket, UNICEF, Save the Children, and Ririki - New Zealand has one of the highest rates of child abuse in the developed world.

There were 798 prosecutions for assault on a child in 2010. Child, Youth and Family received 150,747 notifications in the year 2010/11.

Figures on the Are You OK? website show that on average nine children aged under 14 are killed by a family member every year.

The Government's White Paper plan revealed this week is a positive first step towards reducing these disgusting figures.

Much of the criticism of the White Paper has focused on its lack of a plan to tackle poverty.

Yes, it's clear there is a link between abuse and lack of income, but does that justify shifting the focus of direct action away from abused children?

Many families in need won't be affected by child abuse.

The eradication of poverty is an obvious priority for any government, but to do what is needed to wipe out child abuse requires a parallel effort directly targeting abusers, the abused and the at-risk.

It would be great to see this pilot programme take off in Rotorua. Figures we  revealed yesterday show child abuse notifications in Rotorua rose by 50 per cent last year, outstripping the regional and national rates. This despite widespread horror at Nia Glassie's treatment and death in 2007.

Children in our city are suffering, and we should support every effort to do something about it.