Police say increasing numbers of girls as young as 12 are working as prostitutes in Auckland's city centre.

A study of 29 children who lived in Auckland's controversial Centrepoint Community has found continuing effects on their adult lives.

Details of a young girl's ordeal and that of two others were revealed during the sentencing of their attacker, Keith Stewart Luke.

John Key says it is critically important police address the child abuse investigation concerns raised in an Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) report today.

A damning report into police handling of child abuse cases shows at least one district prioritised traffic fines over abuse investigations.

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett says children are being treated like dogs, as figures show serious cases of abuse against babies have leapt by two-thirds in just two years.

Half of New Zealanders support the reintroduction of corporal punishment in schools, according to a national survey of 1000 people.

People who were abused in Salvation Army homes as long as 70 years ago say they're still waiting for a public apology.

Sleep deprived, pregnant and 'overwhelmed' by caring for three young children, Sasha Pene begged a social worker for help.

A man has admitted leaving his 18-month-old boy unattended in a car while he went into a strip club.

A man haunted by childhood memories of sexual abuse at a Catholic orphanage just wants someone to acknowledge there was wrongdoing.

Peter Lyons, a teacher at St Peter's College, writes that abuse scandals are a legacy of centuries of intolerance of critical self-analysis.

Abuse support groups say the investigations into the Catholic clergy abuse allegations are in the best interests of the church, not the victims.