EDITORIAL - Make 2008 the year of caring for children

EDITOR, LAURA FRANKLIN
If there is one wish that New Zealand needs to have granted in 2008 - one thing that would make the most profound difference to us as a society and to our potential as a thriving nation - it would not be tax cuts, nor a victorious rugby team, nor soaring economic growth ... it would be that we would find a way to eradicate the epidemic of violence toward our children.
Why, in a beautiful and blessed country such as this, should we have such a disproportionately high incidence of young ones suffering from deliberate harm inflicted by those who are expected to care for them?
Right now, on beaches and at holiday spots, scenes abound of bright, happy children enjoying the water, playing cricket, riding bikes and revelling in all the joys of a relaxed, outdoors, Kiwi childhood.
An overseas visitor would think all was well.
There is so much to enjoy in our Pacific paradise. Our children grow up with the availability of good fresh food, clean air and water, open spaces and education for all. They are not raised in a war zone. They need not fear an oppressive regime or ethnic cruelty. Their young lives are not blighted by famine and disease, nor the necessity to eke out an existence in a slum built of cardboard boxes and corrugated iron.
And yet, amid all this plenty, something at the core seems to be rotten.
New Zealand's rate of child abuse deaths is one of the highest in the OECD. While most comparable countries have reduced their child homicide rate in the past 20 years, ours shows no let-up, and is in fact trending slightly upwards.
How can it be that so many of our young ones grow up deprived of the simple necessitites of love and care?
In some homes, the violence makes shocking headlines. We have seen a horrifying example this year in the case of Rotorua three-year-old Nia Glassie who died after alleged mistreatment at the hands of adults who had been trusted to look after her.
In other cases, the brutality is less overt and more insidious. The abuse may not be reported on the front page of national newspapers - it may not even be reported to police or social workers - but it does devastating damage and robs our children of the chance to grow into the confident and well-adjusted adults they should be.
The harm that is done has a ripple effect. Those who come from a background where love and security are missing have an extra-steep climb to reach their full potential, and to go on to create healthy families in the next generation.
The much-debated "anti-smacking legislation" of 2007 is a step toward New Zealanders drawing the line on family violence.
Despite its controversial introduction and the widespread opposition to Government interference in family life, it has not resulted in the flood of prosecutions of "good parents" that was predicted by its critics. Let's build on this in 2008.
Perhaps this will be the year for us to face the difficult subject of child abuse within Maori communities.
There's no point in denying the statistics: Children injured or killed by their caregivers are more likely to come from a Maori background.
Clearly that's an indication of deep troubles within these specific families, but the root cause of the problem is by no means as simple as a mere racial generalisation.
Finger-pointing serves only to allow non-Maori to believe they are somehow immune from this scourge, and that child abuse could never rear its ugly head in their families. In reality, of course, it can and it does ... and it will continue to do so, in all cultures and in all corners of society, until we as New Zealanders shine a light on it, examine what is really going on to bring about this shameful record, and choose to build a nation in which our children are safe.