There were several alarm bells raised over the safety of five-year-old Malachi Subecz before he was murdered by his carer last year. Photo / Supplied
There were several alarm bells raised over the safety of five-year-old Malachi Subecz before he was murdered by his carer last year. Photo / Supplied
Opinion by Jacqui Southey
OPINION
Thirty-three reports on preventable child abuse deaths in as many years shows New Zealand’s glacial response to the continued brutal abuse and killing of children in Aotearoa.
Handwringing, platitudes, hollow apologies, minimal accountability, and a reluctance to implement any of the more challenging recommendations made time and again, continuesto equal a lack of change.
Even worse, these children have been killed by the very people who should have been caring for them.
Tragically Malachi Subecz is yet another child from a too-long list that will briefly fill our headlines and hearts for all the wrong reasons.
And despite the many reports and recommendations, there has been no meaningful reduction in the homicides of children under five years of age in the past 15 years.
In response to Malachi’s death and the clear failings of the many adults and agencies around him, Dame Karen Poutasi has released a report with clear recommendations on what is needed.
But how quickly, or indeed, whether or not these recommendations will be implemented remains to be seen.
As a child rights advocate, I want to see an alert and active response to Dame Karen Poutasi’s recommendations.
The time is now for the Government to be clear and strong in its commitment to accepting and implementing these recommendations.
We all need to wake up and face the uncomfortable truth that some adults harm and in the worst cases kill children.
While this is brutal and hard reality to accept, if we don’t, we risk being asleep at the wheel while children continue to be harmed, abused and killed.
Some of these recommendations, such as mandatory reporting and building interlocking safety nets are complex. Nevertheless, it is vital that we commit to action to bring about desperately needed change to protect our children, particularly those that are most vulnerable.
The urgency to act far outweighs the blame game that often results in these horrific cases. It’s not a case of political finger-pointing or ducking for cover, this is about us all standing up to do what’s right for every child in New Zealand.
Jacqui Southey. Photo / Supplied
While Malachi’s case is currently front and centre, some common threads can be found in other cases where the system failed to protect vulnerable children.
Adult survivor testimonies involved in the Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry find similarities particularly around failures to recognise or react appropriately to suspicion of or disclosures of child abuse.
Responses from adults in these situations have too often been “confused”, inadequate, or at worst, dangerous, such as confronting the abuser about noticeable injuries or disclosures by a child or failing to act for fear of making a false accusation.
Very young children are particularly vulnerable in these situations as they do not possess the language required to clearly articulate what is happening to them.
While there are legitimate concerns around the potential for negative consequences of proposed mandatory reporting, these should not override Dame Karen Poutasi’s recommendations.
Once again, this feels like a knee-jerk reaction to more challenging changes, opting for fear of negative fallout versus an honest acknowledgment that the current system we have is not protecting the lives of our children.
Recommendations for mandatory reporting sit alongside mandatory training and mandatory reporting guidelines.
Quality training and effective guidelines will go a long way towards mitigating possible adverse consequences of reporting requirements.
Dame Karen Poutasi identified five critical gaps in the child protection system. Photo / James Gilberd, File
Professionals working with children that have completed quality child safeguarding training will be better equipped to recognise and respond to concerns or disclosures of child abuse. They are more likely to be more accurate in determining whether a child is being abused and at serious risk, and to trust their ability to take the difficult step to report their concerns.
The quality of reports is likely to be higher, leading to improved responses of those who are tasked with investigating these concerns.
Similar systems in place globally provide insights into how we may make the necessary changes to our own systems and develop them for the New Zealand context.
Mandatory reporting alone is not enough, safety nets and holistic support for children and families must also be part of changes to the system.
Resourcing early and robust support for families that may need it, is vastly better than responding to situations of devastating child abuse.
While mandatory reporting would not be required of all New Zealanders (only of those that work closely with children on a daily basis), we all play a critical role in protecting our children.
At times that will mean we need to be uncomfortable, to refuse to look away, to acknowledge what we are seeing when children are being harmed, to speak up and to put them first.
Every child has the right to be protected from all forms of harm. It is our responsibility as adults to make sure that happens.
Jacqui Southey is the child rights advocacy and research director at Save the Children New Zealand.
