Monday, 04 December 2023
KaitaiaWhangareiDargavilleAucklandThamesTaurangaHamiltonWhakataneRotoruaTokoroaTe KuitiTaumarunuiTaupoGisborneNew PlymouthNapierHastingsDannevirkeWhanganuiPalmerston NorthLevinParaparaumuMastertonWellingtonMotuekaNelsonBlenheimWestportReeftonKaikouraGreymouthHokitikaChristchurchAshburtonTimaruWanakaOamaruQueenstownDunedinGoreInvercargill
NZ HeraldThe Northern AdvocateThe Northland AgeThe AucklanderWaikato HeraldBay Of Plenty TimesRotorua Daily PostHawke's Bay TodayWhanganui ChronicleThe Stratford PressManawatu GuardianKapiti NewsHorowhenua ChronicleTe Awamutu CourierVivaEat WellOneRoofDRIVEN Car GuideThe CountryPhoto SalesiHeart RadioRestaurant Hub
Voyager 2023 media awards
Subscribe

Advertisement

Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Most child-abuse victims are babies under a year old

Anna Leask
By
Anna Leask
12 Jan, 2015 04:00 PM3 mins to read
Saveshare

Share this article

facebookcopy linktwitterlinkedinredditemail
Dr Patrick Kelly, clinical director of the child-abuse centre at Auckland's Starship hospital. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Dr Patrick Kelly, clinical director of the child-abuse centre at Auckland's Starship hospital. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Starship doctor says head injuries most common ‘by far’ in 130 admissions of abused children last year.

The majority of children admitted to the Starship hospital as the result of suspected abuse or neglect are under 1 year old.

Figures provided to the Herald under the Official Information Act reveal three children died at the hospital and 130 suspected abuse cases were referred to police between July 1, 2013, and June 30 last year, compared with one death and 122 referrals in 2012/13.

The median age of the children admitted for abuse - or neglect-related injuries was just 5 months.

Starship hospital child protection team leader Dr Patrick Kelly said head injuries were the most common in children admitted with injuries caused by suspected abuse.

Advertisement

Advertise with NZME.

"About 20 per cent of these children have other fractures as well, especially rib fractures.

"Outpatients - usually brought in by CYF [Child, Youth and Family] or the police - are usually older children who present with soft-tissue injuries: black eyes, bruising, patterned marks from being slapped or struck with an object."

Dr Kelly said the perpetrator of the abuse was "very variable".

"Like most centres, our anecdotal experience is that male offenders are more common than female offenders, and non-biologically related males - 'stepfathers' - are disproportionately represented," he said.

Advertisement

Advertise with NZME.

"However, with very young infants the offender sometimes cannot be reliably identified, and in very young infants the mother can often be the offender, particularly if there are issues like postnatal depression."

Dr Kelly said the cause of most of the abuse-related deaths at the Starship was head injuries "by far".

"Second would be abdominal trauma - children who are kicked or stomped on, but these children tend not to survive to [be admitted to] hospital and come to the pathologists," he said.

Those children were not included in the statistics because the victims were not treated or admitted.

Related articles

Sport|Cricket

Chris Rattue: We must do more to protect children

10 Dec 04:00 PM
New Zealand

Crash victim swaps bikes for sheep

25 Dec 04:00 PM
New Zealand

Auckland's best playgrounds

27 Dec 04:00 PM
New Zealand|Crime

'Caged animals': Parents jailed for keeping kids in squalor

15 Jun 05:00 PM

Dr Kelly said it was hard to say why the number presenting at the Starship hospital with injuries consistent with abuse was increasing. "What is clear is that despite all the societal angst and all the expressed interest in intervention and prevention, the incidence is certainly not going down," he said.

Possible contributing factors were family violence, the increase in social inequality in New Zealand and alcohol abuse stemming from a "flood of cheap alcohol".

"We are not good at early intervention," he added.

In 2003 a Unicef Innocenti Research Centre report card, published to monitor the performance of nations in meeting the needs of their children, put New Zealand near the bottom of the OECD countries.

Said Dr Kelly: "As far as I am aware that hasn't changed significantly."

Saveshare

Share this article

facebookcopy linktwitterlinkedinredditemail

Advertisement

Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand

'Left in limbo': Worker locked out after complaint left unresolved

04 Dec 06:00 AM
Premium
Politics

Labour accuses Govt of ‘chaos’ after Nats and Act sing different notes on key tax promise

04 Dec 06:00 AM
New Zealand

Passengers endure major delays at Auckland Airport after 'mechanical issues' in security

04 Dec 05:38 AM
New Zealand

'Mana battle': Protest march set to slow traffic on Tauranga state highway

04 Dec 05:28 AM

Top toys of 2023 for kids & ‘kidults’

sponsored

Advertisement

Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

'Left in limbo': Worker locked out after complaint left unresolved

'Left in limbo': Worker locked out after complaint left unresolved

04 Dec 06:00 AM

The employee was locked out of the building, months after making a complaint.

Premium
Labour accuses Govt of ‘chaos’ after Nats and Act sing different notes on key tax promise

Labour accuses Govt of ‘chaos’ after Nats and Act sing different notes on key tax promise

04 Dec 06:00 AM
Passengers endure major delays at Auckland Airport after 'mechanical issues' in security

Passengers endure major delays at Auckland Airport after 'mechanical issues' in security

04 Dec 05:38 AM
'Mana battle': Protest march set to slow traffic on Tauranga state highway

'Mana battle': Protest march set to slow traffic on Tauranga state highway

04 Dec 05:28 AM
Toy trends for Christmas
sponsored

Toy trends for Christmas

About NZMEHelp & SupportContact UsSubscribe to NZ HeraldHouse Rules
Manage Your Print SubscriptionNZ Herald E-EditionAdvertise with NZMEBook Your AdPrivacy Policy
Terms of UseCompetition Terms & ConditionsSubscriptions Terms & Conditions
© Copyright 2023 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP