Media Releases

New Zealand has never been as informed about the abuse of its children and young people as right now – which means there has never been a better time than right now to make the systemic changes required to keep our kids safe, says Child Matters CEO, Jane Searle.

“In the past seven days we have seen the Royal Commission into Abuse in State Care, and the sobering Independent Children’s Monitor report into the death of five-year old Malachi Subecz.

“These follow numerous previous reports and reviews, as well as the tragic deaths of
precious children such as Mustafa, Baby Ru, Casino and many others – all of which mean that we have never known more about the trauma that has been inflicted on our most vulnerable children over generations.

“Equally, there has never been more focus on the failings of the care and protection system,” says Ms Searle.

“Collectively we have been shocked, touched by the pain, and angered. But that also provides us with a critical opportunity to implement effective systems change.”

Ms Searle says numerous previous reports and investigations identify basic failures that every New Zealander can see need to be fixed.

“It is obvious that if Oranga Tamariki frontline staff don't have appropriate training, resourcing and workloads, they cannot do their job.

“Thanks to the courage of those who selflessly shared their stories of abuse and neglect we are more informed than ever about what happens when the system fails.

“Now is the time for us to say to those making the decisions in Wellington: collectively we know more, collectively we are horrified, and as voters we give you the remit to take the lead, to invest in the care and protection system, and to act now. The time is now.”

Child Matters is an independent child abuse advocacy and training provider and New Zealand’s only national charitable trust dedicated to the prevention of child abuse.

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• If you believe a child is in immediate danger the best thing to do is to call the Police on 111.
• If it's not immediate but you suspect a child may be in an unsafe environment, please contact Oranga Tamariki at contact@ot.govt.nz or phone 0508 326 459, lines are open 24/7.

Yesterday’s Safety in Care report released by Oranga Tamariki doesn’t offer any surprises, and has simply served to reinforce existing and escalating concerns about what the government agency is doing to protect children in New Zealand, says Child Matters CEO, Jane Searle.

Ms Searle says the findings of the report are no surprise to anyone working in the child abuse sector, and the statistics quoted are unlikely to show the full extent of the issue.

The Safety in Care report indicates 9 per cent of children in state care were harmed in the year ending June 2023 – a significant increase since its first such report in 2019, when about 5.6 per cent of children in its care were found to have been harmed.

“The numbers in this report are evidence that the system does not monitor children in care adequately, and that immediate changes need to be made.”

Ms Searle says the system is broken and needs immediate attention.

“Oranga Tamariki is an organisation that should be protecting our children with the highest level of scrutiny, but in its current form, I do not believe it is capable of doing that.
“We have known for a long time there is a problem and if we don’t see significant change, my worst fear is these figures will just keep rising.

“We know what needs to be done - there have been numerous reports and reviews and they all have the same recommendations: we need to focus on the basics and we need to do it now - get the right people, with the right training, to work with our most vulnerable and at-risk families, and resource them properly to be able to deal with the increasing workload.“

Ms Searle says appropriate training is needed for Oranga Tamariki frontline staff, alongside more manageable workloads for them.

“Increased monitoring systems for children and young people in care are also required, so that social workers are adequately able to monitor the safety and wellbeing of these children and young people.

“We are talking about some of the most vulnerable children in the country and when they are in the care of Oranga Tamariki they deserve the best protection and care possible. These figures reinforce the current system is failing and change is urgently required.

“The effects of child abuse and trauma is lifelong for the victims, and it impacts society at every level. We need to see change now.”

Child Matters is an independent child abuse advocacy and training provider and New Zealand’s only national charitable trust dedicated to the prevention of child abuse.

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• If you believe a child is in immediate danger the best thing to do is to call the Police on 111.
• If it's not immediate but you suspect a child may be in an unsafe environment, please contact Oranga Tamariki at contact@ot.govt.nz or phone 0508 326 459, lines are open 24/7.

The new Government hasn’t even been formed yet, but New Zealand has already seen another needless and tragic death of a child – Ruthless-Empire Souljah Reign Rhind Shepard Wall.

In 2022, at least nine children died at the hands of those who were supposed to care for them.

“These tragic circumstances are a reminder to the future Government Ministers that New Zealand has some serious issues to address when it comes to child abuse and protecting our most vulnerable children,” says Child Matters CEO, Jane Searle.

Ms Searle says Child Matters has been working in the area of child abuse prevention for almost 30 years and little has changed.

“Since it began, Child Matters has seen five rebrands of Oranga Tamariki and its predecessors, eight Prime Ministers, more than 33 reviews and an extraordinary number of new plans or strategies.

“But the issue of children and young people being killed or harmed by those who are meant to be caring for them is still shameful.”

Ms Searle has a strong message for the incoming Ministers and their senior bureaucrats.

“No more name changes, no more reviews, deploy decisive leadership, just start with the basics and start now.

“First, get strong experienced leadership in Oranga Tamariki so that the organisation can rebuild a workforce that is skilled, resourced and supported to do their job and provide critical response when needed.

“Second, ensure early intervention. Resource community organisations say they are able to work alongside the likes of Oranga Tamariki or New Zealand Police from the start of a concern being identified. The time to offer support and protection for a vulnerable child is before they become harmed.

“Third, address the issue of training. New Zealand should follow other countries by implementing Mandatory Child Protection training for professionals who work with children and young people.

“Currently, this vital training is not mandatory. This is a basic protection that New Zealand is missing and there is no reason that it should not be implemented.

“The death of any child from abuse or neglect is not one event in isolation, it’s one of many that demonstrate the cracks in a failing child protection system – and every New Zealander should expect a response from those elected to lead our country.

“It’s concerning when the number of child abuse cases reported in the media pre-election outnumbered the number of parties who addressed what needs to be done to put a stop to it,” says Ms Searle.

“We need a plan – not a promise. There is no more room to budge with this. There is no more time. We can’t go another three years without change or where the protection of children is not a priority.”

“The community sector have the drive and willingness to work with the Government, so it is time to focus on the basics of getting the right people, with the right training, to work with our most vulnerable and at risk families.”

Child Matters exists for the ongoing delivery of child protection, providing a range of online and in-person courses throughout Aotearoa New Zealand.

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• If you believe a child is in immediate danger the best thing to do is to call the Police on 111.
• If it's not immediate but you suspect a child may be in an unsafe environment, please contact Oranga Tamariki at contact@ot.govt.nz or phone 0508 326 459, lines are open 24/7.

Contact:

Jacky James
Phone: 021 577 871

A young woman charged with the murder of an infant boy yesterday has prompted national child abuse advocacy group, Child Matters, to ask how many children must die before New Zealand’s politicians act.

On average, one child died every five weeks in New Zealand in 2022, with many more harmed at the hands of their parent or caregiver.

As we come into an election year, child protection needs to be a priority for politicians, Child Matters says.
Chief Executive, Jane Searle, says while communities need to be part of the solution, it is up to the politicians to take the lead by implementing the changes needed.

"We know what needs to be done, as there have been numerous reports with the same recommendations. Unless we have practical changes made, my fear is that the number of children we lose will increase."

"Going forward, legalisation requiring mandatory training for professionals working with children and better resourcing and training for government agencies are needed to turn the tables on this issue."

Last year, an independent review into 5-year-old Malachi Subecz’s death was released, with the Government choosing to accept only some of the report’s recommendations.

"Several more children have died since Malachi’s death in November 2021, and yet there is an apparent resistance from the Government to commit to fixing the problem with obvious solutions like mandatory training and reporting for professionals working with children of suspected child abuse cases," she says.

Ms Searle says behind the black and white figures are thousands of children who are being abused by those they trust, many of whom are unknown to the police or Oranga Tamariki.

"The frightening truth is, as organisations and families face increasing financial and social pressures, we aren’t seeing resourcing and support being adjusted to match demand.

Ms Searle says the cost of living and housing crisis is putting immense pressure on many families and increasing community capability to support families is essential, so intervention can happen earlier.

She also believes increased public vigilance is crucial to avoid the death of another innocent child or a flurry of abuse cases - as witnessed last summer in New Zealand when three children lost their lives due to suspected abuse.

"If you have concerns about a child’s safety at your work or in a personal capacity, please make sure you speak up.
"We all have a role to play, whether that’s knowing what to do if we have concerns about the welfare of a child (and acting on it), being willing to speak up, or holding our politicians and community leaders to account on these issues," she says.

Child Matters is an independent child abuse advocacy and training provider and New Zealand’s only national charitable trust dedicated to the prevention of child abuse.

• If you believe a child is in immediate danger the best thing to do is to call the Police on 111.
• If it's not immediate but you suspect a child may be in an unsafe environment, please contact Oranga Tamariki at contact@ot.govt.nz or phone 0508 326 459, lines are open 24/7.

Contact:

Shae Skellern
Phone: 021 350 082

National child advocacy group, Child Matters, says while they welcome today’s report into 5-year-old Malachi Subecz’s tragic death, they are disappointed the government is yet to accept all the report’s recommendations.

Malachi, from Te Puna, tragically died in November last year following sustained and horrific abuse at the hands of his carer.

The report examined how to improve identification of, and response to, abuse of children and young people and looked at how the six government departments that came into contact with Malachi, might have prevented his death.

Ex-Police detective, lawyer and now CEO of Child Matters, Jane Searle says while the report is comprehensive and covers the key issues, none of the findings are a surprise.

She says the issues outline in the report have existed for years. She urges the government to accept and implement all the recommendations, including mandatory reporting.

“There is no logical reason why the government couldn’t implement mandatory reporting,” she says.

“It will take resource and planning, but successive governments have dragged their feet on this issue long enough - the time is now.”

Ms Searle says there have been numerous reports with similar recommendations, but they have never been fully implemented.

“The government says it’s committed to fixing the issues, but we need to see change now, before another precious child dies,” she says.

“Malachi would still be alive today if these agencies had acted appropriately when Malachi’s wider whānau, and others, raised concerns about his welfare.”

She says addressing the issues within Oranga Tamariki is a top priority and needs to start with the basics.

“The team needs to be rebuilt so staff are well trained and resourced, have manageable caseloads and are enabled to deliver good social work practice,” she says.

“The issues with Oranga Tamariki are not with individual social workers or staff; it is the system that does not support them to get on with their jobs and allows substandard practice to be accepted.”

One child dies from abuse every five weeks on average in New Zealand.

Child Matters believes the introduction of compulsory child protection training in Aotearoa is crucial if we are to have a society that knows how to protect its children and young people, take action when needed, and follow up to ensure their safety.

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Further information

• If you believe a child is in immediate danger the best thing to do is to call the Police on 111.
• If it's not immediate but you suspect a child may be in an unsafe environment, please contact Oranga Tamariki at contact@ot.govt.nz or phone 0508 326 459, lines are open 24/7.

Contact:

Shae Skellern
Phone: 021 350 082

National child abuse advocacy group, Child Matters, says the licence revocation for the daycare attended by Malachi Subecz reinforces the significance of legislating mandatory child protection training in New Zealand.

Five-year-old Malachi Subecz, from Te Puna, tragically died following sustained and horrific abuse at the hands of his carer in November last year.

The Ministry of Education has now formally revoked the licence of Abbey’s Place Childcare Centre after the centre failed to meet conditions of its provisional licence.

Malachi attended the Tauranga childcare centre, where staff witnessed and even photographed the five-year-old’s injuries but never alerted authorities about the suspected abuse at home.

Ex-Police detective, lawyer and now CEO of Child Matters, Jane Searle, says laws need to change now.

“Sadly, Malachi’s death was completely avoidable – if the childcare centre and other adults in his life had acted on his behalf, the outcome would most likely have been different,” she says.

“Children who are being abused cannot stop that abuse – that is the important role of adults to have that voice on behalf of powerless children.”

Ms Searle says education staff need to know how to identify and appropriately respond to suspected abuse because, as history shows, the consequences can be fatal.

“We have a plethora of health and safety rules in New Zealand, yet we don’t have anything in place to protect our most vulnerable tamariki who are suspected of being abused,” she says.

Unlike many other countries, in New Zealand child protection training is not mandatory for professionals or volunteers who work with children and young people – which means some of the key people in a child’s life may not be equipped with the skills and expertise to recognise the signs of abuse, and how best to respond.

“With one child dying from abuse every five weeks on average in New Zealand, the need for mandatory child protection training is crucial if we’re to have a society that knows how to protect its children, take action when needed, and follow up to ensure their safety,” says Ms Searle.

“To be blunt, how many other babies need to die or be horrifically abused before the government acts? The need is now,” she says.

Child Matters is an independent child abuse advocacy and training provider and New Zealand’s only national charitable trust dedicated to the prevention of child abuse.

Contact:

Shae Skellern
Phone: 021 350 082

New Zealand’s national child abuse advocacy group, Child Matters, says the rate at which children have died of alleged child abuse during January has set a tragic start to the year.

A four-month-old baby is the latest child to succumb to their non-accidental injuries this month after being taken to Invercargill Hospital on Saturday morning (22 January) in a critical condition. The infant died at Starship Hospital last night (26 January).

Last year, one child died every five weeks as a result of alleged abuse in New Zealand. So far this year, one child has died almost every week.

Child Matters’ Chief Executive, Jane Searle, believes New Zealand is failing in its duty to protect its most vulnerable tamariki and unless the government gets serious about the issue, our precious children will keep dying at an increasing rate.
“It is not enough to talk about how horrified we are at the senseless loss of a precious life, we need to make actual change at the frontline in order to have an impact. The longer we wait the more children we will lose,” she says.

Ms Searle says she recognises that solutions take time to implement, however, it is clear that fixing New Zealand’s child abuse rates is not a big enough priority for the government and community leaders.

“In a system that is clearly broken, we desperately need more resources, training and a cohesive plan that focuses on the details of how we are going to give support to our most at-risk families and act to protect our children.

“The time has passed for high-level discussions, we need to start implementing tangible solutions now. New Zealand’s child abuse rate is atrocious and 2022 needs to be the year we start turning that around,” says Ms Searle.

Ms Searle says increasing community capability to support families, so intervention happens earlier, is essential, while mandatory child protection training for professionals that work with children and young people urgently needs to be initiated.

“We all have a role to play, whether that’s knowing what to do if we have concerns about the welfare of a child (and acting on it), being vigilant regarding child safety in our work and personal capacity, being willing to speak up when there is a safety concern, or holding our politicians and community leaders to account on these issues,” she says.

Unlike many other countries, child protection training is not mandatory in New Zealand for professionals or volunteers who work with children and young people. This means teachers, sports coaches and even social workers may have never received training relating to child abuse and neglect, meaning they don’t know how to recognise the signs of abuse, nor how to best respond if risk is identified.

Police have launched a homicide investigation into the death of the four-month-old and are speaking with the residents of the Southland property.

The child’s death follows two others in the last few weeks – a three-month-old from Christchurch who died on January 2 and a 19-month old toddler from Gisborne who died on January 10. A 3-month old was also admitted to Gisborne Hospital with critical injuries on New Year’s eve.

Child Matters is an independent child abuse advocacy and training provider and New Zealand’s only national charitable trust dedicated to the prevention of child abuse.
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Contact:

Shae Skellern
Phone: 021 350 082

New Zealand’s national child abuse charitable trust, Child Matters, says the number of child abuse cases so far this year is testament to New Zealand’s horrific child abuse statistics.

Jane Searle, the Chief Executive of Child Matters, says the worsening child abuse figures continue to prove that New Zealand is not making any progress in protecting its children and young people.

During the first eleven days of 2022, there have been three very serious alleged child abuse cases in New Zealand. A 3-month old from Christchurch died last week, a 19-month old toddler from Gisborne died yesterday, while a 3-month old was admitted to Gisborne Hospital with critical injuries on New Year’s eve.

“Between January and November last year nine children were killed allegedly at the hands of a caregiver or family – or one child every five weeks – and unfortunately these appalling figures are already worsening just two weeks into the start of the year,” she says.

“To add to that, these figures don’t include the thousands of children who are suffering abuse at the hands of a caregiver or family member every single day in New Zealand.”

Ms Searle says change that offers real support to at-risk families and children is urgently required.

“These issues will never change unless we change the way we are responding. We need to get serious with frontline community support, resourcing and training, otherwise our children and young people will continue to be harmed,” she says.

“We all have a role to play, whether that’s knowing what to do if we have concerns about the welfare of a child (and acting on it), being vigilant regarding child safety in our work and personal capacity, being willing to speak up when there is a safety concern, or holding our politicians and community leaders to account on these issues.

“The sad truth is that New Zealand is not a big country, yet we are unable to effectively protect our most vulnerable tamariki,” she says.

Ms Searle says there has been a lot of conversation and reviews regarding the current systems and agencies that New Zealand has to deal with child abuse – but as yet there is has been no real change implemented and children are still dying or being harmed.

“We will keep losing and causing irreparable harm to children unless an actual change is made at the front line where support needs to be implemented – instead of a lot of talk in Wellington,” she says.

“While some of the solutions take time to implement, such as increasing community capability to support families so intervention happens earlier, there are some things that can be implemented easily such as mandatory child protection training for professionals that work with children and young people.”

Unlike many other countries, child protection training is not mandatory in New Zealand for professionals or volunteers who work with children and young people. This means teachers, sports coaches and even social workers may have never received training relating to child abuse and neglect, meaning they don’t know how to recognise the signs of abuse, nor how to best respond if risk is identified.

Child Matters is an independent child abuse advocacy and training provider and New Zealand’s only national charitable trust dedicated to the prevention of child abuse.

ENDS

Contact:

Shae Skellern
Phone: 021 350 082

Further information:

If you or anyone else is in immediate danger, ring 111. If it is not safe to talk, you can press 55 to be put through to police, who will ask you questions to answer by pressing keys on your phone.

If you are in danger in your bubble at home, it is OK to leave to keep yourself safe. You could go to a supermarket or chemist and then call the police on 111 for help.

Below are some services who are able to support whānau:

Women's Refuge New Zealand: 0800 733 843 - 24 hours
It's not OK Campaign Family violence information line: 0800 456 450
Shine National Helpline: 0508 744 633 - 9am to 11pm
Shakti NZ - for migrant and refugee women: 0800 742 584 - 24 hours
Office for Seniors New Zealand - Elder Abuse Helpline: 0800 32 668 65 - 24 hours

Fresh child abuse figures, released today by New Zealand’s independent child abuse advocacy and training provider, Child Matters, reveal one child has died every five weeks as a result of alleged abuse in New Zealand this year.

Nine children have been killed allegedly at the hands of a caregiver or family member since January 2021.Since 31 October 2021 alone, two young children have been killed as a result of alleged abuse; Malachi Subecz aged 5 from Bay of Plenty, and Arapera Moana Aroha Fia, aged 2 from Auckland.

Jane Searle, the Chief Executive of Child Matters, says the figures prove that New Zealand is not making any progress in protecting its children and young people.

“The sad truth is that New Zealand is not a big country, yet we are unable to effectively protect our most vulnerable tamariki,” she says.

Ms Searle says the figures released today are atrocious; nine defenceless children who allegedly have died in the hands of the people they should be able to trust the most.

“To add to that, the figures do not include the thousands of children that have suffered abuse in the same time frame, neither do they cover a full 12-month period.”

Ms Searle says there has been a lot of conversation and reviews regarding the current systems and agencies that New Zealand has to deal with child abuse – but still nothing has changed and children are still dying or being harmed.

“We will keep losing children at this rate unless actual change is made at the front line where support needs to be implemented – instead of a lot of talk in Wellington,” she says.

“While some of the solutions take time to implement, such as increasing community capability to support families so intervention happens earlier, there are some things that can be implemented easily.”

Ms Searle believes that mandating child protection training for professionals, particularly teachers and health professionals, to bring New Zealand into line with other countries, is an important first step.

“Even if we start with just teachers and health professionals having adequate training, at least we are being proactive and giving the tools to professionals dealing with children to act when they become aware of an issue,” she says.

Mandatory vetting for anyone working with children in either a paid or voluntary capacity, as well as increasing resourcing to train community organisations and frontline organisations who work with at risk families, is also an obvious first step.

“We are asking a lot of those who work on the front line with our at-risk families and children - we need to train and resource them so they can do their jobs effectively.

New Zealand children are being harmed every day – in many cases in their own homes, where they should be safe. New Zealand needs to do more,” says Ms Searle.

Launched earlier this year, Child Matters’ online child protection training has proved hugely popular to get more New Zealanders up-skilled with the basic knowledge to protect our tamariki.

Child Matters is an independent child abuse advocacy and training provider and New Zealand’s only national charitable trust dedicated to the prevention of child abuse.

ENDS

Contact:

Shae Skellern
Phone: 021 350 082

Further information:

If you or anyone else is in immediate danger, ring 111. If it is not safe to talk, you can press 55 to be put through to police, who will ask you questions to answer by pressing keys on your phone.

If you are in danger in your bubble at home, it is OK to leave to keep yourself safe. You could go to a supermarket or chemist and then call the police on 111 for help.

Below are some services who are able to support whānau:

Women's Refuge New Zealand: 0800 733 843 - 24 hours
It's not OK Campaign Family violence information line: 0800 456 450
Shine National Helpline: 0508 744 633 - 9am to 11pm
Shakti NZ - for migrant and refugee women: 0800 742 584 - 24 hours
Office for Seniors New Zealand - Elder Abuse Helpline: 0800 32 668 65 - 24 hours

New Zealand’s national child abuse advocacy group says the importance of protecting New Zealand’s most vulnerable whānau and tamariki is as crucial as ever as the country faces extended lockdown periods.

Jane Searle, the Chief Executive of Child Matters, says being in lockdown should not stop people from looking out for those in the community who are at risk, particularly children.

“If you’re concerned about the wellbeing of a family or a child, please make sure you seek advice from one of the many community organisations that are there to offer advice and support. Don’t be scared to call. We all want the same thing – to make sure our tamariki are safe. Please, say something to someone, it could save a life.”

The call from Child Matters follows the death of a child in Rotorua at the weekend and the subsequent homicide investigation of a 27-year-old woman.

“Lockdown – and the ongoing restrictions relating to COVID-19 – have been challenging for us all. But for some families, the extra stress and isolation that comes with lockdowns means the situation is exacerbated by pre-existing issues such substance abuse, over-crowding, or factors such as stress about loss of employment,” says Ms Searle.

“In these situations, it doesn’t take much for the pot to boil over and tragically, family members – including our children – often bear the brunt of the consequences.”

Ms Searle says if people think someone is in immediate danger they need to make sure they call 111.

“If you have concerns about the wellbeing of someone in your community or you need to reach out for help yourself, call a helpline or one of the many community organisations that are there to support you and offer help, even in Level 4,” she says.

Family violence helplines, refuges and other crisis services are essential services and are operating at all lockdown levels.

Child Matters is an independent child abuse advocacy and training provider and New Zealand’s only national charitable trust dedicated to the prevention of child abuse.

ENDS

Contact:

Shae Skellern
Phone: 021 350 082

Further information:

If you or anyone else is in immediate danger, ring 111. If it is not safe to talk, you can press 55 to be put through to police, who will ask you questions to answer by pressing keys on your phone.

If you are in danger in your bubble at home, it is OK to leave to keep yourself safe. You could go to a supermarket or chemist and then call the police on 111 for help.

Below are some services who are able to support whānau:

Women's Refuge New Zealand: 0800 733 843 - 24 hours
It's not OK Campaign Family violence information line: 0800 456 450
Shine National Helpline: 0508 744 633 - 9am to 11pm
Shakti NZ - for migrant and refugee women: 0800 742 584 - 24 hours
Office for Seniors New Zealand - Elder Abuse Helpline: 0800 32 668 65 - 24 hours

In response to a growing demand for child protection training in New Zealand, child abuse
advocacy and training provider, Child Matters, has today launched an online training course
that blends theory with the voices of people who have lived through child abuse.
Child Matters Chief Executive Jane Searle says the increasing number of vulnerability and
child abuse reports since early 2020 has escalated the demand for child protection training.
“There is a greater awareness in the community for the need for good child protection
knowledge. This is a reflection of the challenging times many families are facing with the
global pandemic still very much part of our everyday lives,” says Ms Searle.
“The purpose of the training is to equip anyone dealing with children in a professional or
volunteer capacity to know what to look out for and then what to do when they are
concerned.
“We’ve been flooded with enquiries from both individuals and organisations in recent times,
which has seen the demand for our training quadruple in the past 12 months,” she says.
The online training course – which provides an insight of the types and signs of abuse and
neglect and how to respond to suspected cases - takes one hour to complete.
Mrs Searle says prevention is the gold standard for New Zealand’s children and young
people.
“The goal is that when people have this knowledge, children and young people across New
Zealand are better protected from abusers and abusers of power.
“It will also help those who work, day in and day out, with our children and young people and
who have the potential to positively shift New Zealand’s shocking child abuse statistics,” she
says.
The training intertwines the stories of several brave New Zealanders who share their journey
of child abuse, including internationally acclaimed barber and TEDx speaker Mataio (Matt)
Brown who was recently named a finalist in the New Zealander of the Year Awards.
Mataio says the protection of our tamariki is paramount.
“I’m honoured to collaborate with an organisation that takes the safety of those most
vulnerable in our society, seriously,” he says.
Ms Searle says the training is essential for anyone that works with children and young
people – such as teachers, social workers and sport coaches – but can also be completed
by anyone in the community who wants to know more about how to respond to suspected
child abuse.New Zealand’s national child abuse advocacy group says the importance of protecting New Zealand’s most vulnerable whānau and tamariki is as crucial as ever as the country faces extended lockdown periods.

ENDS

Reports this week that a convicted sex offender acted as Santa Claus at a daycare Christmas party are yet another startling reminder that the current vetting laws for those working with children are simply not enough, says Child Matters CEO, Jane Searle.

“Just following legal requirements, instead of best practice, can still put children and young people at risk,” says Ms Searle.

“Even though it is not legally required at this stage, any group that works with or provides services for children must take responsibility for having a Child Protection Policy.

“It is also vital that these same organisations take a commonsense approach to managing risk. Police checks should not just be considered for those who are legally required to have them. It should also include volunteers.”

Currently, vetting is not compulsory unless the organisation falls under the Children’s Act, which includes Government departments or those with Government contracts, including education and health.

“The current requirements do not go far enough for organisations outside this remit. We will continue to lobby and support calls for changes to the legislation, but in the meantime, child and youth businesses and organisations must take this onus on themselves.

“If they fail to do so, quite simply, they could be putting children and young people in harm’s way,” says Ms Searle.

She says this onus of responsibility relates to private businesses, not-for-profits, community groups, sports clubs, cultural and service groups, volunteers and more.

“When our children and young people go into a childcare, sporting or cultural environment, they need to be safe and protected. And as parents, we want to have the confidence that they will be so.

“Following the current requirements of the law is simply not enough. Every organisation needs a child protection policy and should follow best practice regarding the recruitment and vetting of all employees or volunteers.”

As part of a Child Protection Policy, Ms Searle says organisations need to identify potential risks in any situation where someone interacts with children.

“It is also important organisations understand that just because a person has passed vetting, that does not mean they are safe. Good policy and processes governing how people can interact with children in a safe way, monitored by others, is always the best safeguard.”

Child Matters is an independent organisation which works to stop child abuse through advocacy, training and practical partnerships.

Child Matters was formed in 1994 to meet this need by upskilling those working and interacting with children, young people and their families and whānau so they are able to identify risks concerning vulnerability and abuse and have the knowledge and confidence to take appropriate action.

ENDS

A child abuse advocacy group is backing calls to make Police vetting mandatory for everyone who works with children – saying the current rules don’t go far enough.

Child Matters Chief Executive Jane Searle says the recent case of a convicted paedophile who continued to work with children demonstrates that the law needs to go further to protect children.

The Children’s Commissioner is lobbying the Government to make vetting mandatory for everyone who works with children, something Child Matters fully supports.

“Every organisation that has anything to do with children – no matter how indirectly – should have a child protection policy, including vetting of all employees and volunteers.”

Ms Searle says the case highlights the moral obligations on employers – even if they’re not currently legal obligations.

“At the moment, vetting is not compulsory unless the organisation falls under the Children’s Act, which includes Government agencies or those with Government contracts, including education and health.

“While it might not be legally required, this case is a reminder that every organisation needs a child protection policy and should follow best practice regarding the recruitment and vetting of all employees or volunteers.”

Ms Searle says parents and caregivers should also feel confident in questioning extracurricular or after school activity providers around their policies and procedures.

“While parents and caregivers might simply expect there are policies in place, we would encourage them to make sure they’re informed about what an organisation is doing to keep tamariki safe – and to be insistent on ensuring these policies are followed.

“Unfortunately it isn’t necessarily enough to trust that a provider will have taken these steps. It’s critical that parents and caregivers are vigilant in knowing who is interacting with their children and that proper practices are in place, such as children not being left alone with another person.

“It may feel like an awkward conversation but it is so important – and given we don’t have mandatory vetting, people can’t rely that this has taken place.”

Ms Searle says the case also provides an opportunity for organisations working with children to have conversations with parents and caregivers about the measures they have in place to protect children.

“These are important conversations to have and the more we can discuss topics like child safety and protection, the more we are raising awareness amongst the whole community.”

Child Matters is an independent organisation which works to stop child abuse through advocacy, training and practical partnerships.

Unlike many other countries, in New Zealand child protection training is not mandatory for professionals or volunteers who work with children and young people – which means some of the key people in a child’s life may not be equipped with the skills and expertise to recognise the signs of abuse, and how best to respond.

Child Matters was formed in 1994 to meet this need by upskilling those working and interacting with children, young people and their families and whānau so they are able to identify risks concerning vulnerability and abuse and have the knowledge and confidence to take appropriate action.
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