Child Protection Bill seminar discussion

Press, 7 May 1983, Page 7

Child Protection Bill seminar discussion

Parliamentary reporter New child-protection legislation has been presented to the Government, and will be discussed publicly at a seminar in Wellington next week. The Child Protection Bill is the work of the Govern-ment-appointed National Advisory Committee on the Prevention of Child Abuse. The committee had been driven to promote new legislation because the problem of child abuse was a continuing one and children’s rights were not adequately protected by existing legislation, said the chairman of the National Advisory Committee, Dr D. Geddis. He cited a case where a

12-month-old child had been admitted to hospital with multiple injuries. A complaint had been laid in the District Court but the judge, while finding the child to have been ill-treated, had been unable to identify the person responsible and the child had been returned home. Several months later, the child had been readmitted to hospital with severe injuries, from which it had died two days later. On appeal to the High Court, the decision of the District Court judge had been found to be correct in law. Dr Geddis said other children had died as a result of non-accidental injury after they had been returned home.

The case he had cited was a further example of how the law was not working properly to protect children. Delegates to next week’s conference, called by the Minister of Social Welfare, Mr Young, would be asked to support the principles in the draft legislation. A key clause in it was: “A child shall be found to be in need of care or protection ... even though it is not proved conclusively who had perpetrated the illtreatment or who has caused or is likely to cause the neglect.” Dr Geddis said that such a clause would enable courts to protect children better than could be done under the provisions of the Children and Young Persons Act, 1974.