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Weekly Media Roundup

August 04, 2017 at 12:34 PM

From Nia Glassie to Moko Rangitoheriri: Why are we still killing our kids?

Next week, marks 10 years since Nia Glassie was killed. A few weeks later, the inquest of Moko Rangitoheriri will begin. Their deaths triggered outrage about child abuse. So what's changed?

"Nia was supposed to be the last one, wasn't she?" was Mark Loper's response when asked for an interview.

The most senior detective in the Bay of Plenty wasn't being glib about the death of the Rotorua toddler; just speaking in the matter-of-fact manner of a police officer who's seen it all.

Urgent Family Court cases rise after mediation change

The proportion of Family Court cases going through on an urgent basis on behalf of just one parent is "very, very high," and lawyers are blaming a push towards mediation.

Last year 75 percent of the 7253 parenting applications and 64 percent of 1443 guardianship applications were made without notice and ex parte, which means they were filed by one parent or caregiver.

It comes after changes to the court system in 2014 made it harder for couples to get a hearing without first attending mediation.

Lessons learnt 10 years on from Nia Glassie death

Press Release – Child Matters

Child advocacy group Child Matters says the 10th anniversary of the death of Rotorua three-year-old, Nia Glassie, is a timely reminder to reflect on the issues of child abuse in our community – and also that a focus on further progress must not let up.

Countdown brings in site protecting domestic violence victims

Countdown supermarket has become the latest company in New Zealand to bring in a "Shielded Site", helping domestic violence victims.

Shielded websites were created by agency Saatchi & Saatchi last year, for the Women's Refuge. They are designed so people can browse a regular site, then click a button that takes them to domestic violence helplines and sites. The browser history is hidden, so it's a way for victims to be able to get help without alerting their abusers.

Women's Refuge chief executive Dr Ang Jury says Countdown adding the option is "hugely significant" for the initiative.

Kathleen Cooper trial: Witness claimed kids were 'scared' of abusive grandmother

A grandmother accused of murdering her grandson was known to be abusive and stressed, a witness has claimed.

Two-year-old Jermain Ngawhau suffered serious head injures and died in Starship Hospital on December 18, 2015.

His grandmother Kathleen Elizabeth Cooper, 65, was charged with murder and is on trial at the High Court in Auckland.

Girls report sexual assault while in state care

Two young girls have reported being sexually assaulted by boys while in state care in Upper Hutt.

The girls, one aged 12 and the other around 13, were living in the same state home.

The mother of the 12-year-old said she complained to police last September and little had been done.

A film about child abuse, culture, media reporting and shame

For the first time ever, eight female Māori directors have collaborated to birth Waru, a feature film screening at the New Zealand International Film Festival. A sequence of single-take vignettes, the 80-minute film explores the complexity of child abuse and themes of culture, custom and shame.

Waru is film about child abuse, culture, media reporting and shame told from the perspective of Māori women.

'I apologise absolutely and sincerely' - Anne Tolley to victims of abuse in state care

The Minister for Vulnerable Children has offered an apology to former wards of the state who appeared on The Hui's 'Ngā Mōrehu' episode.

"I apologise absolutely and sincerely," said Anne Tolley.

But when asked about calls for a public inquiry, Ms Tolley said she was still unclear what it would achieve.

'I remember blood dripping down the backs of my legs'

A man who was abused as a child believes getting survivors to share their stories is one way to help tackle the nation's high rates of child abuse.

Today marks 10 years since the death of Rotorua toddler Nia Glassie, who died after weeks of torture which included being put into a clothes dryer.

New Zealand has the second highest rate of child abuse deaths in the developed world, with one child being killed every five weeks.

Dad of six's journey from the hood to Gisborne City Council

From a life on the wrong side of the tracks, raising kids on the benefit to becoming a Gisborne Councillor, Josh Wharehinga knows all about overcoming adversity.

"Dad, he was a drug dealer right so he actually had a lot, he had a lot of resources but those were his and his boys' resources. Those weren't our resources, so we missed out on a lot."

House and help for family violence offenders

The Government is spending $1.1m to put roofs over the head of family violence perpetrators in Hamilton.

It is part of a new initiative, started in Christchurch six months ago, that seeks to keep victims safe in their own homes - while giving offenders the help they need to stop the violence.

Thousands take advantage of Govt's home safety offer

The home safety service for victims of family violence has helped more than 2200 people since it was launched two years ago.

The service makes homes safer by installing stronger locks, security lights and monitored alarms.

Justice Minister Amy Adams says in the first two years it has made 648 homes safer for adult victims and their children.

BANG! Episode 1: The Birds and The Bees

With the release of new podcast series Bang! Melody Thomas reflects on making the series.

Is there anything besides sex that is so widely practised and so resolutely ignored? Where does the shame come from? In episode one of BANG! I speak with Sex Therapy NZ’s Mary Hodson about ways to talk with young children about sex - but I started the interview by asking her about this.

Women are being pressured into sex too soon after giving birth

TRIGGER WARNING: This story contains graphic discussion of rape and domestic violence.

THE birth of Celeste’s* third child was rough. For six days, she wasn’t dilated enough and the hospital kept sending her home. Finally, when the labour started in earnest it dragged on for 18 hours.

Celeste’s husband, Neil,* was violent and drug-addicted. Just 40 hours after coming home from hospital, she was raped.

This is a side of pregnancy and childbirth we rarely discuss — women being pressured either verbally or physically into sex far too soon after childbirth.

Sex too soon after childbirth: This problem is bigger than we realise

TRIGGER WARNING: This story contains graphic discussion of rape and domestic violence

As I sit down to write this, there's white-hot rage coursing through me. Last night, my story about women forced into having sex too soon after childbirth was published on news.com.au.

I knew it was an important untold story - but there's almost no data to show how prevalent this is. What's now clear is that this is a significant problem.

The response to the story was swift and alarming.

Principal gives emotional assembly speech on suicide

A school principal's assembly talk about suicide was a risky move but well received by the students and their families, he says.

Paul Veric told his students at New Plymouth Boys High that nothing much scared him, but the one thing that could keep him awake at night was the problem of suicide.

No problem in life was too big to overcome if people acted with love, he told them.

Violent attacker sentenced home detention

A man with a chronic history of violence towards women has been sentenced to home detention instead of imprisonment.

Prison clearly hasn't worked in the past and significant steps towards rehabilitation have been taken, Judge Philip Crayton said on Monday.