Family for Every Child is concerned that child
maltreatment and poverty have largely been ignored in this
election.
National claim they remain committed to
ensuring every child in New Zealand gets the best possible
start in life, however they have no plans to address child
maltreatment and poverty. Instead they choose to focus on
education and taking phones off kids, in its Plan for Kiwi
Kids released this afternoon.
“Our children who are
being maltreated or living in poverty are going to struggle
at school regardless of curriculum changes or education
policies. Their policies are not for these children,” says
Family for Every Child Programme Advisor Dr Rob
Thomson.
Child maltreatment is too common in Aotearoa
New Zealand, and this has damaging physical, psychological
and social consequences through adulthood and into future
generations.
“Our country has had one of the highest
rates of Child Maltreatment in the world for decades and we
are making no progress in addressing this. How many more
children need to die and suffer the effects of maltreatment
until we require our government to take meaningful steps to
keep our mokopuna safe,” Dr Thomson says.
What are
we going to do about it?
Tick for Kids asked every
major political party whether they would commit to
addressing children’s rights and the issues affecting the
health and wellbeing of youth
Although it is positive
that all parties have committed to a whole of government
approach to preventing harm to children, a national strategy
to prevent child maltreatment and implementing the
recommendations of the Dame Poutasi Review, they differ in
what they intend to do about it.
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“This election please consider which
parties are committed to keeping our children safe, and what
they intend to do to support whānau and our communities to
end child maltreatment.”
About Family for
Every Child
Every child deserves to grow up in a
safe and loving family. Family for Every Child has been
working in Aotearoa New Zealand since 2022 to make this a
reality. Family for Every Child is a global alliance of 51
local organisations working in 40 countries to improve the
lives of children and families in need.
About Dr Rob
Thomson
Dr Thomson is the author of “The Lifetime
Effects of Child Maltreatment.”
The
Lifetime effects of Child Maltreatment:
https://brainwave.org.nz/article/the-lifetime-effects-of-child-maltreatment/
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