STOCKTAKE OF PREVENTION, EDUCATION AND

FRONTLINE RESPONSES TO CHILD ABUSE IN

WAITAKERE

ISSUES, GAPS AND TRENDS

Conducted for Everyday Communities and Waitakere Anti Violence Essential Services

network (WAVES)

March 2009

Dr. Chris Holland

WERDS

www.werds.co.nz

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Table of Contents

Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................ 3

Executive Summary…………………………………………………………………………………..4

Full Report ........................................................................................................................... 10

Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 10

Findings Part One: What‟s happening nationally? ................................................................ 13

Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 13

Current Status of Government and NGO initiatives .............................................................. 15

Findings Part Two: What's happing in Waitakere?..............................................................19

Early childhood support (0-4 years) ...................................................................................... 30

The primary school years (5-12 years) ................................................................................. 34

Community Development and neighbourhood strengthening…………………………………. 39

Summary and conclusions………………….………………………………………………………42

Recommendations for in 2009………..…….………………………………………………………44

References……………………………………......………………………………………………….46

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Acknowledgements I wish to acknowledge, all the government, health, community members and community organisation managers and their staff, and the children who so willingly participated in this Stocktake. They gave considered and helpful information and comments in relation to the issues, trends and practices highlighted by the literature and experienced on the ground. I have been fortunate to have the opportunity of working with a great team. Thanks to Sue Lytollis EDC for her oversight of the project and to WAVES for their hard work in helping to get focus groups up and running. I am indebted to the stocktake management group, Kaleti Moala-Mafi, Tiaria Fletcher, Dr. Peter O‟Connor and Dr. Geoff Bridgman for their helpful comments. Special appreciation and thanks go to Bob Newson of the Families Commission, for very

generously guiding and sponsoring of the Maori research, which involved so much of his time. The experience of working with Bob has definitely been a highlight of this project for me. I am grateful also to Cheryl Talamaivao for her supporting work with the Pacific focus group.

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Executive Summary This summary outlines trends, issues, gaps and recommended actions for EDC‟s activity in Waitakere 2009. The recommendations are drawn from data and analysis presented in the full report following the summary. Explanation – Why this Stocktake? As an evolution of Everyday Communities in Waitakere, it was decided at an EDC Evaluation meeting in 2008 to move away from the previous pattern of buying media space to advertise family violence, child abuse prevention information and supporting local events and resources.

The idea instead, was to find out, from a literature review and key stakeholder interviews,

„What programme or action could make a significant difference for the children in our community affected by abuse, violence or

neglect.‟

The secondary questions this research was to answer were:

What specific actions or programmes do you or your agency offer for children affected by abuse, violence or neglect?

„Where do you think there are gaps in Waitakere in changing the way society thinks or works around children exposed to or at risk of abuse, violence or neglect.‟

Do you have an idea or concept that you think could make a practical and real difference for children affected by abuse, violence or neglect; or to prevent children being exposed to abuse, violence or neglect.

EDC also wanted the Stocktake to provide information on three primary strategy areas: early childhood support (0-4) school support (5-12) and community support. To also discuss support services in each of these areas, whether government, large community NGO, or a small „grassroots‟ organisation and to explore trends, issues and gaps in general, including co-ordination, collaboration and professional capability in terms of early years (home), school years and community support. In its previous work in other communities and over the last two years in Waitakere, the EDC primary prevention strategy has been to support events and radio and print media advertising campaigns, create resources, and fill educational gaps and network amongst NGO and government organisations. Apart from the education through drama programme Everyday Theatre that accompanies EDC in communities, most of the project‟s activities have been aimed at awareness raising in the community around the prevention of child abuse and neglect, and, to a much lesser degree, professional development support. In the following pages of this report, a number of positive trends, but also some issues and gaps, are indicated with recommendations. Some issues and gaps are already being addressed in future government and NGO planning and in current initiatives. EDC can make a contribution to some initiatives, but others are beyond its scope.

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Trends in the management of Child Abuse and Neglect reduction General

Established NGOs and government favour a multi-agency approach.

There is good networking and some interlocking of services.

A few Waitakere services are collaborating well, interacting on a daily basis.

Some services are contemplating funded joint ventures.

New Settler organisations are becoming more visible working to forge links.

Professional development is available for nurses, teachers, and community workers.

Early Childhood

Services are collaborative, complementary, with generally good referral systems.

Effective promotion (if overloaded, less deliberate promotion).

Staff involved have formal qualifications and lengthy experience.

Programmes are well designed, meet needs and are well received.

Sliding scales of payment assist those on benefits.

Range includes separated parents and parents where children had been removed.

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren (informal).

Home visiting projects (e.g. Family Start and Parents as First Teachers).

Some organisations offer a combination of parenting / childcare services. School

There are a range of school programmes offered in Waitakere.

Programmes are directed at children (rather than at their parents).

Programmes reflect the paramountcy principle (The CY&F Act 1989)

Programmes are linked to EDC.

Programmes are professionally developed and delivered.

There is good coverage of Waitakere schools by some programmes.

Programmes are well received and complement each other. Community

Events bring families together for entertainment, information and awareness.

Events provide a good opportunity for organisations to promote their services.

Community Development programmes like Twin Streams, Massey Matters and the Ranui Action Project build community resourcefulness.

Promotion of family violence issues – It‟s Not OK, radio, TV – builds awareness.

Training for official home callers taking place to enable identification of child abuse. Issues and gaps in the management of child abuse and neglect reduction General

The needs to be a central point of contact and an up-to-date directory of all services.

There are few services that are outside the immediate Henderson area.

Poor collaboration in some instances, such as among child advocates.

Less collaboration between large and small NGOs.

Less collaboration between Maori, Pacific and Pakeha led organisations.

Referrals across ethnic services are not high.

Competition among smaller NGOs for short-term funding - funding rolled over for larger NGOs.

Professional development (PD) uneven, uncoordinated in government and NGOs.

Lack of experience in NGOS resulting from a high turnover in the field.

Training opportunities for more highly skilled and qualified professionals is difficult.

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Need people with interviewing and assessment skills for the 0-4 age group.

Smaller NGOs struggle to find funding to support professional development.

Lack of provider awareness of the range of other services.

Lack of community awareness of the range of services.

Early Childhood

In regard to home visiting projects, there are some areas of possible duplication.

Limited collaboration between home visiting services.

Some parents are reluctant to engage with services e.g. where CYF are involved.

Few properly trained community workers to support very young children.

Insufficient engagement in early education.

Social Workers in Schools and school counsellors very effective.

Schools

Need for higher level promotion and co-ordination of programmes across the city.

Need for higher level promotion and co-ordination within each school.

To reach new cohorts of students - programmes could be rolled out annually.

Need for more counsellors appointed to schools.

Need contact information provided to children. Community

Community projects do not provide information to community members on what do if they witness or suspect abuse.

An identified “Community” in a city the size of Waitakere can be large and potentially unmanageable.

Recommended EDC Interventions in 2009 So far, the EDC project has been very effective in supporting media campaigns and events, and in enabling networking forums that facilitate the exchange of information between service providers. Some of the issues are largely a factor of the sheer size of Waitakere. It may be that a community or neighbourhood-wide rather than a city-wide approach would establish a visible model for future interventions in urban areas of this size. The following is a summary of suggestions arising from the research, most of which are resource-development focused. Some might be concentrated in a small community to maximise effect, while others are city wide. General: The main areas identified for development are co-ordination, collaboration and professional development (PD). Co-ordination and collaboration between local health, education and community initiatives is likely to improve with the recent appointment of a new WAVES co-ordinator. Below are the recommendations that have come from the stocktake. It is acknowledged that not all of these recommendations will fit the broad criteria for use of EDC funding, however, the EDC Working Party wanted all relevant issues included so that this document might be able to be utilised by appropriate groups to justify support for these programmes from other government agencies or funding bodies. The following are general recommendations for action. Finally, the priority table indicates those activities which are most supported by the research.

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Professional Development

Providing collaborative tendering funding application workshops.

Establishing criteria for good collaboration, reviewing the ability of smaller organisations to meet those criteria and recognising organisations that do.

Re-instating scholarships for community workers to complete formal professional development.

Funding the establishment of mentors and supervisors for community workers.

Producing a hard copy and web-based calendar of professional development opportunities across a range of organisations.

Creating a phone and website “consult-line” (linked by mobile/email/text message to a child advocate or similar) where teachers, nurses, doctors and community workers could ask on-the-spot questions.

Cross-posting data to the “consult line” internet site and the WAVES website.

Funding language specific mainstream media messages.

Early Childhood: EDC resources could support existing parent training and home visiting programmes via information to parents about local support and alternatives to smacking.

Creating a web-map of early childhood service provision, parent education and early childhood education programmes.

Creating a hard copy directory of early childhood services including parenting courses, home visiting and early childhood education (ECE) with attached information about the repeal of section 59 and helpful hints like “21 practical alternatives to smacking” to be given away at hospitals, clinics, and by home visitors.

School: Demonstrating the paramountcy of children means showing respect for children and young people, listening to them, and informing them about next steps. This might include:

Producing accessible hard copy wallet cards for students, explaining steps in dealing with abuse and information about what agencies they can contact for help.

Producing a hard copy clear language leaflet / poster that explains the repeal of section 59 and what that means in terms of protection and support (similar to the “21 alternatives to smacking).

Establishing a child-help website providing the information above and discussion/ Frequently Asked Question areas.

Rewarding young person groups (e.g. in schools) that have developed an effective support strategy for children in the school or neighbourhood.

Producing an information booklet for teachers/people working with children re age appropriate child abuse prevention education opportunities available in Waitakere. Include a contact list and planning calendar.

Producing an information leaflet for teachers on handling disclosures, listening and supporting children who seek their help, confidentiality, referral steps and likely outcomes.

Media promotion of schools (e.g. in local newspapers, TV) that have an ongoing child abuse prevention / education strategy.

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Community: It may be that projects like Massey Matters, Twin Streams and the Ranui Action Project, or others like them, can increase their focus on encouraging more watchful and active neighbourhoods, in order to reduce „bystander apathy‟. Possibilities include:

Supporting small neighbourhood-based meeting / education opportunities that include extended family and neighbours.

Creating a large poster map (A1) of service provision with contact number leaflets, for local libraries, community centres, clubs, bus stops, pubs.

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Priorities for Action

Professional Development Collaboration Co-ordination

Early childhood

Produce an information booklet for teachers/people working with children on age appropriate child abuse prevention education opportunities available in Waitakere.

Include a contact list and planning calendar.

Create a hard copy directory of early childhood services including parenting courses, home visiting and early childhood education (ECE) with attached information about the repeal of section 59 and helpful hints like “21 practical alternatives to smacking.” To be given away at hospitals, clinics, and by home visitors.

School Produce an information booklet for teachers/people working with intermediate level children

1 re child abuse

prevention education opportunities available in Waitakere. Include a contact list and planning calendar

Produce an information leaflet for teachers on handling disclosures, listening and supporting children who seek their help, confidentiality, referral steps and likely outcomes.

Produce accessible hard copy wallet cards for intermediate level students, explaining steps in dealing with abuse and information about what agencies they can contact for help

Comm-unity

Funding the establishment of mentors and supervisors for community workers

Creating a phone and website “consult-line” (linked by mobile/email/text message to a child advocate or similar) where teachers, nurses, doctors and community workers could ask on-the-spot questions

Produce a hard copy and web-based calendar of professional development opportunities across a range of organisations.

Funding language specific mainstream media messages. Creating a large poster map (A1) of service provision with contact number leaflets for local libraries, community centres, clubs, bus stops, pubs.

1 In using the above table to determine future activities by EDC, it should be noted that MSD

itself has prioritised the targeting of early childhood and intermediate level children.

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Full Report Introduction EDC was developed by the Child, Youth and Family Public Awareness and Education team in mid-2001 in response to a number of high profile child deaths. It works alongside selected communities to create localised responses to the prevention of child abuse and neglect and family violence using social marketing and community action processes. It was piloted in Whakatane and has also been in Wairarapa, Whanganui, Northland and with Pacific communities of South Auckland and greater Wellington. The EDC partnership is for three years and is administered by a strategic alliance between the Public Awareness and Education Team with an umbrella community organisation (e.g. Amokura in Northland and Waitakere Anti Violence Essential Services Network in Waitakere) and an EDC Working Party of community and government representatives is introduced to shape the direction of the programme of action. EDC began development in Waitakere in 2006 with the adoption of a Charter and formally launched on April 28, 2007. How to distribute a budget for prevention purposes is part of the CYF relationship with WAVES and the Working Party. Initial EDC activities included creating events, radio and print media advertising campaigns, creating resources and filling educational gaps and networking amongst NGO and Government organisations. EDC‟s overarching brand is „hui tahi, tupu tahi (come together, grow together)‟. In Waitakere, funding has been provided for a radio campaign on Radio Waatea, Radio Network and Pacific stations, interviews on Triangle TV, public advertising screens, print media ads and a range of resources such as tee-shirts, eco bags and calendars. EDC has contributed to the creation of two Scholarships at a Tertiary learning institute, and training for EDC Working Party members. It has supported and funded community events like Toddler Day Out, Tamariki Ora, Te Ra o te Mokopuna and the White Ribbon Day march. As stated earlier, rather than follow the pattern of the last two years an evaluation meeting of the EDC Working Party on 7th May 2008 decided to focus on what project or projects might make a significant difference for children affected by abuse, violence or neglect. A later meeting determined the process for „Knowing what we don‟t know‟ Stocktake of literature and key informant interviews which has resulted in this report. A Special Stocktake Group will determine which of the recommendations of this report will be supported for the funds set aside for the 1 July 2008 – 30 June 09 financial year as well as a final contribution for July – December 2009. This Stocktake was undertaken to find out about what child abuse information, research, child abuse prevention services and child abuse response services are available in the Waitakere region, and to inform EDC how best to proceed during its remaining time in Waitakere in order to improve outcomes for children. Issues already identified by EDC were:

That it is difficult to have an impact on a city the size of Waitakere

That there are a disparities and gaps in Waitakere in terms of addressing child abuse

Key stakeholder interviews focused on the service type provided by each organisation (primary, secondary, tertiary) and target group (parents, children, home, school, community). The semi-structured interview schedule, drawing on the literature and previous interviews, mainly covered interviewee roles, inter-organisational co-ordination, collaboration and referral networks, professional development, programmes, funding, issues, gaps and recommendations.

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Waitakere Anti-Violence Essential Services (WAVES) coordinates the network of Family Violence Services in Waitakere; provides project management; strategic planning, sourcing of funds for projects, policy advice and acts as a Clearinghouse for information sharing. WAVES co-ordinated a management group for the stocktake, and has provided administrative and other support to the researcher. The management group met monthly for the duration of the stocktake. Comprised of academics, managers and professional working in the area, they included Tiaria Fletcher, Manager, WAVES; Kaleti Moala-Mafi, Senior Advisor Public Awareness & Education Team, CYF and Sue Lytollis Team Leader; Dr. Peter O‟Connor, Director, Applied Theatre Consultants; Dr Geoff Bridgman, Associate Head of School, School of Community Development, UNITEC. Layout of the report Through a search of the literature and related websites, part one of the report outlines some historical and current issues and developments in the field in New Zealand. Part two discusses trends, issues, and gaps in Waitakere, with reference to voices from the community. Issues around provision for different ages groups (0-4; 5-12) are discussed, as well as those effecting different ethnicities. Research process As Silverman (1997) and Fine & Sandstrom (1988) note, the social distance created by studying groups with whom we do not share membership (i.e. age, gender, class, ethnicity) can create mistrust, misunderstanding or resistance on the part of the research participant.

Waitakere has an ethnically mixed population. Mainly Pakeha (59%), the region is also home to a high percentage of Maori (13%) and Pacific peoples (15%). A significant number of people from Asian (16%) African and Eastern European peoples also live in the city (2006

census results for Waitakere, http://www.waitakere.govt.nz/abtcit/ps/2006census.asp). With this in mind, the research was concerned to observe culturally appropriate practices.

In terms of research with Maori participants, it drew on the work of Linda Tuhiwai Smith (1999), who is one of the foremost leaders and designers of Kaupapa Maori research. In Decolonising Methodologies, Smith emphasises that what is important is not the ethnicity of the researcher, but how the research is conducted. One of the models she suggests for Pakeha researchers is a tiaki or mentoring model, where authoritative Maori people guide and sponsor the research. We were fortunate that Bob Newson, a respected Kaumatua who has worked with the Human Rights Commission, the Families Commission and numerous other community-service organisations, agreed to support the research. The model was also used with the Pacific Island focus group, with EDC representative Kaleti Moana-Mafi as support person.

Data gathering and informed consent

The literature was sourced from a search of the internet, material held by members of the research management team, a search of public and university library catalogues and material supplied by EDC and respondents. Most of the literature comes from New Zealand, with some focusing on Waitakere. The literature included government agency, public service provider and community reports, website information, and academic analysis.

The research sought a Waitakere-wide response. Data was gathered from four focus groups and 22 key informants. The research objectives were explained to all respondents. In addition, they were shown written information about the research (appendix A). Consent was gained through a written form (appendix B) which explained that respondents would not be identified in the report and that withdrawal from the research could take place at any time

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during the research. All focus groups and key informant interviews were digitally recorded, coded and transcribed. All information was provided in good faith to assist the EDC working party‟s decision making, to provide a document which could be used by the wider community for further developmental purposes and should not be used for any other purpose. Drever (1995) notes that dialogue with participants about the interpretations and explanations emerging from the research should be an integral part of any action research. Semi-structured interview schedules were based on literature and web-site searches, and later on issues emerging from early interviews. Participants were provided with an opportunity to reflect on the research and on each other‟s comments. Analysis A pattern analysis (Altrichter 1993) was undertaken with the literature and emerging empirical data, which enabled the research project to reach a deeper understanding of issues, trends and gaps. Key themes were established and verified by later readings and interviews. These themes are discussed in the summary sections of Part One and Two

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Findings Part One: What‟s happening nationally?

Introduction Child abuse is the physical, emotional / psychological or sexual harm caused to a child or young person. Harm includes ill-treatment, abuse, neglect or deprivation. Physical abuse involves a deliberately inflicted injury (e.g. bruises, cuts, fractures, burns). Emotional / psychological abuse is “…any act or omission that results in impaired psychological, social, intellectual and / or emotional functioning and development” (OCC / UNICEF, 2004:20) (e.g. rejection, isolation, deprivation of affection, criticism, threats, exposure to family violence, corruption). Sexual abuse is the sexual exploitation of a child e.g. voyeurism, inappropriate touching, sex, pornographic activity. (OCC / UNICEF, 2004). The MSD review of research on Preventing Physical and Psychological Maltreatment of Children in Families states:

While psychological abuse of children can occur without physical

abuse, physical abuse is almost always accompanied by

psychological abuse. There are some common harmful and far-

reaching consequences associated with both psychological and

physical abuse of children such as learning impairments, mental

health and social relationship difficulties. There are also a set of

distinct consequences that can follow from each type of abuse.

Psychological abuse increases the risk of emotional damage, for

example to self esteem, while physical abuse is more strongly

associated with externalising behaviours and aggression. (MSD,

2008: 4)

New Zealand has high rates of child abuse and child deaths (Williamson and Drumm, 2005), and in 2003 had one of the highest child-death rates in the OECD (UNICEF, 2003). In 2000 and 2001 eighteen children were victims of homicide. In 2003 116 were hospitalised as a result of assault (Fanslow, 2005:15). New Zealand has 1.2 deaths per 100,000 children. The OECD median is .6 deaths per 100,000 children (UNICEF, 2003). Mark Loper, head of the Rotorua CIB, comments that there are many children like Nia Glassie who do not die, but whose injuries may be as horrific (NZ Herald, November 22 2008). Risk factors for child abuse include partner violence, adult with history of child or animal abuse, adult child-abuse survivor, drug or alcohol abuse, mental illness, harsh attitudes to discipline, unrealistic expectation of children, use of physical punishment, very young parents, social isolation, mobility of residence, child disabled or chronically ill, severe economic disadvantage (OCC / UNICEF, 2004:23). Children with multiple adverse experiences face the highest risk of later adverse outcomes to their physical and social wellbeing (Fergusson and Horwood, 2001, cited in Fanslow 2005). Quoting the World Health Organisation / ISPCAN publication of 2006, the MSD review of research claims that “…social and cultural norms that support violence and physical punishment of children and that diminish the status of the child in parent-child relationships have a part to play in contributing to child maltreatment (WHO/ISPCAN, 2006, cited in MSD, 2008:3). They add that while physical punishment does not automatically lead to abuse, abuse tends to co-occur with disciplinary action. In addition, child abuse is more prevalent among certain age groups. The 2008 MSD review of research states that:

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While children of all ages can experience physical and psychological abuse, babies, toddlers and adolescents from the age of 11 years old are at a higher risk of being injuring from physical abuse than primary school-aged children. (MSD, 2008:4) This seems to suggest that EDC support for services should be targeted at pre-schoolers and intermediate school aged children. Indeed, may programmes supported by EDC do focus on the parents of very young children and on programmes for children in middle primary and intermediate level schooling. The MSD research review (2008) claims that “…the prevalence of child maltreatment is higher in deprived families and communities than in well-resourced families and communities (MSD, 2008:4). Along similar lines, Fanslow‟s research suggests that child abuse is more prevalent in populations where poverty, low levels of education and unstable family environments exist. The United Nations Secretary General‟s Study of Violence against Children points out that Maori children are known to be significantly over-represented in poverty statistics and twice as likely to be assessed as abused or neglected. (UN, 2006, cited in Langford, 2006). It can be too easy to draw quick conclusions about the links between poverty and abuse. Fanslow emphasises that the conditions themselves are not predictors of abuse (Fanslow, 2005), as child maltreatment2 pervades all socio-economic groups and ethnicities. For example, although Maori and Pacific people tend to have comparatively low levels of education and health, and high levels of poverty within particular populations, the Labour Minister for Maori Affairs points out, ninety-nine percent of Maori families love, nurture and cherish their children. He acknowledges, however that there is a risk for some struggling families that must be heeded:

…there are a small proportion of our families which carry out horrific abuse and there‟s no excuse for that. Poverty, coupled with the impact of social dislocation and a lack of self-worth on behalf of parents contributes to this terrible tolerance of abuse.

But we can‟t allow this to continue. (Launch of Ngati Kahungunu Iwi Violence Project, 23 August 2008)

2 The general term ‘maltreatment’ is now used in the literature to cover the range of adult behaviours that can

cause psychological and physical injury to children. Child maltreatment covers physical, psychological and sexual

abuse, and neglect (MSD, 2008:4)

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Current Status of Government and NGO Initiatives Child abuse / maltreatment in New Zealand are generally addressed within a family violence framework (although this is changing). The thrust of current government promotions of the issue, is that bystander apathy cannot continue - family violence / child abuse is the responsibility of both the perpetrators and witnesses:

…as New Zealanders, we have a collective responsibility to end family violence in our country…Those who commit violence

should not be protected by friends, family, or neighbours. That is not loyalty. It is harbouring criminality…We also need to challenge

those in our families and communities who are violent towards their family members to seek help; to recognise that it is OK to admit that what they are doing is wrong; to recognise that it is hurting their family, their community and themselves; and to

recognise that it is possible to make the change to non-violence (Helen Clarke, Launch of Campaign for Action on Family Violence,

4 Sept. 2007) Key national agencies in child abuse prevention A joined-up government agency approach, led by the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) includes the Families Commission (FC), the Accident Compensation Commission, (ACC) the Ministry of Health (MOH) The Peace Foundation and the New Zealand Police (NZP). In 2002, the government launched the “Agenda for Children” which was a commitment to making life better for children by reducing family violence. It developed a national framework for family violence prevention, Te Rito, in 2004. The Ministry of Social Development established the government Taskforce for Action on Violence within Families in June 2005, to advise the Family Violence Ministerial Team on how to make improvements to the way family violence is addressed. The taskforce includes Maori and Pacific reference groups. At the August 2008 taskforce meeting, it agreed to make child maltreatment prevention a strategic priority for 2008 – 2011. It agreed the scope (child abuse and neglect), the focus (prevention) and the priorities for its actions. It also agreed work with communities to strengthen their preventive responses to child maltreatment. Work is now focussed on getting projects up and running. The Families Commission launched the Campaign for Action on Family Violence in September 2007, with the It‟s Not OK media campaign. The campaign raises awareness of child abuse in the whole community and thereby has a potential effect not only on perpetrators but also on bystanders. Indeed, surveys have shown that the campaign has had some impact on people‟s consciousness and actions. According to the Taskforce for Action on Violence within Families Ongoing Programme of Action: Monitoring Report September 2008, the Are you OK? 0800 telephone line continues to provide information and support to over 600 callers per month. New resources will be developed in the next phase of the campaign that focuses specifically on child maltreatment. There has been some criticism voiced about the campaign. One criticism of the campaign is that Pacific celebrities used in the promotions are considered questionable role models for non-violence within their communities. The same criticism was levelled at Robyn Malcolm, playing Cheryl West in Outrageous Fortune, who had slapped her on-screen daughter. A Maori respondent commented that the It‟s Not OK campaign has no Maori women. She pointed out the dilemma that although women should be shown, they don‟t want to be seen as just victims either. A third criticism is that children are “left out of the conversation”:

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Other inter-agency initiatives include Strengthening Families (coordinated support for families with children who are working with two or more government or community agencies), and Child Advocates (established by MSD and located in a range of community organisations).

The MSD‟s Child Youth and Family (CYF) agency is committed to the paramountcy of children as defined in the Children‟s Act, 1989. Taking a facilitative, non-mandatory, differential response orientation to the prevention of child abuse, the MSD states that it is keen to work with communities and community NGOs already working in the area.

Many of the notifications that come to us turn out to be families that don‟t need our involvement but would benefit from

community-based support and services. Differential response helps us link families with social services earlier and in a more

structured way. By connecting families to services that will help them resolve issues earlier, we hope to prevent more serious

problems occurring down the track. (www.cyf.govt.nz) Despite this approach, community workers report that CYF still struggles to win the support of the community. One respondent points out that this is not necessarily CYF‟s fault, as people are aware of the consequences and therefore the “huge decision, responsibility” of alerting the agency. The agency is working hard to gain the trust of the community:

People have zero concept of [CYF] as a support agency. I say to them that we are here to support you, work with you.

More positive engagement with the community over the last few years has resulted from the establishment of funding streams such as the Strategies with Kids – Information for Parents (SKIP) initiative, which supports programmes aimed at developing positive parenting skills. Finance for this and other like initiatives is facilitated through a Local Initiatives Fund (LIF) which supports collaborative and innovative ways of promoting positive parenting to parents and caregivers of birth to five year olds. In addition, the CYF established “Everyday Communities” (EDC) project works alongside Maori, Pacific and mainstream organisations, local councils, hospitals, schools, established national NGOs and local service providers (all of which may have their own child abuse prevention strategies). Primary Secondary and Tertiary responses Service providers can engage with either primary, secondary and tertiary prevention strategies, or a mix of all. The on-line mental health service athealth.com makes the following distinctions between the three types of service provision:

Primary prevention activities are directed at the general population with the goal of stopping the occurrence of maltreatment before it

starts. Secondary prevention activities target families at high risk of maltreatment to alleviate conditions associated with the problem.

Tertiary prevention directs services to families where maltreatment has occurred to reduce the negative consequences of the

maltreatment and to prevent its recurrence. (www.athealth.com/Consumer/issues/AbusePrev )

Primary strategies can be long (e.g. educational resource development) or short term (e.g. media campaigns). Secondary strategies might include monitoring and support of families by NGOS, where the family is referred to a local Strengthening Families co-ordinator who keeps the family safe and connected with those who are best placed to support them. Tertiary strategies involve CYF, police and the courts, and may include the removal of children from

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abusive environments. Both public and community organisations engage in primary, secondary and tertiary strategies within a range of sites, including hospitals, homes, early childhood centres, primary, intermediate and high schools, churches and community houses. In terms of secondary and tertiary categories of abuse, it is CYF, the NZ Police, and community organisations who shoulder most of the work. Awareness raising Another approach to education and prevention is through the media public awareness campaigns. Fanslow reports that in the Netherlands, a campaign including a televised documentary, short films, commercials, a radio programme and printed materials resulted in increased levels of disclosure but that the effect on rates of child abuse had not been established (Fanslow, 2005). Public awareness campaigns in New Zealand began in the mid-late 1990s with the Breaking the Cycle campaign and a sideline campaign “alternatives to smacking” have included various anti-smacking messages, and, more recently, the “It‟s not OK” programme. Health professionals and child abuse awareness training It is not only community NGO‟s who need specialised training. Essential to good public service provision, is the training and education of health care professionals (Fanslow 2002; 2007). Hospital staff is often inadequately equipped to deal with the secondary and tertiary child abuse situations they encounter. Dr. Patrick Kelly is consultant Paediatrician at Starship Children's Hospital, and Clinical Director of Te Puaruruhau (Australasia's first interagency child advocacy centre). He believes that CYF and Police services need more help to stop child abuse, and that not enough is being done to train hospital staff to recognise and act on suspected cases (NZ Herald, 22 November, 2008). Hospital staff:

...don‟t understand some of the other „below the threshold‟ things, they are quite hard and we don‟t even know who to access in the community to help us with [understandings around child abuse].

Doctors need training in what to do to protect children:

Doctors deal with the [clinical issues], and the patient goes out the door, they are not switched on to asking the questions. I‟ve had

one referral from a GP in two years. GPs have this fond notion of confidentiality that somehow it should never be breached. When we are talking about children we should breach confidentiality at

every chance we get! If it‟s going to make a difference. The Ministry of health is aware of the issue. Fanslow comments on a recent positive trend:

In New Zealand, education of health care providers as part of their core training has historically been scant or non-existent, but recent

efforts by the Ministry of health have resulted in a number of training programmes for practitioners being delivered through

professional colleges. (Fanslow, 2005:27)

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Data and privacy Finally, social and health services lack effective co-ordination of data, which would make a difference to the timely response to cases.

No-one takes responsibility for co-ordination of cases through services. Case for good old generic social workers

Police have got their database. Viviana has got a state of the art

database. CYF, WINZ. Hospitals have their database. None share. It‟s privacy gone mad.

However, Viviana does share aspects of its database with other agencies, while at the same time protecting certain private and sensitive information of clients. Others are looking at how information can be shared appropriately for the ultimate good of the children of Waitakere. There have been efforts made towards shared information:

We had all these services - hospitals, ambulance, and police, all with their own database. So we got the university interested in

looking at how we could share. We found that if we compared, the places [tertiary services] were all going to was in the same street.

If we could‟ve put that data all together. So that‟s where the template idea came from - the worst crime was happening in the

known homes. I think they are doing that on the North Shore. Mayor Harvey wants to see a national register of children. In his September 2008 press release, he states that this was once a practice of Plunket and Family Benefit. Mayor Harvey says legislation such as the Privacy Act is also a hindrance.

It stops us sharing information and it stops us thinking clearly. We need to think carefully about whether our laws are putting

individuals' civil liberties ahead of the welfare of our children." (10/9/08 WCC Media release)

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Part Two: What‟s happening in Waitakere?

Introduction Waitakere City is in the west of the Auckland region. It is bounded the Manukau Harbour, Rodney and North Shore districts, and to the east by Auckland City. The Great Start Waitakere report (2003) identifies a number of concerns that need to be addressed in regard to family violence and, more specifically, child abuse in Waitakere. Several of these concerns, listed below (not in any particular order), are mirrored in this report:

A major attitudinal and behavioural change in regard to family violence / child abuse.

Parent education (child development and the effects of family violence on children).

Training to develop professional competence.

Funding to support violence prevention as well as protection, and more services.

A holistic response to violence against partners and children.

Better co-ordination and collaboration - addressing unhelpful „patch protection.‟

Better whanau / community recognition and reporting of child abuse (no tolerance).

Improved resources for community workers, especially Maori and Pacific.

Language appropriate resources.

Community leaders‟ support (e.g. Pacific Islands church leaders).

Alternatives to culturally embedded physical punishment regimes.

Everyday Communities

EDC is currently offering support in Waitakere, the first metropolitan site. It has worked to support awareness through events, radio and print media campaigns. It has supported the creation of resources, and to strengthen networking amongst related NGOs and government organisations. And it has supported child abuse prevention education in schools, and positive parenting initiatives. A respondent remembers EDC‟s introduction to the community, and the gradual realisation that the size of Waitakere was an issue:

EDC was incredibly well received. It was noticeable that Pacific and Maori were excited. We sat in a circle, a good thirty people

there at WAVES. For all of us, we didn‟t quite know where the trip wires were. In rural areas for EDC it has been a much more

straightforward process… it was so hard to be visible; in a small place it was easy. In Waitakere where there are so many events

and people.

In terms of specific projects, as at the end of the first year (WAVES EDC progress Report, 2007), EDC had assisted the Pacific Island EXPO, Waipareira Pasifika Whanau Day, the Aotearoa Music Festival and the LynMall Positive Parenting Promotion. In addition, the report states, EDC has engaged in the Raffles Youth sponsorships, assistance to the Massey community and building closer relationships with UNITEC. During 2007 / 2008, EDC support in Waitakere has included funding anti- family violence campaigns on Radio Waatea, Radio Network and Pacific stations, interviews on Triangle TV, public advertising screens, print media ads and a range of resources such as tee-shirts, eco bags and calendars. EDC has further contributed to training for EDC Working Party members. It has supported and funded community awareness events like Toddler Day Out, Tamariki Ora, Te Ra o te Mokopuna and the White Ribbon Day march.

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However, for EDC, being visible in a city the size of Waitakere is difficult. Thus people working in key positions in the field were still unclear about the role of EDC. They knew about one-off funding, but were confused about EDC‟s overall mandate. People had an expectation that EDC would be able to “walk alongside projects” and build stronger relationships with them. It was suggested that this would also build the visibility of the project. The EDC profile could also be raised through columns in monthly newsletters published by WCC and others:

Violence Free Waitakere has two pages…to promote family violence issues. EDC could do that same stuff around active

messages…. Waitakere City Council Waitakere City Council (WCC) has long been an advocate of community partnership and well-being, particularly where children are concerned. It works with local organisations to develop and strengthen innovative and inclusive strategies in the city (e.g. First Call for Children). However, employees remark that they have had little interaction with EDC – rather, support work for community organisations and projects was proceeding in parallel. WCC engages mainly with primary strategies to address family violence / child abuse issues, supporting community and neighbourhood-building projects, and hosting networking events. As Warwick Pudney observes, at least this level of support is necessary in a city with such high levels of reported child abuse.

Waitakere city has been at the forefront of tertiary prevention…Waitakere City Council has been supportive of community organisations taking advantage of funding and innovative projects. However, the problems continue, with

Waitakere City having one of the highest rates of violence and child abuse in the country (Pudney, 2005/2006:51)

The Waitakere Community Report (2006) also notes that Waitakere City‟s family violence offence rate is high: it was higher than the national average in all of the nine years between 1996 and 2004. Quoting the Waitakere Winter Series Forum Consultation 2005“, the community report identifies family violence as a key priority for collaborative initiatives by all partners involved in the delivery of social well-being in the city” (2006:11). The 2003 Korowai Manaaki report Great Start Waitakere, sees WCC as having a long history of collaboration in community safety. It reports that the city was awarded “Safe Community” status by the World Health Organisation in 1999 and its first interagency plan was developed in 2000 (Te Korowai Manaaki, 2003). Since then, government and community networks and the WCC have developed a Wellbeing collaboration project incorporating primary prevention initiatives including Protecting our Tamariki, Massey Matters, the Ranui Action Project, and the establishment of a social strategy for the city. Waitakere City has also set an example to other cities with the innovative Family Violence Court. However, child abuse intervention agencies in the city have grown in an ad hoc way, and this risks gaps in primary, secondary and tertiary provision. In April 2008, a stocktake of Waitakere Family Violence services was completed for the Mayoral Taskforce at the WCC by the Waitakere City Council Advocate for family-violence prevention, Carol Everard (Everard, 2008). The report acknowledges the work of the Family Violence Court, which has run every Wednesday since 2001 in order to overcome delays in the court process, thus minimising damage to families. It acknowledges that there is at present a high level of interest in family violence prevention, both nationally and locally. Everard cites several instances, including:

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The Multi-Ministerial Taskforce established to highlight the issue nationally.

The MSD and the Families Commission nation wide media campaign.

The Waitakere City Mayoral Task Force, supported by two working parties (1) convened by WAVES and (2) convened by Dr. Pita Sharples.

Three Waitakere City Child Advocates (Barnardos, Tu Wahine, the Pacific Project).

CYF Everyday Communities.

DHB health screening (Everard, 2008). WCC supports programmes that raise the level of Pacific and new settler collaboration and decision making in this work. For example, in May 2008, the council hosted a Family Violence Forum. The New Zealand Ethnic Social Services were represented by Hassan Hosseini who spoke to the group about issues for migrants and refugees. Regular Reducing Family Violence workshops have been held subsequently, and are ongoing. However, projects like the Pacific Project and the New Zealand Ethnic Social Service organisation based in Te Atatu, still lack sufficient resources, visibility and engagement with other service providers. Community Organisations - NGOs Everard comments that community organisations in the region are vital to child abuse prevention, education and response, as they are recognised as being closer to the community than government services, having a greater knowledge of local culture, being able to foster community involvement, and providing services cheaply. Mainstream “Community organisations” range from large, long-standing organisations such as Plunket and Barnardos, to small recently established organisations like Grandparents Raising Grandchildren. Church-based (Presbyterian, Methodist, Salvation Army) organisations have been successful in supporting formal programmes (Lifewise, Presbyterian social services, Waitakere Central Corps) for the Waitakere community. She cautions that there are a number of services which lack a formal structure, co-ordination, databases, funding, auditing and accountability processes. Community organisations which take up the work when under-equipped, can leave themselves open to criticism and failure.

Too high expectations and too short time frames. [The community] had never had this before, why would you expect them to be able

to manage it? It‟s going into that community because that community has a number of problems identified so how come you suddenly expect them to be experts in managing funds and setting

up structures? The Ministry of Health‟s Family Violence Intervention Guidelines – Child and Partner Abuse (2002) identify some of the issues for staff working in child abuse services. These include lack of comfort with the issue, lack of formal protocols, lack of time and lack of confidence in referral agencies. As well as formal training, personal awareness building is vital (Fanslow, 2002; Pudney, 2005/2006; Everard, 2008) for people who are working in this area:

Family violence attracts people who are passionate about it because it‟s happened to them quite often. Then there hasn‟t been

the money for supervision…

…personnel could be struggling with their own issues so training might therefore be a big problem

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[behaviour within and between organisations] parallel the processes that go on in [family violence], there is conflict and often quite abusive behaviour in a lot of the organisations. I‟m told that Waitakere is not atypical it happens in other parts of NZ and even

in other parts of the world.

In [other] services, people worked there who had recovered and had usually done a lot of work on them selves, personal

development. The same journey may not be there for people who come out of violent relationships

These issues are widely recognised in Waitakere, and actions to address them have been suggested such as the addition of personal awareness components in formal training, and supervision:

Unitec is thinking of changing their course, putting in personal development, personal growth, unhealed childhood issues…that

really has a big impact on their way of working.

…should be a required personal component, would make sense too, we are not just doing this work from our heads we are doing it

with our whole hearts and our whole lives. Yes, supervision is important.

[my own personal development] made me safe in the work, self

awareness, teaching me skills, if you haven‟t done your own personal growth you are not going to go very far and will slip back.

The main barrier to addressing comfort, protocols, time and training issues, seems to be lack of funding, with child abuse claimed by some to be a case of “Interest first, funding second”. Everard found that lack of funding, competition for funding and capacity issues, also impacts on community organisations‟ ability to attract, retain and train quality workers. These claims are endorsed by Warwick Pudney, who argues that there needs to be more financial support for local NGOs:

The current intervention agencies have functioned well and need continued support financially. We need to continue networking to

ensure tight systems of accountability occur to protect our children (Pudney, 2005/2006:51)

Others suggest that competition for funding causes problems for collaboration between larger and small organisations:

Finding is a huge issue. Using funding to enable networking and connections and relationships to happen whatever that might be. There‟s a bit of disconnect between small local organisations and

big providers who are often funded better. Or there‟s a level of resentment?

Because of the way everyone‟s funded, they are all going to the

same trusts, and some of them are funded from ten different sources. So from a business point of view they are not talking to

each other

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The Ministry of Health‟s Guidelines (2002) claim that since child abuse often co-occurs with partner abuse, issues cannot therefore be treated in isolation. A report produced in 2003 as part of the Waitakere Wellbeing collaboration project endorsed this view:

[There is]…a need to look at child abuse and partner abuse together – need to deal with mothers and children in a more

holistic way…reinforce that neither type of violence is acceptable and that we need to better support women so that they can

support their children (Te Korowai Manaaki report 2003) Everard states that Maori and Pacific communities respond to holistic and cultural approaches to family violence prevention that includes counselling, family support services, crisis services, youth programmes, and child advocacy. There seems to be an increasing awareness that holistic service provision is helpful not only to Maori and Pacific communities, but also to the range of other communities in Waitakere. Maori Service provision Maori services are aimed at connecting people to their whanau and community. There are long-standing and important Maori initiatives in Waitakere – The Hoani Waititi urban marae supports the whole whanau, but is noted especially for its tamariki development through kohanga reo, kura, and youth programmes. The Waipareira Trust brings a holistic vision to strengthening families based around the concept of Moemoea – the Dream. Within this concept, strong family characteristics include: knowledge whakapapa and taonga; ability to speak one‟s own language; valuing of children; recognition of roles, functions and responsibilities; collective ability to meet responsibilities; resources to meet needs. Indicators that the dream has been achieved include: all Tamariki are comfortable and in a safe place where they can learn safely and well. Waipareira is contracted to promote child protection and deliver services to vulnerable families in Waitakere. Child abuse prevention and protection initiatives include: a specialist family home with full time house parents (up to five residents) and a Family Violence Waipareira programme. In addition the organisation is working with SWIS, developing a Family Violence research project for children, offering national advice on family violence protection and prevention, developing networks with Mo Wai Te Ora parenting programme based at Waitakere hospital, and planning a midwifery service will be integrated with early child health services (Waipareira annual report, 2007/2008).

In addition, Tika Marama has an established refuge for women who have been victims of abuse, and their children. Tu Wahine provides primary prevention and intervention services to Maori whanau affected by rape, incest, sexual abuse and family violence. The Maori caucus named „Korowai Manaaki‟ 3runs anti-violence radio programmes on Radio Watea and works closely with Tu Wahine. The caucus also receives funding from SKIP to provide parenting programmes. Recently, Tu Wahine and Te Korowai Manaaki / Great Start Waitakere produced a Family Violence Primary Prevention strategy (2006-2010) for Tamariki under five in Waitakere. The strategy claims a “one size fits all” approach is not feasible, and that a Maori cultural framework for addressing Maori child abuse is necessary. This claim is reinforced elsewhere by Maori:

In non-Maori organisation, a Maori cultural framework is missing. It does help the relationship.

3 Korowai Manaaki was the name given to the 2003 Great Start Waitakere report and subsequently used by the

Maori caucus.

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We have a concept of a continuum running from Kahupo to Tiora, and the distance between is the journey that people are on.

Abusers and the abused would be Kahupo. Whakama (loss of identity, shame) needs to be dealt with by finding out what it is that is hurting people and putting it right. Pakeha need to honour that

and where people come from. It‟s not just about honour. There are [ripples out from] abusers and victims, to others.

However some Maori argue that Maori providers don‟t have the capacity to provide sufficient services to Maori. They point out that 13% of the Waitakere population is Maori, yet 40-45% of people represented in Family Violence statistics are Maori. In addition, community workers state that Maori often prefer to use non-Maori services. A Maori community worker explains:

There are issues around the quality of service and delivery – the feeling that you get a better, more professional service from non-Maori. Another reason for Maori preferring non-Maori services is that non-Maori services would challenge them less around issues

of ethnicity. I.e. they could appeal to culture. Pacific Service Provision Pacific people in Waitakere fall into two distinct groups: there are people who have lived here for more than one generation, sometimes for many generations, and then there are those who were born in the Islands and have to learn to manage the entirely different culture of mainstream New Zealand. The latter experience the greatest culture shock. Pacific community workers discuss cultural differences in New Zealand and how they impact on Pacific childrearing and authority structures:

[Pacific-born citizens] have [now] got to live in an environment where you have to have money. The law says you can‟t leave children and have to feed them at the appropriate time. All of

those factors lead to so-called violence. We have physical punishment [in our culture]. It‟s so hard for our families, to have to

find money, not having the support that they are used to back home. A different way of living, we have to try a variety of

approaches with them.

Social services targeted specifically at Pacific peoples are provided by a relatively small number of community organisations (Waitakere Community report, 2006). The main Pacific service providing education and family violence awareness in Waitakere is the Pacific Islands Safety & Prevention Project Inc. ('The Project'), based in Massey. Training is provided to educators using resources to deliver messages in specific languages. Counsellors facilitate men's groups, couples groups, parenting and womens' support groups. The organisation leads Violence Free Pasefika, a network of pacific peoples who work with Pacific communities in combating family violence. The other key organisation was Waipareira Pacific (WAIPAS), but this has recently been dissolved and project work is now undertaken by the Waipareira Trust.

Pacific community workers point out that for new settlers in particular, education and prevention programmes need to be presented in their own languages. Language specific education is also important for the thousands of older Pacific people who may not have a strong grasp of the English language, but do have authority over younger family members:

We are like dead people when we are speaking to English, when we listen to presentations in English, we lose 40% of that,

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translating before responding, so stuff needs to be language specific.

Every meeting that we had in Waitakere we ask for resources to be translated. But it always falls to deaf ears. Those mamas and those grandmothers at home they are the key members of the

family. If we go home and the grandmothers say this is the programme we have to do, they will hammer it down to the aunties

and the uncles.

Quite often it‟s an aunty and uncle, extended family who are more important in terms of safety than the immediate family, quite often

they save you from really harsh [hitting]. Mainstream local authorities‟ handling of family violence issues is considered by Pacific people to be sometimes culturally unsafe:

You need discretion, you‟ve got to take into account whakama, [you need to] talk to the elder of this house and explain to him that what‟s happened here is wrong. Without shaming him in front of the whole neighbourhood. That punishment‟s even worse. Plus

he‟s going to lose this job and that would create more stress. More stress would end up with more violence

For Pacific families, the church is often the centre of support services:

The church is like an island without the beach. When they come to the church they feel really within their culture. Children will get support in the church. The church is the strength for Pacifika

families and always will be. Pacific island gatherings always look out for children.

At the end of 2007 twelve churches were involved in a SKIP programme, which proved difficult at the start. While there were Ministers who supported the programme, other Ministers sometimes put up barriers to changing the culture of strong discipline:

…who totally believed that it was their right, spare the rod and spoil the child, so there was a lot of work that needed to be done. Because of the involvement of other ministers and their wives –

they managed to come around.

Now we have ministers who come to ask to have a supporting letter for programmes that they actually want to do in churches, and it‟s awesome they come out now from their comfort zone to

ask for programmes for each church. Finally, lack of funding and powerlessness to determine the use of funding they had, caused concern among several Pacific community workers. New Settlers New Settlers can face particularly difficult issues such as culture shock, language barriers and (refugee) trauma, yet there are insufficient services across Waitakere to assist this particular group to understand the new society:

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We come from societies where raising kids was done totally differently, you would, a smack here and there…What you don‟t

know you don‟t know, you discipline you kids and your neighbour rings up…you could be up late at night, no such boundaries. Even

now I say [you must] tell parents from the outset that smacking your children, leaving you child under 14 is wrong.

In 2004 a WCC “Call to Action” initiative calling itself New Out West (NOW) formed the Waitakere Ethnic board which overseas services for migrants. Although organisations such as WEA support migrants through English language and driver‟s licence course provision, the only Waitakere based service specifically for new settlers is the New Zealand Ethnic Social Services. Carol Everard reports that it is “…short staffed, with no social infrastructure to call on when they have no core funding” (Everard, 2005). The organisation counteracts these deficits by being innovative and collaborative, working successfully alongside mainstream Waitakere organisations such as WAVES, CYF and Waipareira (“Wonderful, we have a good relationship”). Its work with Selwyn College represents a particularly successful collaboration with a provider:

Selwyn a good model, but unfortunately we don‟t have anyone else. Selwyn has child course, and English course, special

refugee unit…we really need more units like at Selwyn College, especially with child care. Part of the [NZ Ethnic Social Services]

courses are conducted at Selwyn. NZ Ethnic Social Services convened a forum in May 2008 that explored refugee and migrant family violence. Possibly as a result of the collaborative outlook and energy of the organisation, many local organisations became involved. For instance, a mainstream provider assisted the organisation by arranging for a student from the tech college to work there two days a week to co-ordinate the meeting. The forum was followed by a monthly meeting on the topic, hosted by NZ Ethnic Social Services. The organisation now runs SKIP funded parenting programmes, family violence education, English classes, budgeting and driving licence courses at its rooms in Te Atatu. Members of the Pacific community have joined in the workshops and a Pacific leader has helped to get new settler parenting programmes running on Triangle television. In terms of having to learn New Zealand laws and mainstream parenting practices, New Settler communities recognise that they have a lot in common with Pacific communities. They also see that they have much in common with Maori, and that they work collaboratively with Maori providers.

Our values the same re whanau and respect for elders and we love our food! Waipareira, Family Start, home visiting so a number of our new settler mums are on that programme, I get phone calls

form them when they want interpreters. Despite all this work, New Settlers themselves seem to be less visible than other groups within mainstream service provision in Waitakere. There are some good examples of mainstream service providers who have employed a part time new settler, or used interpreters, but new settlement has only been on the agenda of mainstream agencies “over the last five or six years”, and only a few have actually modified their own practices. Some New Settlers have joined mainstream services such as parenting, but there have also been failures, generally understood to be due to English language deficits.

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I love the mix of races. Last week I had seven different nationalities visit, very small numbers of new settlers. A Korean

woman dropped out said she couldn‟t keep up with the language.

We did do some work with New Migrants initially a little through the NZ Ethnic social services for the SKIP stuff but we have very

little [take-up] from the migrant community. That‟s a big gap. Fragmented community, and language skills.

There are small grassroots New Settler groups in Waitakere who meet informally for discussion and support. An Eritrean coffee group has been given funding by MSD‟s Family and Community Services. Other New Settlers travel out of the city to join groups in the wider Auckland region. Collaboration across Waitakere Services Collaboration seems to work best among tertiary services. A “collaborative network around child abuse services” in Waitakere is claimed by some providers for responding to and acting on call outs. Viviana and Man Alive, for instance, work closely with the courts and with the police. Viviana works with a range of other organisations including Tika Maranga and Victim support. The Family Violence court sometimes direct first time offenders to these and other services, and make referrals to Man Alive, West Auckland Women‟s centre SAFE programme, Lifewise, Relationship Services, or, if clients can pay, the Waitakere Abuse and Trauma Centre. The police, Viviana and CYFs work together to follow up on call outs and to maintain an effective database within the community. Plunket are working towards training nurse specialists in family violence to work alongside Police and CYFs. Three organisations are also in the process of leasing a house that will become a one-stop hub for the local community. Participants are WAVES, Violence Free Waitakere and Tika Marama (Maori women‟s refuge). One member of the group explains it is a well supported collaborative venture:

We will share, it will have prevention and co-ordination and urgency…The Mayoral Task Force on Family Violence is certainly impressed with it, and there‟s a possibility that the council might

support us as well, lease for the first year, a lot of things in process a really good position.

Among primary services, there is less coordination and collaboration. While acknowledging the good work of WAVES, service providers believe that members of the community need more information about the range of services, what they provide, and how they can be accessed:

We need a point of contact that families can access and understand exactly how those agencies work and how to get in

touch with a lot of those services - people are frustrated with trying to get access to services.

For the average person knowing how and when to call for help is tricky. I proposed that an agency or clearinghouse got set up, so that if there was a concern, people could ring in and talk about it.

There definitely is a collaborative network but not sure whether it‟s fabulously well functioning. Maybe over the last 4-5 years,

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WAVES has certainly lifted the profile of all the agencies involved and the work they are doing. I still find sometimes that it is a

struggle to know exactly who is doing what and where the gaps are and who I refer to if we can‟t fill the gaps. But the profile has really lifted a lot and in that sense I feel really confident about it.

Collaboration is considered to be particularly weak in terms of child advocacy. Three organisations in Waitakere won the opportunity to host child advocates. They were Tu Wahine, Barnardos and the Pacific Project. Full collaboration between the position holders has not yet occurred. Suggestions have been made that this might be because the roles were not well-considered by funders at the outset:

I met another child advocate from another area, at an MSD hui and she said they‟d had a lot of problems in their area as well. It

seemed like a good idea but it had been put in place really quickly without really preparing agencies communities and the people

themselves, and so in most places there were difficulties Respondents cite other areas in New Zealand where collaboration and networking is stronger than in Waitakere, but also believe that with new initiatives, collaboration and information sharing is improving in this area:

In the South Island there‟s a key person that gives people information they need 0-6. You‟d feed into there first like a big directory. Over that period instead of getting questions coming

from the community [they] actually came from the agencies.

When it‟s functioning well the Strengthening Families process (where several agencies work with several families) works well. They have networks at their fingertips. I think it‟s getting used

more and more.

Child advocacy needs the support of a wide range of people in the community. They will rebuild now...will get some sort of support

going. While a collaborative service response to family violence may be growing in Waitakere, there is also a growing awareness of the need to highlight child abuse.

I think there are a heck of a lot of family services very few child specific services

The default position is taken often to work with families rather than children themselves. I don‟t think that‟s because it‟s the best thing

for kids. I think it‟s because what people know to do.

Child Advocates are not focused on children, but adults. They should network, but some organisations have own governance

structures, and are not putting children first, but last. Keen to place children back at the centre of child abuse prevention, a group of Waitakere community work leaders convened a local forum called “In Our Hands”. Recommendations informed the Mayoral Taskforce and the It‟s Not OK campaign:

We decided between us that probably the [Mayoral] taskforce wasn‟t being focused in its work cos it didn‟t have a task, and that

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the people that were on it were at all different levels of acknowledgement about what was happening in the community and what to do about it. So we convened something that would bring the community together to think around these things and

about taking responsibility, statutory and non-statutory. We had a wide range of individuals and organisations, about 60 people…out of that, we got a mandate back to the taskforce to place children

at the centre of all their work.

The Taskforce for Action on Violence within Families has made child maltreatment (including abuse and neglect) prevention a strategic priority between 2008 and 2011, and to working with communities to strengthen their preventative responses. The Taskforce undertakes to

ensure that resources in the next phase will focus specifically on child maltreatment.

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Early childhood support (0-4 years) Everard (2008) reports that a number of agencies had identified that there was not enough monitoring of the health and safety of little children:

Children between the ages of 0-2 years old can be particularly at risk but currently the numbers of children who fall into this

category in Waitakere is unknown (Everard, 2008:18) Concerned about safety for children under five, Safe Waitakere facilitated the Safe Under 5 Plan in 2001. This process uncovered a major gap in child protection for this age group and resulted in a new project initiative, “Protecting our Tamariki”, in 2002 (Te Korowai Manaaki report, 2003), now part of the Waitakere Wellbeing Collaboration Project. Protecting our Tamariki works to reduce violence to women and children under five. However, the organisers have chosen an emphasis on primary violence prevention, since:

Reducing violence against under 5s isn‟t enough; we actually need to stop it happening in the first place (Te Korowai Manaaki

report, 2003) This emphasis echoes the emphasis placed on primary care by the MSD and the EDC programme. An important aspect of primary care for babies is antenatal preparation for the parenting role. The current model of antenatal care is considered too medical, failing to support the parent emotionally and psychologically. There is a need to provide more welcoming environments for new parents:

…attachment is misunderstood, how important that is. At present

ante-natal preparation for the birth is very medical but if it could be a new parents‟ class, more welcoming to new parents. Before a

child was released from hospital….

Waitakere Hospital‟s Child & Family Service offers a free community based health service providing health education, health screening, parenting support and education and well child care. Mothers can also get access to free midwives (Waitakere Community report, 2006). However, the short duration of confinement in hospital is a concern, in terms of the time needed for new parents to feel confident with their babies:

One of the hugest issues is the turnaround getting mothers out of hospital within 24 hours. Far too fast. It doesn‟t allow them to

establish breast feeding, doesn‟t allow the mother time to get to know her babies. She needs to be kept in for 4-5 days.

Midwives may be seen by the hospital as a way to manage problems associated with short hospital stays. However, community workers claim that this is an insufficient response, as midwives are not able to visit frequently enough or to stay long with the new mother:

They would say midwifery services are there to plug the gaps, but I don‟t think they are, the midwife calls in once a day doesn‟t get

breastfeeding established. They do that for a few days then it tails off

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Home Visits In Waitemata, midwives are able to contact Plunket on the mother‟s behalf, so that nurses can make home visits. However, Everard (2008) claims that there are gaps in care handover processes from hospital to Plunket that interfere with continuity of care. This could be addressed by closer co-ordination between midwives and Plunket, although the above comments from respondents suggest that the short period of hospital confinement and insufficient numbers of midwives or lead maternity carers in hospitals may be the cause.

Plunket offices are in Henderson and Rodney. Nurses will visit mothers in their homes, at the mother‟s request, four to six weeks

after birth. Early childhood home visits often include parent education. Plunket nurses assess the baby and help mothers with

issues such as feeding, sleep, immunisation and parenting education. Annual follow up visits are then made until the child reaches five years old. Plunket also puts mothers in touch with other families, particularly new mothers, through playgroups. In

addition there is Plunket Line, a 24-hour support service for anything to do with parenting and children under five years:

Appropriate follow-up home care is essential to a child‟s (and mother‟s) well being, and a range of home visit programmes for parents with children from birth to five, provide them with guidance, and where needed, extra support through referral to other services:

The home visit thing is critically important and has got to be a

cultural match and build up a relationship over a period of time. Research from overseas…no parent should even have to ask.

The Government initiative Parents as First Teachers (PAFT) is available for parents with children from 0-4. Providers of this initiative offer free, practical support for mothers, who hear about PAFT through the midwives. Participating families receive regular home visits from trained parent educators who share information and practical ideas. Parent educators observe record and monitor the child‟s growth and development in order to identify potential problems early. A number of services target „priority populations‟ such as Maori and Pacific children from low socio-economic backgrounds (Home Visitor and Parenting Programme Project Report, 2007; Waitakere Community report, 2006). One such programme is Family Start, a home visiting programme run by Waipareira Pasifika and now managed by the Waipareira Trust. The family / whanau visitor works with the family to identify priorities and to support them to achieve their goals. If a family is involved with many different agencies, family/whanau worker acts as an advocate and coordinator between all agencies to protect the family‟s priorities. The programme works by self referral, or referral by hospital social workers or CYF. But it struggles with the difficulty of meeting families‟ needs:

They are stretched to the max and they will only take referrals for people who are willing to work with them. They way they deal with restraints is we will do a couple of cold calls, leave a card or if they

are reluctant, oh well, we have families willing to work with us. Bilukha et al (2005) report that there is strong evidence of the effectiveness of home visits especially where the programmes are delivered by professionals during the child‟s first two years of life, and run for more than two years. Although home visits are generally considered to be helpful for parents (“Traditionally visits in the home is understood to be the way of getting alongside people and helping them feel comfortable”), sometimes this does not work

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well for people who need a quiet place “to escape to” from their home environment, or who would like to maintain privacy / confidentiality from family members:

A client would always be asked if they would prefer someone from a Maori organisation, but often prefer not to, a lot of sensitivity

around that. In terms of home support, Grandparents Raising Grandchildren is a successful grassroots initiative which is doing a lot of important work. The Grandparents Raising Children Trust is based on Auckland‟s north shore, and there are support groups throughout the country. Established by grandparents who saw a need, the organisation draws in many grandparents who struggled as parents themselves, and offers training to interested participants in areas of child development such as attachment. The trust, funded by the Portage Licensing Trust, has appointed two area co-ordinators. The organisation advertises in local print media, and in public buildings. Some local schools are highly supportive and some grandparents have taken roles as teacher aides within those schools. The role is a difficult one, and there is a need for a visible venue in the community:

They are dealing with some of our most damaged kids, and they spend a lot of time running across one side of the city to another

in their retirement. They have talked about the need for a one-stop shop.

Parent Education outside the home Research undertaken by Moran, Ghate and van de Merwe (2004), suggests that early intervention parenting programmes are best, and that the most effective interventions will have a strong theoretical base, measurable objectives, more than one method of delivery, attention to retention, a variety of referral routes, structured programmes, trained and skilled staff, and a parallel focus on parents, families and children. The Families Commission‟s review of parenting programmes in New Zealand (Kerslake, Henricks and Balakrishnan, 2005) identified a range of good parenting programmes (Family Start, Parents as First Teachers, Plunket‟s Well Child / Tamariki Ora, Anau Ako Pasifika, Whanau Toko I Te Ora), and those offered by Barnados and Presbyterian Support Services. In Waitakere SKIP funding supports a “huge” amount of parent education:

The SKIP approach was very solid and sound, sensible, and is having effects now. The production of resources, which is what

most people know about, is only a small part of SKIP. It is a mindset and a change of thinking around alternative ways to

parent. It‟s about conscious parenting, thinking about the sorts of parents they want to be.

There is no shortage of places we can send people to. There‟s

availability in just about every NGO in Waitakere. Some are free, some aren‟t. Barnados are free.

As a non-statutory organisation, Barnardos is has the advantage of being more trusted, and is well used by the community.

It is non-threatening, and there is quite an acceptance [among recipients] about receiving help, it disperses barriers

Barnardos offers a range of services, with integrated support for families so that they are not required to repeat their story to each service. The organisation offers different levels of help

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from budgeting advice to counselling, supervised contact, child care, and other services. Other organisations besides Barnardos that offer structured, weekly courses include Lifewise, Man Alive, WEA and The Pacific Project. The Waipareira Trust offers a weekly parenting programme on Maori TV. Lifewise runs courses for parents of toddlers, parents of school age children and teenagers, and a parenting through separation course which is part of the family courts. Man Alive also runs programmes referred by the courts for men. Of the Family Court‟s distribution of referrals to community intervention services, 57% were to Man Alive. Mostly parents self-refer to courses, and demand is high, which seems to suggest the programmes are meeting parents‟ needs. They also note that many parenting courses are complementary and therefore parents can, and do, attend more than one course. Most courses are run by trained and skilled staff. Although several providers reported high numbers of attendees, some report reluctance on the part of families to participate in parenting courses both inside and outside the home. They suggest that this is possibly due to a view by parents that they are being judged:

We are not getting the message across to parents that parenting is a learned behaviour so that when we suggest they do a parenting course they see it as a punishment…at every

opportunity people should be taking is that there is this wonderful parenting course.

Examples of combination parenting / childcare programmes are the Home Interaction Programme for Parents and Youngsters (HIPPY) runs in Helensville, Ranui and Kelston. The West Auckland Parents‟ Centre runs parent education, child birth education and parent education courses as well as playgroups. Barnardos runs Kidstart programmes in Glen Eden and Henderson. Workers report that it is crucial that the course environment is very comfortable and welcoming, as parents may not have the resources to continue otherwise:

It‟s hard to get them in the first place but if you‟ve go in there they don‟t know how to do that ice-breaking behaviour so they go in they feel uncomfortable and they say I didn‟t like that so I‟m not

going back. Waitemata DHB recognises the important links between parenting education and early childhood education. Their Child Health Strategic Plan (2003) and the Home Visitor and Parenting Programme Project (2007) reports both recognise the need for increased services for parents and their young children especially for Maori and Pacific Islands children. Maori and Pacific providers themselves consider it essential that parenting support is culturally appropriate. The Pacific Islands Safety & Prevention Project Inc. ('The Project') is based in Massey, and provides specific education for Pacific Islands communities on parenting including family violence awareness, in a manner that is culturally appropriate. Early Childhood Education The Great Start Waitakere (Te Korowai Manaaki) report has a strong focus on increasing the numbers of children engaged in early childhood education. There are several community-based early childhood education programmes including Playcentre, playgroups, day care centres and Barnados centres. These services in Waitakere provide opportunities for parents to come in contact with each other and to learn parenting skills, while focussing on the well being, socialisation and learning of children. Playcentres were established for this purpose, and offer learning for children from birth to 6 years. Centres are run co-operatively by whanau/parents as an extension to the whanau/family setting. An example is the Te Akoranga (West Auckland) SPACE (Supporting Parents Alongside Children's Education) Programme, which is for first-time parents with newborn babies, starting at age 0-3 months.

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Other playcentres are in Glen Eden, Glendene, Henderson Valley, Massey, Ranui, Swanson, Waitarua and West Harbour. The Waitakere City Council has recently established the early childhood education ECE-EXPRESS website. It is part of the Waitakere Wellbeing Collaboration Project, and is a result of the „call-to-action‟ by the Waitakere City Council. The site will enable parents to locate early childhood education facilities (and, in some case, parent education) in the area

appropriate to their culture and needs. Co-ordination of services There are a number of initiatives that have been operating in Waitakere for several years. Yet despite the addition of Strengthening Families co-ordinators, community organisations are not co-ordinating their efforts as well as could be expected (Home Visitor and Parenting Programme Project Report, 2007). The report suggests that inadequate funding might be responsible for this:

Several community providers noted a need for more proactive involvement of WDHB Social Workers and Nurse home visitors

and generally improved engagement with community services…There appears to be overall poor co-ordination and

liaison between providers…providers noted that they were often not funded adequately enough to deliver outputs and actively

liaise with others (Home Visitor and Parenting Programme Project Report, 2007)

Funding is an issue for providers, especially following the success (in terms of responses) of the national anti-violence campaign:

…[providers] were all really struggling; they weren‟t getting any more money. They were stretched before the campaign there

should have been more support, training put in place, but it didn‟t happen.

The primary school years (5-12 years) There is an opportunity to run programmes that address child abuse within the health and physical education curricula (personal health and physical development; relationships with other people; healthy communities and environments). Many schools do this, complementing them with school wide social policies that address issues such as bullying. These are important, as recent news reports have highlighted the high rate of child abuse in New Zealand, and (more recently) the high rate of bullying in schools (NZHerald, 15/12/08). While many teachers are keen, they are also overstretched. Teachers and principals report that they have insufficient time and space in a crowded curriculum to do „welfare‟ roles:

We have a very full curriculum. We could be doing social skills all year but we‟ve got to do the other stuff as well. Kids are at a

seven year reading age, a lot of our time has to be spent on this. Teachers‟ reluctance may also be attributable to a lack of understanding and discomfort with the issues. This is due to a lack of specific training around legal issues, recognising and reporting abuse, correct procedures and confidentiality. A respondent acknowledges that there are some workshops being offered to teachers in Waitakere, and comments:

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If [teachers] know what to look for and do, they are most likely to be able to make a difference. There‟s nothing done in pre-service

and nothing done in-service for teachers out west. There is a series of workshops across the city. [EDC] could give some

money to pay teacher relief to enable teachers to go. .

CYF have recognised the need for classroom-based programmes that enable children to discuss the issues of violence. Through their Waitakere EDC project, they have funded specialised, externally developed programmes that can be delivered in the school for short periods, focusing on violence in a range of contexts, including the home. One such programme, Everyday Theatre, has worked alongside EDC for four years, going with the project into various communities and delivering drama in schools specifically about child abuse. Another programme promoted by Waitakere Violence Free, „Violence Free Begins with Me‟, looks at violence more broadly, is Waitakere based, and is teacher delivered. A third key programme, the long-running Keeping Ourselves Safe, deals more with sexual abuse, and is run by the NZ Police. These programmes are complemented by social programmes with different but related emphases, such as the Cool Schools Peer Mediation Programme, which builds awareness and respect for cultural difference and diversity. All school primary prevention programmes are able to reach a „captive audience‟, thus providing the first real opportunity for all children to learn about their options and build and act on empathy to help themselves and others, in regard to child abuse. The programmes are especially important in these times, when adults are so hotly debating the repeal of section 59 and children are confused over the consequences of reporting abuse (O‟Connor & O‟Connor, 2008). Research (Gordon, 2002; Neelands, 2001) has shown that empathy is a necessary social skill, particularly if the learning programme concerned deals with interpersonal violence. McEwen (cited in Gordon, 2002) claims that students from violent homes may lack the ability to empathise, and Gordon asserts that when you raise levels of empathy, you decrease levels of aggression and violence. Empathy is only important for children who have witnessed or experienced violence in their homes, but provides the basis for all children to act compassionately on behalf of others who are experiencing abuse. Johnothan Neelands claims that empathy building should have priority in the school curriculum. He argues that schools have failed children by focusing on basic literacy education for survival in an economically competitive world, at the expense of a curriculum that builds empathy. Waitakere is very fortunate that there are existing, EDC supported programmes in its schools that have the ability to draw on the emotional wisdom (Holland & O‟Connor, 2004) of young people and build empathy.

Young people interviewed after an Everyday Theatre programme showed that they know what constitutes physical, psychological and sexual abuse (O‟Conner and O‟Conner 2008). They know the difference between wilful neglect and neglect through economic necessity. They understand bystander apathy, but do not excuse it. They empathise with the victims of abuse, and are clear (possibly clearer than adults) that bystanders collude in and are therefore also guilty of abuse, particularly in the family but also outside:

…members of the general public, and/or people who are more removed than immediate family, who don‟t intervene when they

see abuse, are also guilty of abuse [though] at a lower level than immediate family. They…don‟t intervene because they don‟t know how to help; are too scared; think it is none of their business; don‟t realise that stepping in might help; are not sure if it‟s bad enough; they might be wrong; have other priorities (O‟Connor & O‟Connor,

2008).

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Programmes that build empathy in children (and teachers) have the potential to produce active witnesses rather than inactive bystanders. Young people know they can tell – and the person they are likely to talk to is another young person. The issue is that they are often not heard by adults:

The research Frida Briggs does [tells us] a kid who is sexually abused is likely to tell someone 19 times. It‟s not that kids don‟t tell it‟s that no one listens and if they hear it they don‟t know what to

do so they pretend they don‟t hear it. So the message is the wrong message, everyone knows it‟s OK to tell.

People don‟t listen. They hear what [children] say but don‟t do

anything about it. The law says [we need be] hearing children‟s voices and taking them into account in decisions and actions. This is not given its due in some areas. That‟s an issue for all of us in

the community. The clear understandings of young people can inform the planning of community services, if they are heard. Some key education programmes operating in Waitakere schools that give children a voice and listen to that voice, are outlined below. Everyday Theatre Everyday Theatre is a process drama programme that has been running since 2004, is coordinated through the Department of Child, Youth and Family, and is part of the Everyday Communities initiative. It has been firmly entrenched into the EDC format in Waitakere. Many schools and teachers recognise the importance of these skilful, professionally developed programmes for their children. Of the twenty five schools (including the local Kura) and community groups which have experienced the Everyday Theatre programme, several are re-running the programme for new intakes of students. One intermediate school stands out for its willingness to address violence in the home and school through this and a range of complementary programmes. However, Waitakere is a huge city, and still only 1/3 of local year seven and eight pupils have been able to attend the Everyday Theatre programme. The programme is being introduced to community groups including church groups. The director, Peter O‟Connor, is impressed with level of awareness about the programme that has been shown in Waitakere schools, thanks to a local CYF worker:

[The teachers / and principal] know we„re coming. On a good school there will be a roster. We have had better community liaison social work…gone in and done the disclosure policy

stuff…We know when we get to a school that she has been there. They are far better informed and prepared to work with sensitive

material. The programme addresses child abuse, neglect, family violence and parental issues, using a video game in relation to a dysfunctional family, which provides a safe context for the exploration of abuse issues by students. The programme begins with two to four classes viewing a 25-minute performance in the school hall. The performance tells a fictional story of a family experiencing abuse within a video game of four levels. Students are invited to help get through the levels. The performance is followed up by classroom drama work, led by professional teacher / actors for whom safety of the child is paramount. A recent evaluative report on the programme run in Waitakere observes that:

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Young people repeatedly display a lack of knowledge over when and to whom they should confide when they are being abused

(O‟Connor & O‟Connor, 2008) This programme enables students to gain knowledge, to safely practice how they might act on what they know, and to see what the short and longer term consequences might be. That the programme is not run by classroom teachers may be an advantage, as students fear rejection by school personnel. A student comments, amidst agreement from classmates:

I wouldn‟t go anywhere. I wouldn‟t tell anyone…in the school.

They wouldn‟t care. Only your best friend. Apart from [a teacher] cos she helps. A friend told a teacher and she said “What do you

want me to do about it?” If there are children in schools who do not feel they can approach their teacher, they must given information about steps they can take and people they can contact, by other means. Several people talked about information cards, much like the ones in Northland which contained a number of organisations and their contact details. Violence Free begins with me Like Everyday Theatre, „Violence Free Begins with Me‟ is also aimed at intermediate school children, and is working to change their relationship to violence. It is being delivered in three schools, and in 2009 repeated in one. Included in the programme are sections on dealing with severe parental anger and knowing where to go for help. Teachers are trained and supported by Violence Free Waitakere to lead the programme in their classrooms, which produces a level of teacher commitment to the programme.

The teachers started with oh here‟s another programme putting on an already overloaded schedule. But by the end of it they were so

excited and enthusiastic and they really were fantastic. The programme is made up of four units, taught over twelve sessions of the first term. It aims to help children choose constructive options in their life and strengthen skills in keeping themselves safe (Dyer & Holley, 2007). Specifically, it explores communication, self esteem, emotions, safety planning, anger management as well as empathy, bullying and conflict. Children were particularly impressed by visits to the school of an adult who shared his story of overcoming challenges in his childhood. Other observer was also enthusiastic:

Elaine‟s programme in schools I feel really passionate about that because I saw it, some long terms gains from that. So sad that

she hasn‟t been able to find funding from anywhere. It makes me question the commitment.

The project does struggle to get ongoing funds, although EDC were involved in the pilot programme in two local schools. Since then it has been delivered in a large intermediate school over two years. Keeping Ourselves Safe Keeping Ourselves Safe is promoted as New Zealand's national child abuse prevention programme for schools. It is jointly sponsored by the NZ police and the Ministry of Education, and focuses on sexual abuse, teaching children the skills they need to cope in sexual abuse situations. A local police education officer works with classroom teachers, and the programme is taught by the classroom teacher. It is adjusted for different age ranges:

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Knowing What to Do (age 5 to 7 years); Getting Help (age 8 to 10); Standing Up for Myself (age 11 to 12); Dealing With Risk (younger teens), Building Safe Relationships (older teens). With teachers delivering a programme, there are benefits in terms of commitment to the programme. Owen Sanders, National Manager; New Zealand Police Youth Education Service, recounts how in one school:

15 of the 17 staff recounted instances of abuse that had happened to them as youngsters. That took some working through but they told me the staff had developed a sense of corporate support and

unity none had experienced in any other school (Illinois State University address, August 4 1997)

Roots of Empathy This Canadian programme Roots of Empathy has been introduced to a number of schools in New Zealand, including twenty in Auckland. It is currently being run in three West Auckland primary schools, and will be run in a further two next year. It includes monthly visits to the classroom by a parent and infant from the school neighbourhood. The children learn about the baby‟s interests and needs, and how to have authentic communication with the infant, and in this way they build empathy. Co-ordination and collaboration of programmes A teacher commented that her school felt it was important to draw on a range of support. The school runs several programmes, as well as its own “WISH” training, where care, commitment, compassion, courtesy, and co-operation are encouraged. A provider reported that the Cool Schools mediation programme, Everyday Theatre and VFBWM all support each others‟ work. Such co-operation between projects enriches learning for children. Because of the success of these programmes and others like them, the West Auckland Principals‟ Association (WAPA) is building up a resource list of such programmes for local schools. There is a small amount of overlap, but generally the programmes do not compete with each other. Instead people felt that they complemented and reinforced each other. What works against the impact the programmes might have, is that they are often sectioned off from other curriculum areas and school life in general. An intermediate student expressed surprise at the abrupt ending to a programme that had raised so many questions: “Then the bell rang and we couldn‟t talk about it.” – children had to move to another class. The bell, then, cuts across the respect and trust that has been built up in these specialised programmes. It cuts across also, what children experience as a special moment in their school lives of being allowed to express their own thoughts about real life issues:

…. it didn‟t feel like you were in school. They didn‟t tell us what to do, like they didn‟t act and get us to copy, they let us do what we

wanted to do

Like “try and set this scene in your own way”, made you think, let us work it out ourselves

If children can only discuss child abuse within the boundaries of the formal curriculum and school timetables, this might send a message about how much the adults around them respect their views and how much child abuse matters to adults. In addition, we may also be missing important opportunities for addressing the issue. In aware schools, opportunities will be made within topics other than health, such as social studies and English, and in the whole school. Such widening of the boundaries of discussion requires a supportive school leadership, sound policies and teachers skilled in working with children who disclose child

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abuse. This requires professional development support and the support of external services, such as the Social Workers in Schools programme.

Social Workers in Schools (SWIS) The Social Workers in Schools programme is led and financed by Child, Youth and Family and supported by the Ministry of Education and other ministries. It tends to work in low decile schools, and is run in partnership with service providers around the country who directly employ the social workers. Waitakere schools receive SWIS support from Barnardos, Te Whanau O Waipareira Trust and Family Works. Schools include Waitakere, Glen Eden Primary, New Lynn Primary, Henderson South Primary, Ranui Primary, Glendene Primary, St

Leonards Rd Primary, Kelston Intermediate, Birdwood Primary and Don Buck Primary. Footsteps to Feeling Safe (Barnardos) This programme, run at Barnardos, aims to help children between the ages of five and thirteen deal with the effects of being a witness to or victim of domestic violence. It helps children work through the effects of this trauma as well as looking at ways the children can keep themselves safe. The programme covers safety plans for children, expressing feelings appropriately and managing anger. Community development and neighbourhood strengthening Bystander apathy is reported to be partly responsible for the deaths of abused children. A recent television news bulletin interviewed people who had witnessed the maltreatment of Nia Glassie. They felt guilt and remorse for doing nothing. Niki Harre of Auckland University was quoted as saying “It‟s the heroes that ring up” (One News, 6:10PM Tuesday November 18, 2008). Bystander apathy is common; we need our children to grow up heroes. The 2008 MSD research review states:

For severe baby and child battering types of child abuse, public awareness and education aimed at extended family, witnesses and bystanders4 is more likely to be helpful than awareness and

education interventions aimed directly at the parents. The report recommends steps to increase witness and bystander interventions to stop maltreatment or to report abuse. These include positively promoting awareness of what child maltreatment is, its effects, and tips on how to intervene. Events such as White Ribbon Day, Toddler Day out, Tamariki Ora Day and Waiparera Whanau day have real impact in the community in terms of making the issues visible, but further action is needed to turn neighbourhood bystanders into active citizens, willing to intervene where necessary. The WCC‟s “Call to Action” strategy works with community representatives to achieve broad spectrum improvements in local communities, such as in housing, employment, settlement, education, and the reduction of violence. This is in line with research carried out by Vicky Cattell (2001) and others, which reveals that the community context influences social capital or quality of life within neighbourhoods. The context may include:

the area‟s history, work opportunities, local resources and opportunities for participation, played a role in developing

relationships of trust, norms of co-operation and reciprocity;

2 My italics

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patterns of mutual aid and information exchange, and perceptions of safety or fear of crime (Cattell, 2001:1512)

It is recognised that initiatives aimed at building connections between neighbours, awareness of neighbours who are in difficulty, and responsibility for self and others, need to acknowledge economic and social issues and constraints, yet community workers can feel frustrated by apathy:

There‟s a lack of connection in families and neighbourhoods and lack of responsibility and ownership for everybody‟s children.

Every single one of us has a responsibility for all children. It‟s a worry [when] a person would ring up and express concern but

wouldn‟t give their name. People are taking a bit of responsibility but stop short of what‟s in the best interests of the child. I‟d say to people who called what do you think the best thing to do is, what

are you going to do to help your neighbour? Local community/neighbourhood building projects that are connected to Waitakere City Council‟s Call to Action strategy, are Massey Matters, the Ranui Action Project, and Project Twin Streams. Project Twin Streams is an integrated community development approach. While the project has primarily environmental objectives, it also enables neighbours to get to know (and therefore look out for) each other. The Ranui Action Project (RAP) aims to improve health and well-being, expand community capacity, increase access to services and revitalise the Ranui community. Work in these areas is slow but effective in involving members of the community. Responses from the Massey project are positive, and there is honest acknowledgement of the struggle experienced within the Ranui Action Project:

We learned in Massey Matters that we shouldn‟t expect too much we shouldn‟t shower people with money in the initial stages back

we should let them things on the ground that they enjoy doing. And that will bring them out of their houses. Don‟t get them into

writing constitutions or forming funding committees, avoid all that stuff.

What‟s happening in Massey is really great and manageable, I

wonder if there is another Massey, another little area that has not got a lot going on at the moment and the lessons from Massey

could be learned, and try to grow it, mushroom it a bit. The central services have so much history there; you‟re not going to change it.

Massey hasn‟t got a lot of (political) history.

Ranui has had a lot of resource and it really hasn‟t done what it should have done. Maybe go back into Ranui and revisit.

That community has a number of problems identified so how

come you suddenly expect them to be experts in managing funds and setting up structures? There‟s a better recognition of those

issues now. In Waitakere we learned that we shouldn‟t expect too much of people either.

What all of these initiatives have in common is that they get neighbours talking and break down barriers, thereby increasing opportunities for support, but also for active watchfulness.

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What I think is the ultimate is when communities are strong in themselves, it‟s not just about the social service, we don‟t think from service provision focus. If the neighbourhood is balanced,

caring for one another, it eliminates a certain amount of risk. Strengthened by people knowing one another….There‟s a real

awakening within the community that that is what is needed (not services).

It is not clear that there are strong links between community building and civic action in terms of child abuse. Other initiatives focused on official home callers (e.g. SPCA) and others in contact with families (e.g. WINZ) are more targeted in their aims and actions. Officials are trained in how to identify and report suspected abuse. Members of the community are not offered information that would enable them to confidently know that abuse has or may be occurring in their neighbourhood, and the responsible action they should take.

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Summary and conclusions

Waitakere as a city is outstanding in New Zealand for its commitment to addressing family violence, and, within that, child abuse. The Waitakere City Council, the WAVES network and many large and small service providers understand the importance of primary prevention strategies, and have been working energetically over this last decade to build awareness, safe communities and high quality primary service provision. Campaigns and events build general awareness, dedicated programmes build understanding about how to parent and how to address child abuse, and community development projects build stronger communities. Some issues are highlighted in respect to capability which will be discussed later in this section. The family court, victim support, police, CYF, refuges and others have build effective, collaborative interventions and avenues for education and rehabilitation when abuse has occurred. Those working in the field are well aware of what has yet to be addressed in the city – this report may simply provide a collation of these views and some possible actions towards addressing gaps.

Collaboration and co-ordination

The report found interesting trends in regard to co-ordination and collaboration. The WCC, WAVES and community organisations network well and frequently in most instances. This is a good example of local body – community participation. Frontline organisations such as the police, Viviana, CYF and others also demonstrate good collaborative networks, and issues regarding data sharing and confidentiality are being worked through. Primary service providers are less likely to work together on a daily basis, although some do. The general pattern seems to be that primary providers refer people on to services they know about, but otherwise do not engage frequently with other services. This means community worker knowledge of services does not widen. Such growth occurs best when there is good information sharing and co-ordination across the city. This is the role of WAVES, where there have been some good collaborative networking ventures such as the “In Our Hands” forum. Unfortunately, information sharing and co-ordination of activities by WAVES has suffered over the last year, and this is partly due to tensions between some community services which have impacted significantly on others, and partly due to the need for a new co-ordinator.

Collaboration is stronger between large or long-established primary care organisations, but there is less interaction and collaboration between these and small or fledgling organisations. There is also less interaction and collaboration demonstrated between organisations serving particular ethnicities. Pacific and new settler organisations are working hard to build bridges linking themselves, Maori and mainstream organisations. There is some reciprocation, but this could be improved. Despite early difficulties with the child advocate initiative current role holders now look forward to working together for the children of Waitakere city.

Professional development

Capability, in terms of addressing child abuse, is an issue across a range of organisations. There are gaps in child abuse professional development for those who are likely to come into contact with children on a regular basis, namely nurses, doctors, teachers and community workers. The new child advocates, social workers and child protection workers are working to upskill these people. Development needs within community service provision are both professional and personal, yet some personnel have not yet had the opportunity to address personal development issues that impact on their work. This is being addressed in part through the inclusion of personal development in professional development courses. A system of supervision would strengthen this aspect of development.

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For small or fledgling organisations, funding is not generally rolled over, and it does not cover professional development. Thus it is a huge issue. To further complicate matters, the current funding regime where all organisations must compete with each other adds to the „leanness‟ of bids. Finally, professional development and other capability building time are eroded in small organisations which must apply to several funders.

Cultural perspectives impact on how services are provided for different ethnic communities, Clients are perceived by service providers to get more appropriate service from provision reflecting their ethnicity. However, statistics indicate that potential clients outnumber the capacity of ethnically appropriate services. The implication of this for the WCC and mainstream service providers is that they need to continually build ethnically appropriate services. At the least, these services include having staff that reflect the ethnic distribution of Waitakere city, and having information in a range of languages. Some are outstanding in this regard – others not yet.

Early Childhood Support Midwifery, home visiting and parent education are effective for those who receive their services. There is an established process of handover from midwives to home visiting, parenting and early childhood education. Most of this, however, seems to rely on a very short contact time in hospital and on the parent being proactive in seeking support. It is not clear what is being put in place to ensure parents don‟t „fall through the net‟. All of these services are reported to be stretched. Some services don‟t promote themselves in the community, thus raising the likelihood of parents and children falling through the net. One good exception is the ECE-Express website. The Primary School years Waitakere is fortunate to have a number of programmes that address child abuse running in its schools. This is important because the delivery of these programmes in school years provide the only primary care opportunity for children to be directly spoken to, to be heard in relation to child abuse, and informed about what they can do. Further, children know that people don‟t usually hear them, yet they need / deserve to have, and to become, empathic yet active witnesses. With some notable exceptions, teachers (the de facto parents of children during school hours) are often ambivalent about the programmes – they can see their value, but they perceive that they have neither the time nor the training to follow up safely with children. Although some have made a great effort in this regard, for most, knowledge and time shortfalls, as well as curriculum demands, impact on their ability to co-ordinate programmes and utilise social work support in their schools so that all children benefit. Community development The 2008 MSD report recommends that communities provide information that builds awareness and informs people on how to intervene. Waitakere community providers and others have campaigned strongly in the media and created and supported events to build awareness. They have made inroads into upskilling their workforce. They have engaged in community development projects which recognise and address social and economic contraints and are therefore likely to have a far reaching impact on people‟s sense of community and community responsibility. They need now to focus on providing information to people, perhaps in small neighbourhood situations, about what steps they can take as neighbours and witnesses to potential or actual child abuse. The following recommendations are for EDC interventions. They take the trends, issues and gaps in Waitakere responses to child abuse into account, but also consider what can

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realistically be achieved by EDC in its last year of engagement with the community, that would make a difference.

Recommendations for 2009

So far, the EDC project has been very effective in supporting media campaigns and events, and in enabling networking forums that facilitate the exchange of information between service providers. Some of the issues are largely a factor of the sheer size of Waitakere. It may be that a community or neighbourhood-wide rather than a city-wide approach would establish a visible model for future interventions in urban areas of this size. The following is a summary of suggestions arising from the research, most of which are resource-development focused. Some might be concentrated in a small community to maximise effect, while others are city wide. General:

The main areas identified for development are co-ordination, collaboration and professional development (PD). Co-ordination and collaboration between local health, education and community initiatives is likely to improve with the recent appointment of a new WAVES co-ordinator. Further EDC support might include:

Providing collaborative tendering funding application workshops.

Establishing criteria for good collaboration, reviewing the ability of smaller organisations to meet those criteria and recognising organisations that do.

Re-instating scholarships for community workers to complete formal PD.

Funding the establishment of mentors and supervisors for community workers.

Producing a hard copy and web-based calendar of professional development opportunities across a range of organisations.

Creating a phone and website “consult-line” (linked by mobile/email/text message to a child advocate or similar) where teachers, nurses, doctors and community workers could ask on-the-spot questions.

Cross-posting data to the “consult line” internet site and the WAVES website.

Funding language specific mainstream media messages.

Early childhood: EDC resources could support existing parent training and home visiting programmes and avoid some „falling through the net‟ by providing information to parents about local support and about alternatives to smacking.

Creating a web-map of early childhood service provision, parent education and early childhood education programmes.

Creating a hard copy directory of early childhood services including parenting courses, home visiting and early childhood education (ECE) with attached information about the repeal of section 59 and helpful hints like “21 practical alternatives to smacking” to be given away at hospitals, clinics, and by home visitors.

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School: Demonstrating the paramountcy of children means showing respect for children and young people, listening to them, and informing them about next steps. This might include:

Producing accessible hard copy wallet cards for students, explaining steps in dealing with abuse and information about what agencies they can contact for help.

Producing a hard copy clear language leaflet/poster that explains the repeal of section 59 and what that means in terms of protection and support (similar to the “21 alternatives to smacking).

Establishing a child-help website providing the above and discussion / FAQ areas

Rewarding young person groups (e.g. in schools) that have developed an effective support strategy for children in the school neighbourhood.

Producing an information booklet for teachers/people working with children re age appropriate child abuse prevention education opportunities available in Waitakere. Include a contact list and planning calendar.

Producing an information leaflet for teachers on handling disclosures, listening and supporting children who seek their help, confidentiality, referral steps and likely outcomes.

Media promotion of schools (e.g. in local newspapers, TV) that have an ongoing child abuse prevention/education strategy.

Community: It may be that projects like Twin Streams, Massey Matters and the Ranui Action Project, or others like them, can increase their focus on encouraging more watchful and active neighbourhoods, in order to reduce „bystander apathy‟. Possibilities include:

Supporting small neighbourhood-based meeting / education opportunities that include extended family and neighbours.

Creating a large poster map (A1) of service provision with contact number leaflets, for local libraries, community centres, clubs, bus stops, pubs.

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Holland, C & O‟Connor, P. (2004) Like Writing off the Paper: how students learn in the Arts (2004) Ministry of Education: Wellington. Kerslake, Henricks. A and Balakrishnana. R, (2005) Review of Parenting Programmes. Families Commission: Wellington. Langford, M (2008) Family Violence Primary Prevention Strategy – Tamariki Under Five Maori Community Tu Wahine: Waitakere City

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