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Weekly Media Roundup

September 18, 2020 at 12:32 PM

RNZ: New book examines how childhood shapes later life

In his new book, The Origins of You: How Childhood Shapes Later Life, University of Otago professor Richie Poulton and his co-authors set out their search to learn how much our origins shape our later lives.

Poulton, who is the leader of the internationally recognised Dunedin Study, spoke to Sunday Morning about how childhood experiences impact on our lives and how we often retain 'brand loyalty' to defining childhood characteristics throughout the years.

The Origins of You draws on a number of large studies from around the world, not just the Dunedin Study.

Poulton says it answers Wordsworth's question 'is the child the father of the man?' And the book says this is true "to some degree", but there's complexity — clues about where children could benefit the most from more development, and crucially it says nothing is locked in.  

Read more...

 

Stuff: In their words: Survivors share their experiences with the Abuse in Care Royal Commission

Last week, the Abuse in Care Royal Commission held its 500th private session with a survivor of abuse and/or neglect in the care of the State or a faith-based institution.

Many of those who shared their story chose to write a few words about the experience, some with a handwritten scrawl on a piece of paper, others through poems or mini-essays.

Their suffering, and the cathartic effect of being able to unburden themselves of the past, is vividly captured in those accounts.

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Stuff: Government urged to maintain focus on child poverty, as Covid-19 threatens progress

The Child Youth Wellbeing Strategy was launched by the Government in August 2019, as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern promised free school lunches for 21,000 children by the beginning of 2021. Some 13,000 children are now receiving free schools lunches.

The strategy has 20 government departments working on more than 80 policies aimed at reducing child poverty, reducing inequities in education and healthcare, “tackling” racism and discrimination, and preventing harm and abuse, among other goals.

The Government appeared confident its strategy was working in its first monitoring report, which was delayed by Covid-19 and released on Thursday.

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The Spinoff: Why a radical approach is needed to fix our broken justice system

Justice reinvestment redirects spending on criminal justice into social justice initiatives that strengthen communities and reduce social harms. Criminology professor Elizabeth Stanley explains why it could be game-changing.

Read more…

 

RNZ: Courts annual tally: 65,000 adults charged, meth biggest drug

Annual Ministry of Justice figures show methamphetamine remains the biggest drug taking up time in the courts - with 8182 charges laid in the last financial year.

In those 12 months 65,000 adults were charged with at least one offence of any type, the annual count shows. And a trend of low conviction rates for rape charges was repeated.

Cannabis charges have decreased 63 percent since 2010, which Chris Wilkins believes is part of an ongoing trend reflecting changes in the way the justice system responds to the drug.

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Stuff: Family harm rates still high in Canterbury post-lockdown

A Canterbury support service is still being inundated with calls for help after family violence rates spiked during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Family violence agency Aviva says its waiting list for families needing help increased 150 per cent during lockdown.

Nationally, there was a 21 per cent spike in family harm cases reported to police on the first Sunday after the lockdown started, compared with the Sunday three weeks prior.

Three months on and Aviva's 24-hour support line is still receiving 30 per cent more calls than before Covid-19 restrictions were introduced.

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Stuff: Support needs grow as more grandparents raise their grandchildren

Grandparents who become fulltime carers for their grandchildren are at risk of becoming isolated.

"Sometimes, it's hard for [these] grandparents to reach out; they're scared of the stigma," said a member of the Motueka support group of the charitable trust Grandparents Raising Grandchildren.

“It’s a complete change of life,” added Motueka support group co-ordinator Rankeilor Arnott. “Many children come with challenging behaviour.”

Read more...

 

Stuff: 'Anyone can get it': Methamphetamine is cheap and easy to find in New Zealand

Plummeting prices and prevalence mean methamphetamine is as cheap and available as ever. Georgia-May Gilbertson talks to addicts and experts about the grip P has on communities around the country.

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Stuff: Explainer: When is illegal sex with a child not 'rape'?

When Christchurch teacher Daniel McMillan, 46, was convicted of having sexual connection with an underage teenager, the response to the news was almost immediate.

Why was Stuff not reporting the offending as rape? How could it be considered consensual when the victim was aged 14 or 15 at the time of his offending?

It’s a good question, considering the term rape is used to refer to non-consensual sexual intercourse and in New Zealand persons younger than 16 can not legally consent to sex.

The answer, for New Zealand, rests in the way our laws are framed.

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Stuff: Aotearoa in 20: Torranice Campel was abused as a child - now she encounters some of her abusers as a social worker

A south Auckland transgender woman became a social worker in the hopes that youth would not have to endure what she did as a child. Torranice Campel shares her story for Aotearoa in 20, a Stuff special project.

WARNING: This story addresses grave sexual abuse and suicide.

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Stuff: The Resilience Project: Why we need to teach young people how to fail

This story is part of The Resilience Project, a Stuff and Sunday Star-Times investigation into how people can thrive amid Covid-19.

Throughout much of Ezekiel Raui’s teenage years, his family was homeless.

Sometimes, he, his parents and his younger brother and sisters slept in cars. Other times they stayed at whānau and friends' places.

He estimates he changed schools between 10 to 12 times as his family moved from Tokoroa to Auckland and then to the Far North to look after a sick grandparent. Despite this transience, Raui did well academically.

Raui says the frequent upheaval allowed him to get to know many people with different backgrounds and experiences and taught him to make the most of every opportunity. It helped him to become resilient.

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Stuff: Invercargill woman jailed for child porn, neglect and failing to protect daughters

An Invercargill woman who knew her husband was sexually attracted to children has been sentenced to jail for her involvement in abusing their daughters.

Judge Russell Walker said the now ex-husband was a deviant sexual offender and the woman’s “actions and inactions” made the offending possible.

She had a mild intellectual disability and had been controlled, manipulated and abused by her ex-husband, Judge Walker said during sentencing in the Invercargill District Court on Monday.

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Category: News Media