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June 09, 2023 at 2:43 PM

NZ Herald: Children must be at the heart of all Family Court decisions - Carrie Leonetti

OPINION:

Under traditional English law, children had few legal rights. They were essentially the property of their legal guardians and had a legal status roughly the equivalent of pets and livestock.

By the mid-nineteenth century, severe maltreatment and incest had been outlawed, but parents otherwise still had total dominion over the children.

In pre-colonial tikanga, by contrast, mokopuna were taonga, and to harm them was to harm the atua. Unlike in Victorian Britain, in pre-colonial Aotearoa, violence against tamariki was almost entirely absent.

When the English colonised Aotearoa in 1840, they imposed their laws governing divorce, guardianship, and custody of children on their new territory of New Zealand. In the process, the cherished status of tamariki Māori, like so many other aspects of tikanga, was decimated by colonisation.

The breakdown of traditional whānau structures damaged the environments required for the safe upbringing of children.

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Newshub: The prevention helpline tackling New Zealand's appalling domestic violence rates

Damien Petersen will never forget receiving his first call. 

As soon as he heard the ringing, he knew on the other side of the phone was likely a man feeling angry, scared of what he might do to his family. But most importantly, they were looking for help.

By the time the man would hang up, he would leave the call with the information and wrap-around support needed.

For Petersen, his first was a success - both the man and his partner were safe.

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The Spinoff: ‘It can happen to absolutely anyone’: A day in the life of a Pet Refuge caseworker

Every day, pets are being removed from domestic violence situations around the country. Alex Casey talks to one of the workers on the front line. 

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Stuff: Broken and hiding: Mama Hooch survivor shares her trauma

Ellie wears a mask.

It’s one she’s learnt to wear since she was drugged and sexually assaulted by Danny Jaz at Christchurch bar Mama Hooch in 2018.

Now that mask is bolted tightly, as details of the Jaz brothers' depravity have been made public.

Ellie, whose real name is suppressed, fixes a smile and reminds herself there are worse things happening in the world. But the real Ellie feels alone and lost inside her head.

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Newsroom: Jehovah’s Witnesses apply for judicial review of Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care

The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care is being challenged in court by one of the institutions it is investigating. Aaron Smale reports.

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Stuff: Hui marks 'groundbreaking day' for people with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder 

Not many people understand how Eriapa Dalbeth’s brain works.

The 17-year-old said too much information makes him overwhelmed, his memory fails him and sometimes he can’t pay attention. Dalbeth has fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), caused by prenatal exposure to alcohol which left cells in his brain irreversibly damaged.

In spite of this, Dalbeth (Ngāti Apa, Ngāti Raukawa, Te Whānau-ā-Apanui) told a packed Parliament hall he has NCEA Level 1 and 2, his restricted driver’s licence and his forklift licence.

Little is known about the prevalence of his condition in New Zealand. Even less is funded in support, his nan, Cherryl Smith said.

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