Ditch the ‘stranger danger’ idea: cops

Schools and parents should avoid using the term ‘‘stranger danger’’ to children, because most child abuse is committed by people known to their victims, police say.

Two Wellington schools warned parents and caregivers this week to ensure children walked in groups after reports of suspicious activity in the northern suburbs.

‘‘It is timely again for everyone to talk about before and afterschool care arrangements and to revise stranger danger,’’ Ngaio School told parents.

Raroa Normal Intermediate School also put out an alert.

However, Roland Hermans, police adviser to schools, said the ‘‘stranger danger’’ concept was outdated and potentially dangerous. The ‘‘cliched’’ term made it ‘‘easier for abusers known to the child’’, because kids might think such people wouldn’t harm them.

‘‘Children need to know how to identify and tell a trusted person if anyone is behaving towards them in a way that makes them feel unsafe.’’ Roland Hermans, police adviser to schools

But people known to their victims were ‘‘the most common source by far of abuse in New Zealand’’, he said. ‘‘Children need to know how to identify and tell a trusted person if anyone is behaving towards them in a way that makes them feel unsafe.

‘‘Normalising the term ‘stranger danger’ goes against this.’’

It also lulled parents and caregivers into a false sense of security, said Hermans, who worked at the police National Prevention Centre in Wellington.

‘‘They think that, if they have told children to avoid strangers, they will be keeping their children safe. They don’t think about the possibility that the abuse might come from a family member or someone known to the child.

‘‘They also forget that children might need to go to strangers for help in certain circumstances. Rather than concentrating on stereotypical strangers, it is important children know about the behaviours to avoid and report.’’