Child abuse increasing in Porirua

Child abuse cases have increased in Porirua, according to a new report that shows the city is bucking the national trend in this area.

Porirua City Council’s second annual status report on its children and young people has found there were 213 substantiated findings of abuse against people under the age of 25 in Porirua in the year to June 30, 2017.

That equated to 41 more cases of abuse compared to the previous 12 months. The term ‘‘abuse’’ encompasses emotional, physical and sexual abuse as well as neglect.

Half of the total victims were Ma¯ ori, with the other cases primarily involving children of Pa¯keha¯ or Pasifica ethnicity.

The city’s 24 per cent increase was out of step with how abuse against children and young people was tracking nationally, where there was an 11 per cent decrease over the same period.

The number of children aged under 10 who were accidentally injured also increased on the previous year and was higher than the national average, as was the number of young people not in education, employment or training.

Unintentional injury is a leading cause of hospitalisation for children in New Zealand.

Porirua Mayor Mike Tana has sent a copy of a council-commissioned study to Prime Minister Jacinda Adern, asking for the Government’s support in tackling the grim findings.

‘‘It doesn’t make you feel comfortable reading about violence inflicted on children but we can’t look away. We can’t afford to sweep this under the rug.’’

The report highlighted problems with poverty, health and poor housing – all things the new Government had campaigned on improving, Tana said.

‘‘A lot of the solutions we need are what the central Government have said they want to do.’’

"It doesn’t make you feel comfortable reading about violence inflicted on children but we can’t look away." Porirua Mayor Mike Tana

The council had been proactive at measuring the health of the city and now wanted central Government to take notice, he said.

‘‘Now we can say ‘here’s the information, are you interested in working with us to fix it?’’’

A copy of the report has also been sent to Children’s Minister Tracey Martin and Children’s Commissioner Andrew Becroft.

Using data from government ministries, the report painted a sombre picture in a number of ways for Porirua’s young people, who make up about 40 per cent of the city’s 56,100 population.

Rates of transient students – those who changed school twice or more during the year – were double the national average. A third did not attend school regularly.

A fifth of the city’s children lived in over-crowded houses and a quarter in homes with damp and mould, which likely influenced the high rate of hospital admissions, the report found.

The number of children living in overcrowded houses was higher than the national rate.

When it came to internet access, 45 per cent of houses in the low socioeconomic suburbs of Waitangirua and Cannons Creek were connected.

But it was not all bad news. Achievement rates in reading, writing and maths were similar to national rates and many young people thought Porirua was a great place to live.

The rate of infant immunisation in the city was slightly higher than the national average.