Information on Domestic Violence

The CHILDREN & FAMILY VIOLENCE: EFFECTIVE INTERVENTIONS NOW CONFERENCE was held in Wellington, New Zealand, on 4th and 5th July 1999.

In his opening address the Governor General, Sir Michael Hardy Boys said:

"... we have to take account of the violence inflicted in a child’s sight or hearing on someone else, usually their mother or a sibling, usually by a husband, father or partner. Sometimes even by an older brother. There are no statistics here, apart from those recording the huge numbers of women who with their children are taken in by one of the Women’s Refuges."

His source is unlikely to be representative, and there are studies which give a very different picture (see partner violence results from the Dunedin longitudinal study, New Zealand domestic violence victims, and even here, as well as what do domestic violence statistics measure). A paper by Goodyear-Smith, "Myths and realities about child maltreatment", describes large studies which found that the majority of child maltreatment was by women.

He presented these views to a conference attended by over 600 people, including the Principal Family Court Judge who said in his welcome and introduction that:

"The Family Court is here represented by Judges, administrative personnel and Family Court Co-ordinators; members of the legal, psychological and counselling professions are here - as well as government departments and ministries, the Commissioner for Children’s Office, and of special significance and importance, programme providers, community agencies, many providing valuable services in this area."

It is a concern that someone in his position and speaking to such an audience has been so ill-informed. It is notable that the State Services Commission has embarked on a project entitled, "Improving the Quality of Policy Advice".

Stuart Birks

12 August 1999