Rise in Wairarapa child abuse reports | Wairarapa News | Local News in Wairarapa

The number of confirmed cases of child neglect increased by almost 80 per cent in Wairarapa last year, latest Ministry of Social Development statistics show.

Notifications of suspected abuse also increased over the same period.

Karen Petrie, CYF central regional director, welcomed the fact that more child abuse cases were coming to light, saying the increase was due to wider community awareness "that child abuse is not okay" and a greater willingness to raise the alarm.

"The increase in notifications is a good thing. You've got a really strong community in Wairarapa working closer with families," she said.

"That call could make a real change in a child's life."

Ms Petrie said there had been no significant changes in procedure or practice to account for the rise in neglect cases last year.

"Cases of neglect have fluctuated from 66 cases five years ago to 19 in 2010," she said.

"Each and every one of the 34 cases found last year represent a child who wasn't getting the care and nurturing they needed."

Wairarapa had recorded 197 substantiated child abuse cases in 2011, including 100 for emotional abuse, 48 for physical abuse, 15 for sexual abuse and 34 for neglect.

Last year, 40 children were removed from Wairarapa homes, compared with 66 the previous year. The number of children removed for out-of-home placement had peaked at 86 in 2007.

The number of reports of suspected abuse had risen 17 per cent last year to 2043.

That included 772 family violence referrals.

Ms Petrie said that reflected a change in police policy to report every family violence case at a home where a child lived or was usually present.

The increasing number of emotional abuse cases reflected the cumulative effects on children who witnessed or were involved in incidents of domestic violence over time, she said.

Ms Petrie said interagency collaboration involving CYF, police, and health professionals was continuing in Wairarapa.

It had been bolstered in August last year with an agreement binding those organisations together to better protect and care for children in the region.

Child Matters, a child protection training agency that held a Wairarapa workshop in September last year, and the Differential Response Model, which allows case-by-case partnerships with community service agencies, had each yielded "more timely, effective and appropriate" services for child abuse victims and their families.

"We work alongside police, health and the community - it's a community approach," Ms Petrie said.

Police were not able to respond to queries on the child abuse cases by deadline.