Child-abuse on rise in Oamaru | Oamaru News | Local News in Oamaru

Reported child abuse in Oamaru almost doubled last year,  latest Ministry of Social Development statistics show.

Oamaru recorded 57 abuse cases for 2011, compared with 29 the previous year. Last year's cases included 19 for emotional abuse, 14 for physical abuse, six for sexual abuse and 18 for neglect.

Oamaru's child-abuse figures peaked in 2009 with 73 cases, after two years of lesser offending in 2006 (32) and 2007 (36).

Notifications, which cover care, protection and family violence referrals, also rose in Oamaru last year, with a total of 311, of which 195 required  additional action, an increase on the 2010 figures of 283.

Otago/Southland Child Youth and Family operations manager Judy Larking said there were no evident reasons why figures were rising.

"When there is a lot of publicity about a particularly tragic neglect or abuse case with a child or young person, the number of notifications tend to rise," she said.

"People start to become more aware of possible problems, but there is no particular pattern.

"Notifications can be affected at any time by a stressful situation such as poverty, poor housing, or an ongoing history of bad parenting."

Awareness of possible abuse problems can come down to the concern of a neighbour or friend contacting CYF or the police, Mrs Larking said.

"They may have the key piece of the jigsaw that we need. A 24-hour call centre at CYF and the  police are there to help. Don't be afraid to make a phone call and don't stop looking out for your neighbours," she said.

The statistics for child abuse in New Zealand make sobering reading. An estimated 15 per cent of children are born at risk of abuse, and more than 80,000 children witness family violence each year.

This gives New Zealand  the fifth-worst child-abuse record of the 31 OECD countries.