Talking about child abuse can be hard.  It is natural to want to avoid thinking about child abuse; it is not something that anyone wants to have happen in New Zealand.

Not talking about child abuse will not make the problem go away. Facing up to the fact that child abuse happens is the first step in helping children for whom pain and fear is a part of everyday life.

The facts:

• In New Zealand approximately one in twenty children experience physical abuse and almost one in five girls experience sexual abuse
• In 2002/2003 there were 31,781 notifications to the Department of Child, Youth and Family Services (CYF) of possible abuse or neglect
• An average of nine children under the age of 14 die each year as a result of child abuse.
• New Zealand's rate of child deaths is one and a half times that of Britain and Australia.
• Between 1990 and 1999, 1448 children under the age of 15 were admitted to hospital with injuries from assault.

So what can I do to reduce child abuse?

Help those around you.

• Offer a family members or neighbour practical help when they have young children and/or are under pressure of some sort, for example offer to help with childcare, household chores, grocery shopping or transport.
• Find out about agencies that support children and families in your community and encourage families under stress to get help from these agencies.
• Find out about agencies that help parents with learning about positive non-violent discipline and encourage young parents to seek information from these agencies.
• Find out about agencies in your community that work to reduce family violence and/or help women and children who are being treated violently - encourage anyone you know experiencing family violence to seek help from these agencies.

Encourage other people to understand how precious children are.

Children are precious members of our society entitled to live lives free from violence and to be given support and love and be involved in their community. Encourage other people to see children in this way.

Reduce children's exposure to violence.

Children can be exposed by witnessing or experiencing violence between family members, at school with peers and on television. These can lead to a child living in fear and sometimes learning to be violent. Be with your children if they are exposed to violence and talk about it. It helps them to put it in perspective. There may be groups in your community that work to reduce violence in children's lives. You may want to offer to help.

Recognise and praise the work being done by social workers and other people working with children and families.

Encourage family friendly work places.

Help support families in your community by encouraging the development of policies such as emergency leave to cope with family sickness, maternity and paternity leave, childcare provision in the work place and more flexible working hours.

Let politicians and potential politicians know what you think - the Government has strategies to reduce family violence, encourage them to put money into these strategies and implement them fully.