Alarm at child abuse trend (Canterbury, New Zealand)

You see the same trends in New Zealand as in Indiana (see post below): A dramatic increase in "brutal" child abuse--the kind with broken bones or severe head injuries or sexual injuries. And once again, the perpetrators are "male caretakers" and fathers. Note the case of the 18-month-old boy whose father beat him and actually snapped the child's femur. As the doctor observes, that takes "tremendous" force, the kind of upper body strength typically seen in men, not women.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/3716983/Alarm-at-child-abuse-trend

Alarm at child abuse trend
By KEITH LYNCH - The Press
Last updated 05:00 20/05/2010

Brutal attacks on young children are on the rise in Canterbury, police say.

Canterbury District crime manager Detective Inspector Peter Read said attacks on children were becoming harsher. "The physical abuse we're seeing is becoming more serious, especially involving young children," he said.

Police were seeing more "broken bones" and "severe bruising", he said.

The Christchurch child protection team, based in Papanui, operates a shared office with Child, Youth and Family (CYF).

So far this year, the team has investigated 149 cases. In 2009, it dealt with 409 cases.

"We've got a staff of 13 and that'll soon be increasing to 15. And there is a CYF person in the office," Read said. "CYF people take care of victims' needs and the police take care of the investigation process and pushing the offender through court, if that is required." Most cases were sexual, he said.

Consultant emergency physician Dr Jan Bone said: "We see very bad child abuse ranging from minor right through to really severe head injuries."

That included a case last year in which an 18-month-old boy was brought to Christchurch Hospital's emergency department by his mother.

The boy had a snapped femur, which was inflicted about 36 hours earlier, she said. "The child had lots of pain. When we see a fracture like that, we know it's child abuse," she said. "It turned out the father was intoxicated and had beaten the child. The amount of force required to do that is significant."

Read told of a case last year where a man was charged with sexual offences after assaulting a family member.

The girl was aged between nine and 12 when the offending occurred. "It came to the notice of her mother, who reported it," Read said.

The girl was interviewed three times and taken into care. The man was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison in the High Court in Christchurch last year, Read said. "That's not your typical, but it's pretty run of the mill."