New Zealand remains one of the most dangerous countries in the developed world in which to grow up, despite efforts from successive governments.

Thirteen Kiwi kids have died in suspicious circumstances so far this year – one of the worst years on record and much higher than the annual average of nine.

Every second day, a child is admitted to hospital suffering from inflicted injuries, including burns, broken bones and head wounds – with Starship children's hospital in Auckland seeing more cases of serious abuse than ever before.

stuff.co.nz Children's Commissioner Dr Russell Wills speaks about abuse against women and children in New Zealand.

Police are being swamped with child abuse complaints and have boosted the number of detectives working on the sensitive cases in recent months.



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A Stuff data investigation has found at least 204 children, aged 0-14, have died as a result of neglect, abuse, or maltreatment in New Zealand since 1992.



Most commonly, they died at the hands of men. Almost three quarters of the killers were family members.

The killers were almost equally likely to be mothers or fathers, accounting for 31 per cent and 29 per cent of cases respectively, where the victim's relationship with the killer was known.

De facto fathers were the next largest group of perpetrators, accounting for 17 per cent of cases.

The most common cause of death for a child was a head injury, followed by asphyxia, which includes suffocation, strangulation and carbon monoxide poisoning.

Children were at greatest risk of death from assault when they were under five years old, with the highest risk in the first year of life.

Stuff's investigation found the average age of a child killed in the last two decades was about three years old.

Nearly half of child homicide victims were Maori, while Maori made up just a quarter of the country's child population.

Deprived parts of the country were overwhelmingly represented in the statistics.

According to a 2014 report by the NZ Child and Youth Epidemiology Service, 786 children aged 0-14 were admitted to hospital from 2009 to 2013 with injuries arising from either assault, neglect or maltreatment. The figures are likely under reported because officials have to be certain of an assault before it can be recorded.

The report shows admission rates have declined gradually since 2000.

However, child abuse expert Dr Patrick Kelly, clinical director of Starship's child protection team Te Puaruruhau, said research showed abusive head trauma referrals to the hospital were on the rise.

"I've been doing this for 20 years. There have been lots of strategies advanced ... typically by the death of another child, and ... I haven't seen any of those strategies make any significant difference," Kelly said.

Efforts by governments to address the issue had been largely based around what Child, Youth and Family (CYF) and Police could do to combat the issue, he said.

JOHN SELKIRK Dr Patrick Kelly, the clinical director of Starship Children's Hospital's child protection team, believes the health sector has a major role to play in preventing child abuse.

"There hasn't been any really serious investment in actually what the health system might be able to do."

The Vulnerable Childrens Act made sweeping changes last year to protect children, including the establishment of Children's Teams across the country.

The teams – part of the Children's Action Plan – are a first intervention, designed to work with children and their families before CYF need to be called in. They work to pull all available support into a single point of contact and tailor programmes around that child.

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But Kelly said that wasn't enough. He believed protection teams – specially trained to recognise signs of abuse – should be established at district health boards as another line of prevention.

The teams should include nurses and pediatricians and work in close proximity to other agencies like CYF and the police.

"If we could ensure that in every case where abuse and neglect is recognised it is not allowed to re-occur, it is likely that we would have an enormous impact on the health of New Zealand."

Ministry of Social Development chief social worker Paul Nixon said he felt positive about the Children's Action Plan's focus on collaboration and communication across agencies.

The majority of child homicide victims were not known to CYF staff, which meant other people coming into contact with children also need to have the support and training to identify risk factors, Nixon said.

"The [Children's Teams] strategy is a good way of bringing agencies together and organising them at a local level for local needs and priorities. The key thing there is getting agencies to collaborate and see the whole child," he said.

CAMERON BURNELL / FAIRFAX NZ Children's Commissioner Dr Russell Wills says it's the job of the whole country, not just Government, to make child poverty a priority.

Children's Commissioner Dr Russell Wills said the country's high levels of family violence and economic inequality contributed to child homicide numbers.

Until those issues were addressed, it would be difficult to make progress, Wills said.

REPORT CHILD ABUSE NOW

If you have concerns about the safety of a child, you can call police on 111 or Child, Youth and Family on 0508 FAMILY (0508 326 459) for advice.

If the social worker thinks the child is in immediate danger they will act on it within 24 hours.

Information can be provided anonymously to police via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

If you are a young person worried about what's happening to you or someone you know, call Youthline for advice on free phone 0800 37 66 33, free txt 234 or email talk@youthline.co.nz.