New research about New Zealand’s child abuse figures has alarmed agencies protecting children. A child is admitted to a hospital in the country every other day with injuries caused by either neglect, assault and maltreatment.

According to the 2012 report of NZ Child and Youth Epidemiology Service prepared for the Ministry of Health, nearly half of the children sent to the hospital are aged under five years. Officials said child abuse remains a significant problem in New Zealand.

However, a series of changes have been made to try and prevent abuse from happening. Authorities said there is a greater emphasis in identifying families that are at risk before a child is born.

Stuff reports that most of the responsibility lies with the public and the people’s capability to report any sign of abuse before it escalates. “It’s very hard for outside agencies to pick up on these things. Close family won’t even know what’s going on,” said Detective Inspector Tom Fitzgerald.

The detective added that it is about having the guts to report cases of child abuse. The report said about 843 children aged 0-14 were admitted to the hospital from 2007 to 2011. The injuries of the children reported to be victims of abuse ranged from serious head trauma to broken legs.

Children’s Commissioner Russell Wills said attitudes about violence towards women and children would have to change. He added that an average of 10 to 14 children were homicide victims. Based on long-term trends, the number of children admitted to the hospital due to assault related injuries was gradually falling. Staff at district health boards in the country is now trained to ask the hard questions concerning child abuse and domestic violence. Paul Nixon, chief social worker for the Ministry of Social Development, said child abuse in New Zealand is a significant issue in which people work hard to address.

Meanwhile, UNICEF has calculated the cost of child abuse in east Asia and the Pacific for the time. It found that child abuse costs US$209 billion (AU$270 billion) every year. The report, Estimating the Economic Burden of Violence against Children in East Asia and the Pacific is the first of its kind in the region.

UNICEF Communication Specialist Andrew Brown said the figures are a wake-up call for the governments of countries in the region, reports Radio NZ. He noted that the report revealed most Pacific nations have the worse situation than other countries in East Asia.

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