Jerry Sandusky (C) leaves the Centre County Courthouse after his sentencing in his child sex abuse case in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania in this file photo from October 9, 2012. Pennsylvania's attorney general on June 23, 2014 will release the findings of
IN PHOTO: Jerry Sandusky (C) leaves the Centre County Courthouse after his sentencing in his child sex abuse case in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania in this file photo from October 9, 2012. Pennsylvania's attorney general on June 23, 2014 will release the findings of an investigation into former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky, who was convicted in 2012 of raping children he met through a charity programme. Reuters/Pat Little

Cases of child abuse in New Zealand have shown a marked decline. According to the latest statistics on child abuse, the number of children abused in New Zealand in the year ended in June 2014 has come down by 2,306 or 12 percent compared to the figures of year 2013.

Welcoming the declining trend, Social Development Minister Anne Tolley said it is a heartening development, but there is no doubt that child abuse figures are still appallingly high. The minister said what is significant is that the numbers are going down for the first time in 10 years, according to the government press release.

Giving the broad details, the report said, until June 2014, 16,289 children had 19,623 findings of abuse substantiated compared to 18,595 children with 22,984 findings of abuse in the previous year.

Segment wise, it said, in 2014, the children abused emotionally numbered 9,499 and those physically abused were 3,178 and 1,294 children faced sexual abuse. In 2013, the corresponding figures were 11,386 children emotionally abused, 3,181 physically abused and 1,423 sexually abused.

Child Action Plan

Minister Tolly claimed that the decline in abuse cases was a fall out of the “good progress in implementing the Children’s Action Plan, which has 30 specific measures designed to prevent abuse and neglect. That made a real difference in reducing child abuse in this country.”

Radio NZ in a report, highlighted the issue of family violence and the need for setting up of kaupapa Maori-based research centres to check domestic abuse among the tangata whenua tribe. This is in the light of the Glenn Inquiry's People's Blueprint, which observed that Maori children are five-and-a-half times more vulnerable to death from child abuse than other ethnic groups.

Abuser Arrested

Meanwhile, an award winning New Zealand-born firefighter based in Australia has pleaded guilty to charges of sexual exploitation of children. He is facing a minimum of 15 years in jail. Tony Brian Gillespie was arrested in November 2014 after a police enquiry, which found him enjoying "pre-teen" child sex images.

Gillespie had downloaded thousands of images from the file sharing Web site GigaTribe, which included videos of child abuse. The 31-year-old former New South Wales fire brigade official admitted he not only downloaded, but also disseminated the material widely, reported Stuff.Co.Nz.

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