IN-CONFIDENCE
OIA-CE-2024-02647
27 November 2024
Rodney Parsons
[FYI request #28895 email]
Tēnā koe Rodney
Thank you for your email, received on 24 October 2024, to Oranga Tamariki—Ministry
for Children (Oranga Tamariki) requesting information about sexual assault on children
and young people in the care of the Oranga Tamariki Chief Executive. Your request
has been considered under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act).
You have requested:
•
The process related to management of concerns related to sexual assault,
in children and young people who are already in Oranga Tamariki services
or care.
•
Provide aggregate figures nationally, on the number of children who have
experienced sexual assault whilst under OT care, over the past decade.
I have addressed each of your questions below:
•
The process related to management of concerns related to sexual assault,
in children and young people who are already in Oranga Tamariki services
or care.
The Oranga Tamariki practice framework assists us to make sense of and organise
our practice. It is based on best practice social work evidence applied within the
context of our work and includes models and tools to guide our social workers and
other practitioners. It is guided by our statutory and legislative responsibilities, framed
by te Tiriti o Waitangi (the Treaty of Waitangi) and draws from te Ao Māori principles
of oranga (wellbeing), within the context of our role in statutory child protection and
youth justice in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Oranga Tamariki processes for responding to reports of concern raised about children,
including but not limited to cases where sexual abuse may have occurred, are founded
upon requirements, responsibilities and principles set out in the Oranga Tamariki Act.
These are made sense of, explained and built upon through practice policies. These
policies set out requirements, and practice guidance for social workers to apply,
supported by research, information, context and information which supports
IN-CONFIDENCE
application into practice. Oranga Tamariki practice policies and guidance are
published on ou
r Practice Centre. The policy that outlines how we respond to allegations of ill-treatment, abuse, neglect
or deprivation ('harm') of tamariki in care or custody, including keeping tamariki safe,
carrying out the assessment or investigation and managing the outcome can be found
here. In relation to your question, the most relevant information setting out how Oranga
Tamariki responds to concerns that include possible sexual abuse are:
•
the
Allegations of harm (ill-treatment, abuse, neglect or deprivation) of tamariki
in care or custody policy, which covers core responsibilities and requirements
when allegations of harm regarding children in care are raised
•
the
Child Protection Protocol, (a joint protocol between Police and Oranga
Tamariki) which sets out the roles and responsibilities of both Police and Oranga
Tamariki when both agencies are working together around more serious
allegations of abuse or harm, including alleged sexual abuse
•
ou
r guidance around how to respond to concerning or harmful sexual behaviour,
which is the sexual behaviour of child or young person that is developmentally
inappropriate or harmful to self or others, and;
•
definitional guidance around sexual abuse which includes types of sexual abuse
(including for example grooming) and potential indicators of sexual abuse.
Given the above, this part of your request is refused under section 18(d) of the Act as
the information is publicly available.
•
Provide aggregate figures nationally, on the number of children who have
experienced sexual assault whilst under OT care, over the past decade.
Oranga Tamariki takes harm to children seriously and is dedicated to understanding
how and where harm does for children in care. Since 2018 we have published an
annual Safety of Children in Care report about the rates of harm for children in care,
including sexual abuse, and provided detailed information about the nature of harm
occurring and our work to identify and respond to the safety and needs of children.
The most recent report was published as part of the Oranga Tamariki Annual Report
and can be found
here (please see Appendix C titled
Safety of Children in Care Annual
Report – reporting period 1 April 2023 - 31 March 2024). During this reporting period,
66 children in care had a finding of sexual abuse (a total of 74 findings, but an overall
reduction in findings of 23 from the previous year). The majority of sexual abuse
experienced by children in care occurs outside the child’s placement and includes
harm by peers or other non-related adults. In this context sexual abuse also includes
non- contact abuse such as acts like grooming a young person, exposing them to
pornography or suggestive behaviours or comments. This information is described
more fully in the report.
Previous Safety of Children in Care Annual Reports can be found
here.
IN-CONFIDENCE
Given the above, this part of your request is refused under section 18(d) of the Act as
the information is publicly available with respect to the last five years.
Prior to 2018, and the commencement of our yearly safety of children in care
reporting, Oranga Tamariki and its predecessor organisations did not collect this data
in a format that enables us to respond to your request. As such, this part of your
request is refused under section 18(f) as the information cannot be made without
substantial collation or research.
Your request for information was for this data over the past decade. We do not have
reporting in this format prior to 2018 and therefore your request for earlier data is
refused due to manual collation.
Oranga Tamariki may make the information contained in this letter available to the
public by publishing this on our website with your personal details removed.
I trust you find this information useful. Should you have any concerns with this
response, I would encourage you to raise them with Oranga Tamariki. Alternatively,
you are advised of your right to also raise any concerns with the Office of the
Ombudsman. Information about this is available a
t www.ombudsman.parliament.nz
or by contacting them on 0800 802 602.
Nāku noa, nā
Nicolette Dickson
Te Tumu Tauwhiro Chief Social Worker
Deputy Chief Executive Professional Practice Group
