New Zealand Law Journal 402 1997 : 402-404

This article explores situations where women have not protected their children from abuse. Two case studies are used to illustrate this issue, including those of Tania Witika and Lavinia Manukau. The male partners of these two women were convicted of the murder and manslaughter of their children. Both Tania and Lavinia were themselves victims of domestic violence committed by their partners. In both cases, the abuse of their children by their partners persevered for some period of time, but neither Tania nor Lavinia intervened. Both women stipulated that they were too frightened of their partner to prevent further abuse of their child. However, the courts viewed these two cases differently: Tania was found guilty and received 16 years imprisonment as she was seen as partially responsible for the abuse; whereas, Lavinia was seen as helpless and was found not guilty. The article discusses 'battered woman's syndrome' and how this affects a woman's culpability in child abuse cases. The author contends that the context of domestic violence is not recognised in cases of this kind in New Zealand.