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Kids fight, don't they? : issues of invisible abuse sustained by gaps in the law Goldson, Jill; Riddiford, Liz

By: Contributor(s): Material type: ArticleArticlePublication details: Dunedin New Zealand Association of Social Workers 1999ISSN:
  • 0113-7662
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • H/C
 In: Social Work Review 11(3) September 1999 : 6-8Summary: This article examines the issue of sibling violence and how a victim of sibling bullying in the home is not protected by law. A case study and discussion of New Zealand law is used to illustrate this point. The authors suggest that the lack of legal descriptors in the legislation regarding protection of children who are victims of sibling abuse poses an area of vagueness for the social worker. It is proposed that an amendment to the Domestic Violence Act (1995), allowing protection orders to be made against children who have attained the age of 14 years, would provide consistency with legal sanctions under the Crimes Act (1961). The authors support visibility of this issue and, in doing so, advocate for a comparative awareness of how the law defines violence in non inter-sibling contexts.
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This article examines the issue of sibling violence and how a victim of sibling bullying in the home is not protected by law. A case study and discussion of New Zealand law is used to illustrate this point. The authors suggest that the lack of legal descriptors in the legislation regarding protection of children who are victims of sibling abuse poses an area of vagueness for the social worker. It is proposed that an amendment to the Domestic Violence Act (1995), allowing protection orders to be made against children who have attained the age of 14 years, would provide consistency with legal sanctions under the Crimes Act (1961). The authors support visibility of this issue and, in doing so, advocate for a comparative awareness of how the law defines violence in non inter-sibling contexts.

nz

Social Work Review 11(3) September 1999 : 6-8