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Family First NZ – recent news

Filed under: Boys / Youth / Education,General,Sex Abuse / CYF — Julie @ 10:24 am Mon 26th May 2008


Fathers aren’t needed say MPs: Commons decides IVF babies can do without a male role model

Evening Standard 21 May 08

Fathers were last night effectively declared an irrelevance in modern Britain. The requirement for fertility doctors to consider a child’s need for a male role model before giving women IVF treatment was scrapped by MPs. In a free vote, they swept away the rule despite impassioned pleas that the Government plan would “drive another nail into the coffin of the traditional family”. Labour rebels said it would send entirely the wrong signal to society as Britain faces a crisis in responsible parenting.

The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, had warned it would remove the father from the heart of the family. He accused the Government of putting the interests of “consumers” who want to become parents before the welfare of children. But in the Commons, ministers won support for the legislation.
thisislondon

MPs reject need for father in IVF (UK)
BBC News 20 May 2008

MPs have voted to scrap laws forcing clinics to consider the need for a “father and mother” before allowing women to seek IVF treatment. Iain Duncan Smith led the cross-party bid, saying the absence of a father had a “detrimental effect” on a child. His plan was defeated by 292 votes to 217. Currently, IVF clinics have to consider the “welfare” of any child created, including the need for a father. But the government wants the focus instead on “supportive parenting”. MPs also opposed a further bid to ensure there is a “father or a male role model” before fertility treatment, by 290 votes to 222. The issue of the role of fathers in IVF comes in the second day of committee stage debate of the controversial Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, aimed at updating laws from 1990.

…On Monday, MPs voted down a cross-party attempt to ban hybrid human animal embryos. Roman Catholic cabinet ministers Ruth Kelly, Des Browne and Paul Murphy voted for a ban, while Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Tory leader David Cameron both opposed it. A bid to ban “saviour siblings” – babies selected to provide genetic material for seriously ill relatives -was also voted down.
bbcnews

‘Father’ to go from birth certificates (Aust)
Sydney Morning Herald May 18, 2008

A CONTROVERSIAL new bill that will remove the word “father” from birth certificates to recognise lesbian couples who have children through IVF will be put before NSW Parliament. Fifty laws across NSW covering the Local Government Act, Industrial Relations Act and the constitution will be amended to include new parental presumption protection for female same-sex couples. The bill equates the position of a lesbian partner of a woman who has a child after becoming pregnant by a fertilisation procedure, other than sexual intercourse, with the position of a married woman’s husband. Lesbian parents will see expressions such as “birth mother” replace “mother” and “both parents” to replace “the father and the mother” on birth certificates.

Lesbian parents will also be given protection for their children under workers’ compensation, inheritance law and parent-teacher nights at school. Schools will also be forced to recognise both partners in a lesbian couple as “parents”. The conservative Australian Family Association is campaigning against the change. Gay & Lesbian Rights Lobby spokeswoman Emily Gray said the changes would give children added emotional and financial stability.
smh.com.au


Male postnatal depression affects child behaviour, study shows

Guardian.co.uk April 16 2008

Postnatal depression in fathers can have long-term psychological effects on their children, a new study reveals. The babies of depressed men are twice as likely to suffer from behavioural problems in later years as those whose fathers are not depressed, the Children of the 90s survey by the University of Bristol found. The results reflected the father’s role in socialising their children and raised questions about the age at which children become sensitive to their parents’ moods, researchers said. Psychiatrists warned that the findings could be a portent of future social problems as paternal postnatal depression becomes more widespread.

Postnatal depression is said to affect about one mother in 10 but is less well recognised, and more controversial, in new fathers. Different research has found that 3-10% of men are affected. “Conduct problems at this age are strongly predictive of later serious conduct problems, increased criminality and significantly increased societal costs,” Paul Ramchandani, an Oxford University psychiatrist, wrote in the paper, which was published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry this month.
guardian

Boys and their toys? It’s biological, not social
Telegraph (UK) 07 April 2008

Boys prefer playing with cars to dolls because of basic biological differences rather than social pressures, scientists say. Researchers observed young male monkeys spent more time playing with vehicles than with cuddly toys. They believe this suggests that in most cases boys have an innate predisposition for masculine toys, which is then reinforced by what they learn from their parents, friends and wider society.

Dr Kim Wallen, a psychologist at Yerkes National Primate Research Center in Atlanta, Georgia, studied a group of captive, mainly juvenile male and female rhesus monkeys. The animals were offered two categories of toys – ones with wheels such as wagons and other vehicles, and various dolls and cuddly toys including such as a Winnie the Pooh. In a series of videoed experiments one of each type of toy was placed 30ft apart to see which monkeys would be attracted to which category. In most cases the monkeys formed a group around one of the toys and eventually one of them would snatch it and run away.

…Their conclusion contradicts those of the dominant psychological theory that the preference of boys for vehicles and toy soldiers and that of girls for dolls is down to social rather than innate influences. Dr Wallen, whose study is published in the journal Hormones and Behavior, and highlighted on NewScientist.com, said: “A five-year-old boy whose compatriots discover has a collection of Barbies is likely to take a lot of flak.”
telegraph
newscientist

Poll reveals we’re still smacking our children
NZ Herald May 26, 2008

The Smacking Debate. Almost half of parents with children under 12 have smacked them in the past year, a survey has found. The Family First lobby group commissioned a market research company to poll New Zealanders on their attitudes to parental discipline since the anti-smacking law came into effect in June last year. It found that 48 per cent of respondents with children under 12 had smacked their child after the law change. The changes to the Crimes Act outlawed the use of parental force against children for purposes of correction. The issue polarised New Zealanders. The law change was led by Green MP Sue Bradford, whose private member’s bill removed from the Crimes Act the statutory defence of reasonable force to correct a child. But it was passed only after last-minute changes, approved by a large majority in Parliament, which directed the police not to prosecute inconsequential offences.

Family First’s national director, Bob McCoskrie, said he was surprised the polling found so many parents admitting they had flouted the law. He said 51 per cent of mothers had admitted continuing to smack. “For a new law to be ignored by so many people who are willing to risk a police or [Child, Youth and Family] investigation indicates just how out of step with reality this law is.”
nzherald

Girls’ violence in schools on the rise
NZ Herald May 24, 2008

Reality TV and text messaging are being blamed for a big increase in girls’ violence in the school playground. Education Ministry figures show a 41 per cent increase in girls being stood down, suspended or kicked out of school for assaults between 2002 and 2006, The Dominion Post reported today. But the way violence was meted out appeared to be changing.

Secondary Principals’ Association president Peter Gall told the paper schools were seeing not only more overt physical violence by girls, but a big increase in cyber-bullying – sending nasty text messages and emails, or putting humiliating images or words on the internet. Reality TV shows based on “shaming and bullying” were also encouraging girls in particular to respond aggressively to threats or playground relationship problems. “They prioritise all the sorts of behaviours we are desperately trying to prevent.”

Social anthropologist Donna Swift, who runs a girls’ violence intervention programme, said teenage girls often used “covert” violence and aggression, such as calling others “sluts” and “hos” in group text messages sent to hundreds of others. The “Barbie Bitches” syndrome had compounded violence among girls, as they tried balancing desires to be attractive with being tough and mean.
nzherald
nzherald

Pedophiles use kids’ fashion ads for kicks

Herald Sun (Australia) May 23, 2008

PEDOPHILES have admitted using children’s fashion ads to get their kicks, Victoria’s Child Safety Commissioner Bernie Geary has warned. Mr Geary has also raised concerns about the premature sexualisation of children in a submission to the Senate inquiry into the sexualisation of children in the media. He said the situation was “a significant concern,”, and singled out “sexy” children’s clothing. “What benefit or satisfaction adults would obtain from purchasing children’s clothing with slogans such as ‘Ms Floozy’, ‘Mr Well-hung’, ‘Mr Pim’, ‘Mr A–hole’ . . . ‘Naughty butt nice’, ‘Bite this’, ‘$$$ Worth it’ and ‘I only look innocent’, is difficult to comprehend,” Mr Geary said. “The fact that adults purchase this sort of clothing for their children illustrates that, unfortunately, not all parents and adults make appropriate choices for children.

In his submission, Mr Geary said that professionals working with offenders had told of clients’ “interest in, and use of, sexualised images of children within advertising and marketing”. He quoted Royal Children’s Hospital Gatehouse Centre co-ordinator Karen Hogan, who said staff working with children and young people who engaged in sexually abusive behaviour had noticed “a marked increase in perpetrators using underwear advertising magazines for stimulation that are delivered to homes”. “Males tell us that they are particularly interested in the children’s section and that they can use these magazines without detection as it is so commonplace to have this material delivered to their homes,” Ms Hogan said. Victoria Police Forensic Interviewing of Sexual Offenders manager Patrick Tidmarsh is also quoted as saying such images encourage paedophiles. “What sexualised/eroticised child images in advertising obviously do is provide validation for those considering further exploitation of children and sex, as part of a pernicious descending spiral,” he said.
herald/sun

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4 Comments »

  1. Not even a shred of evidence is provided to support the claim that “Reality TV and text messaging” are causes “for a big increase in girls’ violence in the school playground.” In fact it makes it clear that text messaging is a vehicle for female bullying – not a cause.

    I guess identifying the real reasons would be uncomfortable and not at all PC.

    Comment by Dave — Mon 26th May 2008 @ 3:17 pm

  2. I know that I play a most important role in my Sons life – Who cares what others think is my first reaction to most of the above

    However the majority still control Govt don’t they and thus we need to care otherwise why do we fight on.

    YO! We are back a little bit BUT no Politicks — I value the little bit of sanity and health I have regained

    We are living in beach Haven — North Shore City

    Javan is 2nd year at Birkdale intermediate, top class and A+’s all the way, and I am doing 15 hours as the Care Takers slave at the same school and 41/2 hrs as a Teacher Aid

    Health is better and the weight is falling off

    I have been watching some of the old websites to find little progress and heaps of frustration — It seems I have made the right decision to withdraw and gain some degree of sanity.

    Still fighting the same old wars with WINZ who still refuse to recognise that I **Week About Equal Parent** Javan and thus I get NOTHING towards his upbringing and thus his mother has the reigns accept for time — The personal fight goes on to secure ½ of ALL funds allocated by NZGovt to Parent our Son.

    Still fighting the same old wars with Child Support, they have warned that as soon as I earn a mere $26,000 I will be paying Child Support even though I have in fact Equal Parented Javan since 1997 and most certainly would have since conception had I have had the opportunity.

    Come visit

    Regards

    Jim and Javan Bailey

    6 Lancaster Rd

    Beach Haven

    North Shore City

    Auckland

    09-482-2960

    027-429-0055

    Skype – HandsOnEqualParent

    Comment by Jim Bailey — Tue 27th May 2008 @ 6:57 pm

  3. Good on you Jim.Main thing is that Javan is doing great and your health is better.All your fantastic work has not necessarily improved things or even stopped them from getting worse.BUT.Imagine how much worse things would be if all of us had sat round doing nothing.At least the Helenist state and the scum Bohier and their cronies know that cannot push things too far and that is some comfort for you.
    Never say you bashed your head up against a wall for nothing.We can all only do what we can do and you have done far more than most to help slow the rot during 9 years of a government that will have much to answer for when the fatherless youth of this country emerge from school with needles in their arms and whatever else anyone can think of.
    Bless you Jim and thank you for your inspiration

    Comment by whanga — Tue 27th May 2008 @ 8:26 pm

  4. Family first, what a joke.. According to Helen Clarke, it is money and control first. Giving woman the DBP and custody of the children.

    Why because woman never get protection orders against them, woman love their kids and would never hurt them.. What about this..

    Police today charged a 36-year-old woman with an earlier assault on a toddler who died last month.

    Three-year-old Dylan Rimoni was admitted to hospital on April 16 with unexplained head injuries.

    He died on April 18 in Auckland’s Starship Children’s Hospital after his life support system was turned off.

    The woman was charged today over an allegation of a previous assault not immediately connected with the toddler’s death, police said.

    Counties-Manukau CIB’s Detective Senior Sergeant Dave Lynch said the woman would appear in Papakura District Court tomorrow.

    Inquiries into the cause of the toddler’s death were continuing and it was expected to be some weeks before a decision was made as to whether any further charges would be laid, Mr Lynch said.

    He thanked the public for the “substantial amount of information” they had provided to police.

    I wonder what happened to the father ??

    Lets face it woman are people too.. they are not all angels as the courts think. Woman have their problems, and violence happens on both sides !! weather is is verbal, emotional or physical.

    I believe that the justice system causes moren harm than good in interferring on family matters. They cause so much stress in perhaps an already stressful situation that people just lose the plot.

    The government is just becoming to controlling, the smacking kids policy is a load of crap, they already have laws against abuse of children, MAF charges are totally sexist when they don’t have FAM charges (female assaults male. Protection orders handed out left right and centre. What is happening, it is all just total government domination. Government should be there to run the country not our lives !!

    Comment by paul — Tue 27th May 2008 @ 10:20 pm

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