A survey of more than 2000 children confirms New Zealand's high rates of violence against children, and indicates that for every 10 children aged under 13, one has been sexually abused, six have experienced physical abuse, and eight have experienced some form of emotional abuse.

The Massey University study has examined violence from the viewpoint of children, allowing them to report their experiences of violence directly, and in their own words. In the study, 2,077 children, aged 9 to 13 years, from 28 schools of various sizes, geographic areas and socio-economic neighbourhoods were surveyed. They reported the nature, extent, and impact of violence experienced or witnessed by them at home, school or in the community.

College of Education lecturer Dr Janis Carroll-Lind conducted the survey at the end of 1998 as part of her PhD thesis and says the the results, which show show high prevalence of physical, sexual and emotional violence, are just as relevant, if not more so, today. Sixty-three per cent of those surveyed had experienced direct physical violence, 11 per cent experienced sexual violence, and 80 per cent had experienced some form of emotional violence.

"Often the number of children involved in family violence is masked, as it is seldom recorded statistically and if it does get reported, it is usually recorded only in terms of broader family incidences," Dr Carroll-Lind says. "This study is important because it provides statistics on children's experiences as recipients and witnesses of violence that more accurately identify prevalence and incidence rates involving children and the impact it has on them."

One girl said she attempted suicide twice because of her mother, while a boy reported being punched in the face by his father on Christmas Day: "It hurt me bad and I can't forget it," he said. "It is still in my head every night and I can't help it."

Another told that she was forced to watch as a man made her friend drop her pants then smashed a bottle in the other girl's face.

Dr. Carroll-Lind says that although the study found that sexual violence was less prevalent than physical and emotional violence, this form of violence was rated by most of the children who had experienced it, as having the most profound impact. The incidence rates suggest that for some children the sexual abuse was continuing and was perpetrated by people they knew.

All types of violence involving adults were rated higher than violence involving children. Witnessing violence involving adults also had more impact on children than violence directed at them. This finding highlights, in particular, the adverse effect of family violence on children.

"Except for physical violence, where some children thought they might have contributed to getting hit, punched or beaten, children reported that they were not to blame or that they could not have prevented the violence from happening. How the event is dealt with can affect how children cope. In particular children who reported experiences of sexual violence also reported that people who knew about the incident did not help them to cope afterwards."

The definitions for the three types of violence were deliberately written using children's language and in the questionnaire physical violence was defined as "being punched, kicked, beaten or hit, or getting into a physical fight (punch up)," sexual violence was defined as "having unwanted sexual touching or being asked to do unwanted sexual things," and emotional violence was defined as "being threatened, called names, ganged up on, left out, not spoken to, 'narked' on, gossiped about, and having tales told about me".

Results also showed that the younger the child, the greater the likelihood that he or she would highly rate the impact of their experiences of physical and emotional violence, however, age made no difference to the impact of sexual violence. Gender also predicted prevalence and impact for some forms of violence; for example boys reported more physical violence. More occurrences of physical and emotional violence increased its impact, but this was not a factor for sexual violence. The study also shows that no relationship was found between children's exposure to violence and the socio-economic status of their school.

The study employed a passive consent procedure, which meant that parents had to opt out of the study rather than opt in to it. In line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the view was held that protecting the rights of children was more important than parental rights to privacy regarding abuse in the home.

"Parents were kept informed about the study," Dr Carroll-Lind says, "Most were very supportive. It has allowed us to record incidences of violence and their impact that current systems for reporting may have failed to acknowledge. There have been few studies that have examined violence from the viewpoint of children, and the results can certainly teach us a great deal."

She says this research shows that children are more than capable of expressing their views and should be consulted in decision-making matters that affect them.

"The study incorporates both the right of children to speak about their experiences as well as the need for adults to listen to what children say. By trying to understand children's own views of their experiences as victims and witnesses and at the same time identifying accurate rates of prevalence and incidence of violence, we can confront the problem of violence in a way that is meaningful and acceptable to them, and in so doing create safer environments for children."