February 17, 2014
Baby grab angers advocate
Former Women’s Refuge chief executive Merepeka Raukawa-Tait says convicted child abuser Oriwa Kemp needs to be supported to make whatever changes are needed to her behaviour, rather than having her babies taken away.
Ms Kemp was jailed along with four other people for her role in the 2007 death of Rotorua 3-year-old Nia Glassie.
Kemp was 18 at the time.
Last week Child Youth and Family took away her third baby hours after it was born.
Mrs Raukawa-Tait says taking away her babies is inhumane and short-sighted.
People have said she should be sterilized. That’s why I came out. To people who say that, I say bugger off. Oriwa Kemp could have been a Nia Glassie herself. If you look at her history, if you look at her upbringing, it’s a wonder she didn’t go down the same path as Nia Glassie.
Merepeka Raukawa Tait says there has been no improvement in New Zealand’s culture of child abuse since the Nia Glassie killing, despite what ministers and officials might say.
FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH MEREPEKA RAUKAWA TAIT CLICK ON THE LINK
http://www.waateanews.com/play_podcast?podlink=MTU0MTg=
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