World Mental Health Day

E nga mana, e nga reo, rau rangatira ma, no mai, haere mai.

Thank you, Jan.  Minister (Ruth Dyson), speakers, esteemed guests, ladies and gentlemen.

I am delighted to be here on this very important occasion, this forum to mark Mental Health Awareness Week and, more specifically, World Mental Health Day which is held every year on October 10.

You have come to this forum to discuss "The Effects of Trauma and Violence on Children and Adolescence."  I would like to congratulate on this very topical theme.

Today more than ever, children are under threat.  New dangers, such as Internet chatrooms.  The cycle of poverty and violence.  Drugs.  The list is depressing.

The United Nations, in an assessment of the situation globally, said: "Children are at risk of violence in nearly every aspect of their lives  - in their schools, on the street, at work, in institutions, and in areas of armed conflict, They are beaten, tortured, sexually assaulted and murdered, often by the very individuals responsible for their care and safety."

As terrible as this assessment sounds, we all know this is the sad truth.  Almost every day, even here in this land many of us would call paradise, we hear of new cases of children or teenagers who are caught up in violence, who are beaten or injured, quite often, and frighteningly so, by their parents or caregivers, or sometimes their own peers. 

I know from my courtroom experience that the patterns of behaviour that are learned in the home are the ones that young people will carry with them for life. 

I well remember the man who stood in the witness box in the High Court in Auckland charged with terrible physical and sexual violence on his children.  He said I was punished with a leather strap when I was a child and - completely missing the irony of his statement - he went on to say - it never did me any harm.

A culture of peace and non-violence to children, like charity, must begin in the home if it is to have any lasting effect.

One thing I don't know an awful lot about, despite my experiences as a judge, is what are the short-term and long-term effects of violence on the mental health of children.

So I am delighted that you are discussing this important topic here today.

Meetings such as this are important if we are to create an environment in which parents, and all people close to children and adolescents, can make informed decisions on how to deal with those in their care.

Thank you very much for inviting me here today.  Looking at the programme and the calibre of speakers, I am sure you will find this forum useful and informative.

Tena koutou katoa.