Living Under the Curse

Ineffectual Laws

In New Zealand the occurrence of adults seeing, yet ignoring, the abuse of children is not uncommon.  There are many, many children living in "blended families"--a pathetic euphemism for broken dysfunctional casual associations of adults where children are an unwanted, unwelcome, unloved appendage.   But children are inevitably demanding: they are dependent, they need help, and they are also sinful themselves.  The resulting dysfunctional household cocktail is to inflict terrible abuse, even torture, upon little ones. 

It is often the case that when children are beaten, even to the point of infanticide, the adults co-habiting or associating with the children become tight-lipped. They swear Faustian covenants with each other to hang tight, and not say a word.  Police investigations are stonewalled.  The abusers and murderers are thus not brought to justice.
 

Now the government has made it an offence not to report child abuse when adults see signs of it.  This amendment to the Crimes Act came about as a kneejerk response to the "tight five" Kahui extended family that refused to co-operate with police investigating the deaths of Chris and Cru Kahui.  The NZ Herald summarizes the Act:

From today, it will be an offence for anyone over the age of 18 to fail to report child abuse they are aware of occurring in the household they live in, or in a family they are closely connected to. The law also applies to hospital staff who know a child is being mistreated.  Those who do not report child abuse they are aware of could face up to 10 years in prison.

We understand the intent of the Act.  We also grant that it is fundamentally just, insofar as to see a crime being committed, and do nothing is to consent to it, and become complicit with the act to one degree or another.  One of the characteristics of being wicked, according to the Living God, is to "see" a thief and be pleased with him.  Another is to "keep company" with adulterers. (Psalm 50: 18)  To associate with wickedness and wicked people is to be indicted by God as being wicked oneself.  It implies support and consent to evil. 

The new Act has been criticised because it will be ineffectual: the critics are probably right.  It will cause people living in dysfunctional, lose confederations of adults to be more secretive, more unco-operative, more underground.   The law cannot redeem people.  It cannot change them into new people.  Condemning them further, it will drive them into outer darkness. 

Should the law, then, not have been passed?  No.  It is a just and righteous piece of legislation.  But it will not stop child abuse.  Nor will it make it any easier to detect.  It may give leverage to police when investigating other "tight fives".  They will be able to argue that it would be better for the associate to "confess" now to seeing and witnessing child abuse, lest they be subsequently charged.  But as Lorraine Smith has argued, this may have little effect:

"Some people who do see or suspect abuse, these people do report it," she said. "The very people to whom [the legislation] is directed are often too damaged to have the capacity to report the abuse, because they know there are consequences if they do report it, and they know that the police won't be able to protect them. This is the atmosphere that the abuse of children and vulnerable people happen."  Ms Smith said those within the household where abuse occurs are often victims of the circumstances themselves.

"How is it going to help? How is it going to encourage people who are in a situation where they are living in a dysfunctional household and who themselves are often fractured and damaged and paralysed with fear about the consequences of reporting abuse?"

The brutal reality is that there is no silver bullet or magic key to "solving" the huge social and moral problems found in the underclass, which has now become multi-generational and is self-perpetuating.  All society can now do is mitigate the problems as best it can. 

The recent law change is nothing more than a mitigation--likely slight at best, comprehensively ineffectual at worst.  But it is a just law, nonetheless. 

The only effectual solution--our only hope--is the transforming Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.  It has occurred in our past: a sovereign transformation of an underclass through the irresistible power of the Gospel preached to the poor.  It characteristically pleases our Lord to look with favour on those Unbelief despises.  Even so, Maranatha: come quickly, Lord.