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The Christchurch Civic
Creche Case |
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I wish to register my strongest
dismay at a letter published in The Press (Feb 3) from Ross Francis, of
Masterton. Mr Francis has a right to express his own opinion but no right to
discredit my credentials as a researcher, in the field of child protection,
without doing his homework. That the editor of The Press would
allow the letter to be published without checking the facts is slipshod and
ultimately damaging. Both Mr Francis and the editor
should understand that a person does not become a university professor
without publishing extensively in peer-reviewed journals. The research referred to in the
letter, undertaken on behalf of the New Zealand police, was presented at
several peer-reviewed conferences, including the Australasian Conference on
Child Abuse and Neglect, held in Wellington in February 2006. Following that, the findings were
published in the Social Policy Journal of New Zealand, November 2006. Mr Francis's urging that
"politicians, teachers, parents and police should steer well clear of Ms
Briggs. She is not an appropriate person to lecture us on how to identify or
prevent child sexual abuse" is outrageous. I have a history of employment as
a police officer, social worker and teacher, and have lectured, researched
and published 15 books and hundreds of articles in the
child-protection-related field over 36 years. I have been a consultant to the
New Zealand Police Youth Education Service for 21 years, consultant to the
Australian Minister for Education for his Safe School Framework, consultant
to Rotary International for its child-protection policy, consultant to Avon
and Somerset Police for their child-safe programme, and received 12 awards
for services to Australian and New Zealand children, including Senior
Australian of the Year 2000-01 and the Order of Australia in 2005.
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