The Christchurch Civic Crèche Case |
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A City Possessed: No other case of child abuse in New Zealand's history has held
public attention so strongly and for so long as the Christchurch Civic Creche
case. While charges against four of his female colleagues were dropped after
an 11-week preliminary hearing, Peter Ellis was later sentenced to 10 years'
imprisonment. Fourteen months later, a child retracted her allegations,
saying that she had said only what her mother had wanted her to say. A report
in 2001 by the former Chief Justice, Sir Thomas Eichelbaum, commissioned by
the Attorney-General, concluded that the remaining convictions should stand. Ellis maintains, even after release from custody, that he
is innocent. Lynley Hood, the author of books on baby farmer Minnie
Dean, the only woman to be hanged in New Zealand, and controversial
educationalist Sylvia Ashton-Warner, has bravely done what no one else dared
- search for answers to the question of what did or didn't happen at the
Christchurch Civic Creche. Hood's investigation was as an independent researcher -
one who persisted, despite legal and other pressures, to get to the bottom of
the case. It is noteworthy that she did not set out on a personal
crusade to free Ellis. (Ellis had to buy his own copy of the book to find out
what was written, and the book was not published until after his release.) Why did Hood spend seven years on this book? She is a
respected writer, a Dunedin grandmother with an MSc in Physiology. A $9000
grant from the Arts Council (now Creative NZ) probably barely covered the
costs of her wide investigation, let alone gave her anything to live on. Hood's motivation came first from her interest in folk
tales and how they may reinforce our stereotypes and validate our beliefs. Child abuse is a major folk-tale theme. As she dug deeper into the case, Hood's motivation turned
into a solemn responsibility to report her findings. In short, Hood's book points to how the social climate in
Christchurch at the time meant that a Peter Ellis-type case was inevitable;
she argues that the professional careers of many experts benefited from the
case while more than 100 children were subjected to unpleasant and
psychologically hazardous procedures for no good reason. The book is not just about the Ellis case, it is also
about the treatment of children and families and how social agendas and
beliefs can escalate to have such a powerful negative effect. What I find troubling, as an educationalist, is just how
ineffective regulations and regulatory bodies (the Education Review Office
and the Ministry of Education) are when it comes to dealing with situations
such as the Civic case. The Civic received a glowing report from the
Education Review Office not long before the City Council closed it after
pressure from publicity surrounding the police investigation. Was Ellis guilty? Hood concludes that he was not. It
appears likely that he was tremendously unlucky, a victim himself - being at
the wrong place at the wrong time. This case has had sad repercussions for children in the
preschool and compulsory school education systems in New Zealand. The
teachers' union, NZEI, has promoted a policy of teachers avoiding physical
contact with children because they view any form of touch to be risky. Male
teachers find gaining employment, especially in childcare, tough, as
employers fear they may be another Ellis because of their gender. When the controversy has died down over Hood's detailed
presentation of the other side of the creche story, it will be intriguing to
see if and how this may impact on practices and policies within education and
other children's organisations. Lawyers certainly seem interested in Hood's analysis - the
first book sales in Christchurch apparently were to lawyers. A City Possessed is scholarly in tone but is a gripping
and accessible read. Its length and seriousness of topic are unlikely to
attract Joe or Mary-Jane Bloggs public to pick a copy from the bookseller's
shelf. It is a work of scholarship to a high standard. Such a high standard
is rarely seen today and will be appreciated by readers. Indeed this is a book that is likely to be referred to by
lawyers, historians, sociologists, social workers, child health
professionals, psychiatrists and, I hope, educational administrators for
years to come. Longacre Press $59.95 * Dr Sarah Farquhar is an early childhood researcher,
commentator and editor of Child Forum |