Book review

Kōtuitui

New Zealand Journal of Social Sciences Online

Book review

From Innocents to Agents: Children and Children’s Rights in New Zealand by Michael Reid. Maxim Institute, Auckland. 2006. 279 p. NZ$39.90 (paperback). ISBN 0958265259.

Despite its bias, this book contains much useful information about children’s rights in New Zealand. Its first chapter extends from views of childhood in early history to the rise of the children’s rights movement after World War II. The next chapter outlines the changing views of childhood in Aotearoa from the strong grounding in whanaungatanga in pre-colonial times to more recent political rights movements. A detailed overview of the background and implications of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCROC) is given in Chapter 3, focussing on New Zealand’s key role in seeing the Convention ratified and implemented. Chapter 4 gives an outline of recent local political developments involving UNCROC. The book ends with a reflective conclusion, a useful index and an appendix giving the entire 54 articles of the Convention.

Throughout the book Reid proposes that the ordinary family is the best promoter, provider and protector of children’s rights. “The primary locus of authority”, Reid argues, “begins with the family rather than with international instruments developed far from the lived experience of children, their families and communities” (p. 18). He differentiates between advocates and parents, arguing that children’s rights have been captured by a growing body of professionals. He argues that this move—supported by the media—has effectively silenced families. The book’s title: “From Innocents to Agents” does not reflect an aspiration, but rather, a regret. It raises but fails to answer an important question: what does it mean to be a child?

Reid claims that ratification was “more a feeling that this was the proper thing to do” and that “it would appear that there was no compelling ideological support of knowledge of the implications” (p. 126). He convincingly describes how resultant social policy and legislative initiatives promote the primacy of UNCROC as an instrument of the State. But these shifts, Reid argues, not only undermine the traditional role of parents and family responsibility; because the UNCROC perception of children’s rights politicises children (and childhood), policy changes are seen to threaten the intimacy of relational family ties.

There is no doubt that Reid engages with the tensions associated with not just interpreting but also implementing international human rights conventions. But his point of view at times seems deliberate in dismissing obvious complexities. He challenges the efficacy of participation by children, invoked in Article 12 (pp. 158–159), without acknowledging that, as children grow older, they develop emerging capacities and are increasingly able to voice their concerns. This does not necessarily mean that “what they say goes”; rather, UNCROC attempts to ensure that their voices are heard.

As the book unfolds, it becomes clearer that Reid is not a fan of children’s rights. Considerable disquiet is mentioned regarding the proposed repeal of Section 59 of the Crimes Act regarding corporal punishment by parents. The final statement in the book is one of the summary points for that chapter:

“The real empowerment is not of children at all, but of adult professionals and advocates who arguably subsume the issue of children’s rights to pursue their own social and political agendas.” (p. 213)

Ironically this is the same argument used by children’s rights advocates, although for different reasons. Reid once again criticises how non-governmental organisations in particular continue to promote UNCROC as their advocacy tool, thereby distancing themselves from the lived realities of children as family members.

This book’s publication by the conservative Maxim Institute could raise questions about biases in coverage. The writer leans towards a traditional view of rights and family policy. There is often, at the end of a careful summary of historical events, a somewhat jarring conclusion in more emotional language. For example, there is some discussion about the way that social concerns about children in New Zealand have been linked with rights of women and tangata whenua: “The language of rights is readily transferable and mutually reinforcing to the ‘race, gender and class’ triumvirate” (p. 90). Clearly Reid is not positive about social policy moves towards international rights:

“To present women’s, or any group’s, agenda as human rights concerns is to give them immediacy and invoke a bureaucratic and legal structure seeking the redress of grievances. Similarly, to politicise children by viewing them primarily through the lens of human rights, rather than through lived, familial or other relationships and connections, is to invoke the authority of international and domestic statute law.” (p. 91)

This comment pits “bureaucratic” policy statements regarding rights against a conventional view of the sanctity of private family life.

Reid suggests that in ratifying UNCROC the state has undermined family responsibility. Thus he adopts a moralist perception of children’s rights.

“If, as this work argues, children are no longer seen as primarily deriving their identity within families, but instead are bearers of rights for which the state is responsible, what might the future hold?” (p. 180)

This is a view that pops up occasionally throughout the book, a proselytising tone that undercuts the historical policy material. For example, when discussing the rise in awareness of the lives of children in the 1980s, particular attention is paid to a moral panic about child abuse, with the implication that “all fathers were potential abusers” (p. 96), which was seen as having “parallels in the women’s movement where it was often either suggested or stated that men oppressed women and abused children” (p. 96).

By the final chapter, Reid appears to ignore the fact that transposing an international convention into a domestic environment is a task equally challenging for all parties engaged in debates about children’s rights. His critique of the increasingly politicised nature of children’s rights extends to early childhood education, where he asserts that a bureaucratic takeover has occurred, despite the fact that private sector ownership interests still dominate. In the past decade, the demand for full-time childcare has increased significantly, with implications for children’s rights in settings outside the family.

Reid is an historian who presents most of his facts carefully. The meticulous detail would make this a good reference text for courses in social policy development, human development or the history of childhood. The book would be a useful addition to library collections and of interest to general readers concerned about the historical development of children’s rights. However, a critical caveat is required: the book’s conclusions reveal a strong bias on policy issues that can be easily polarised.

LISE BIRD CLAIBORNE and SARAH TE ONE

Victoria University of Wellington

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