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In the 12/12/2017 edition:

Seymour Bill A ‘Political Stunt’ – Minister of Health

Dec 12, 2017 03:39 pm

Media Release 12 December 2017
Family First NZ is welcoming media comments made by the new Minister of Health during the election campaign regarding David Seymour’s euthanasia bill, including the commitment that he will vote against it.

Labour MP Dr David Clark said he supported the health select committee investigation into euthanasia which received over 21,000 submission of which 80% were opposed to euthanasia.

Dr Clark said it had been a productive process involving a large part of the community in a “mature discussion”, and that Seymour’s bill “is a political stunt that will give profile to David Seymour.”

“Dr Clark is completely correct. The government report released in August revealed a massive level of opposition to euthanasia, and explains why a select committee comprising both proponents and opponents of assisted suicide could not endorse any change to the law. They understand that promotion of assisted suicide is a message that will be heard not just by those with a terminal illness but also by anyone tempted to think he or she can no longer cope with their suffering – whatever the nature of that suffering. This is the real risk to young and to vulnerable people, the disabled and elderly people if NZ follows the path of promoting – and allowing – assisted suicide,” says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ.
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Inquiry Already Confirms We Can Live Without Euthanasia

Dec 12, 2017 01:45 pm

Media Release 12 December 2017
Family First NZ is calling on politicians to reject ACT MP David Seymour’s private members bill to legalise euthanasia. The recent parliamentary inquiry sounded a clear warning that changing the law on assisted suicide could be seen as normalising suicide, and an overwhelming 77% of the 21,000+ submitters – in an extensive and lengthy inquiry – have rejected calls for euthanasia.

“It is time for New Zealand and David Seymour to move on from the current political push for assisted suicide, and to focus on what New Zealanders really need and want – a focus on providing the very best palliative care and support for vulnerable people, whether they are at the end of their life, or momentarily wishing they were at the end of their life,” says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ.

“Safe euthanasia is a myth. Euthanasia will remove the ‘choice’ of many vulnerable people, and fails the public safety test. Promotion of assisted suicide is a message that will be heard not just by those with a terminal illness but also by anyone tempted to think he or she can no longer cope with their suffering – whatever the nature of that suffering. This is the real risk to young and to vulnerable people, the disabled and elderly people if NZ follows the path of promoting – and allowing – assisted suicide.”

The government report released in August shared this concern, saying:
“Many submitters were concerned that if assisted dying was legalized, people would see death as an acceptable response to suffering. It would be difficult to say that some situations warranted ending one’s life while others do not. These submitters were concerned that while terminal illnesses would initially be the only scenario in which ending one’s life would be considered acceptable, this would quickly widen to include any degree of physical pain, then to include mental pain, and then in response to many other situations that arise throughout life… Several submitters suggested that, during their worst periods of depression, they would have opted for euthanasia had it been available in New Zealand.” 

Advocates of assisted suicide tried to suggest that suicide can be categorised as either “rational” or “irrational”. But the government report also said:
“This distinction was not supported by any submitters working in the field of suicide prevention or grief counselling. On the contrary, we heard from youth counsellors and youth suicide prevention organisations that suicide is always undertaken in response to some form of suffering, whether that is physical, emotional, or mental.”  

Family First will be mounting a rigorous campaign against the bill, should it make it past its 1st Reading.
www.rejectassistedsuicide.nz 
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The effects of pornography on children and young people

Dec 12, 2017 12:57 pm

Australian Institute of Family Studies December 2017
Summary
There is a lot of discussion about the possible effects of online pornography on children and young people and the messages pornography generates about gender, equality and sexuality. In 2016, the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) was engaged by the Department of Social Services to review what the available research evidence tells us about the issue.

Key messages
Pornography exists within a broader sociocultural context in which stereotypes about gender, sexism, sexual objectification and violence-supportive attitudes are also at play

Nearly half of children between the ages of 9-16 experience regular exposure to sexual images

Young males are more likely than females to deliberately seek out pornography and to do so frequently

Pornography use can shape sexual practices and is associated with unsafe sexual health practices such as not using condoms and unsafe anal and vaginal sex

Pornography may strengthen attitudes supportive of sexual violence and violence against women

The best approach for parents, caregivers and teachers responding to children’s exposure to pornography is to encourage open communication, discussion and critical thinking on the part of children, while educating themselves about the internet and social media

Parents and caregivers are less likely to be intimidated by online risks if they are informed and take an active role in their children’s digital lives.
READ MORE: https://aifs.gov.au/publications/effects-pornography-children-and-young-people-snapshot
VIEW Executive Summary: https://aifs.gov.au/sites/default/files/publication-documents/online_pornography-effects_on_children_young_people_snapshot.pdf

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Unicef: Kids at risk of ‘bedroom culture’

Dec 12, 2017 09:08 am

Otago Daily Times 11 December 2017
Family First Comment: Simple rule – no technology in bedrooms.
And use SafeSurfer (which we endorse)

Smartphones are fuelling a “bedroom culture” with online access for many children becoming more personal, more private and less supervised, Unicef warns.

The agency, the United Nations’ fund for children, says in its latest State of the World’s Children report that one in every three internet users in the world is aged 18 and under.

It says the internet is a “game-changer for some of the world’s most marginalised children, helping them fulfil their potential and break intergenerational cycles of poverty”.

But it says the net is also creating a “bedroom culture”.

“Mobile phones enable children to access the internet in the privacy of their bedrooms or from a friend’s house,” it says.

“The result is online access that is more personal, more private and less supervised.”

The report says children are going online at ever-younger ages.

“In Bulgaria, for example, the age at which children first used the internet was commonly 10 in 2010 but had dropped to 7 by 2016,” it says.

“In China, children under 10 made up 2.9% of all internet users in 2016, up from 2.7% in 2015.

“In Brazil, the proportion of 9- and 10-year-olds using the internet increased from 35% in 2012 to 37% in 2013.

“It is not uncommon for children who are not yet even teenagers to own their own phones. A survey in Algeria, Egypt, Iraq and Saudi Arabia in 2013 found that age 10 or 12 was the most common age for receiving a first mobile phone.

“In 2015, age 10 was found to be the common age for a child to first own a mobile phone in the Philippines, while in Honduras it was age 12.”

The report says smartphones “are intensifying traditional childhood risks, such as bullying, and fuelling new forms of child abuse and exploitation, such as ‘made-to-order’ child sexual abuse material and live streaming of child sexual abuse”.

“Predators can more easily make contact with unsuspecting children through anonymous and unprotected social media profiles and game forums,” it says.

“New technologies – like cryptocurrencies and the Dark Web – are fuelling live streaming of child sexual abuse and other harmful content, and challenging the ability of law enforcement to keep up.

“Ninety-two percent of all child sexual abuse URLs identified globally by the Internet Watch Foundation are hosted in just five countries: the Netherlands, the United States, Canada, France and the Russian Federation.

“Efforts to protect children need to focus particularly on vulnerable and disadvantaged children, who may be less likely to understand online risks – including loss of privacy – and more likely to suffer harms.”
READ MORE: https://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/unicef-kids-risk-bedroom-culture
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