This film tells the dramatic story behind the law change that removed the defence of "reasonable force" from New Zealand's statute books
Wellington
Until 2007, New Zealand parents who were charged with assaulting their child had a legal excuse in s.59 of the Crimes Act 1961 - they could claim to have used reasonable force for the purposes of correction. The law was changed to remove this defence amid great controversy in 2007.
Reasonable Force? will be a documentary film about the social and legal history of physical punishment of children in Aotearoa New Zealand, and how the law was changed.
Everyone in New Zealand had an opinion on physical punishment of children
The documentary will make full use of archival television footage to cover the debate about ending caning in schools and the even more controversial disputes around the 2007 law change. Photographs and other material from the National Library and Archives New Zealand will also be used.
All these materials require permissions and fees for usage. Use of archival TV footage is particularly costly.
The film begins with the dramatic events of 2 May 2007, including the unusual joint announcement from John Key and Helen Clark that their political parties would support Sue Bradford’s Member’s Bill to change the law on physical punishment; then follows footage of a rally at Parliament by opponents of the Bill, moving on to a church service attended by people who supported the Bill. This section introduces the diverse and conflicting points of view about physical punishment, parenting and the very nature of children and childhood, that underpinned the physical punishment debate.
Then the film looks back in history, starting from early European settlement in Aotearoa New Zealand, the attitudes of Maori to childrearing and to physical punishment at that time, and the different attitudes and values of missionaries and other Pakeha settlers. A brief legal history follows, including the origins of s.59 of the Crimes Act 1961, trials, police attitudes and court reports from the 19th and 20th centuries.
The place of physical punishment in the education system is considered, including the long period of campaigning and counter-campaigning among educators, parents and students, which finally saw a ban on physical punishment and caning in schools from 1990.
The final part of the film traces the social activism, media battles and political deals on this avidly-debated matter from 2005. New Zealand was the first English-speaking country to remove the defence of reasonable force from its statute books.
In 2009 following the law change opponents of repeal mounted a Citizen’s Initiated Referendum which sought (unsuccessfully) to reverse the law change.
The documentary will tell a remarkable story that touches on many aspects of New Zealand history and culture: in education, family life, religion, law, media, ethnic and cultural differences, and how social change comes about. As such it will appeal to a wide audience. The documentary is intended for screening in cinemas.
Update: November 2017 8 November 2017
Thanks to our kind supporters, work is continuing on the documentary.
Activities in recent months included:
*Researched the cartoon archive, developed database of cartoons (we intend to use a number of these in the film).
*Contacted cartoonists for permission or sought relevant copyright to use cartoons.
*Identified material and reviewed footage at Nga Taonga film and sound archive
*Identified material and reviewed footage in the Television archive at Avalon
*Filmed another interview in Auckland and arranged another interview (for December 2017)
*Further writing on script and storyboard
*Regular updates on our Facebook page
Expenses:
*Researcher $640
*Purchased hard drive for back-up $88
*Nga Taonga $60
*Cameraman $273
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