Protecting Children in Aotearoa New Zealand: A Review on Legal and Professional Frameworks for Oral Health Practitioners
Date
Authors
Han, Heuiwon
Koziol-McLain, Jane
Diesfeld, Kate
Carrington, Samuel D
Morse, Zac
Lees, Amanda B
Supervisor
Item type
Journal Article
Degree name
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Informa UK Limited
Abstract
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child asserts that all children have the right to protection from abuse and exploitation. In Aotearoa New Zealand, the prevalence of child maltreatment requires vigilant action from oral health practitioners (OHPs), who are often among the first in the position to recognise signs of abuse and neglect due to their frequent interactions with children in dental settings. The Dental Council of New Zealand sets professional requirements, highlighting practitioners’ roles in responding to potential signs of maltreatment. Multiple statutes, including the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 and the Family Violence Act 2018, govern OHPs’ responses. Despite this, there is a notable gap in OHPs’ confidence and understanding of their child protection roles, underlining the need for clear guidance on the legal and professional requirements that inform their responsibilities. This paper critically examines the professional responsibilities and policies governing OHPs in Aotearoa New Zealand regarding child protection responses. It also proposes the development of equity-focused guidelines, that are informed by Te Tiriti o Waitangi, emphasising culturally responsive practices, collaborations with Māori health providers and clear protocols for child protection responses.Description
Keywords
General Science & Technology, Child abuse, child maltreatment, child neglect, dental, dental practitioners, equity, oral health therapist, paediatric dentistry, professional guidelines, safeguarding children
Source
Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, ISSN: 0303-6758 (Print); 1175-8899 (Online), Informa UK Limited, 1-14. doi: 10.1080/03036758.2024.2430597
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Rights statement
© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.