A school kept secret the rape of a 14-year-old girl with learning disabilities because it believes parents have no right to know if their child has been sexually assaulted.:sick:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3017695a10,00.html

29 August 2004

By DAVID FISHER

Its decision is backed by the health board of the doctor who treated the girl for a sexually transmitted infection after the rape.

It has also received support from the Secondary Principals Association of New Zealand and the New Zealand Association of Counsellors.

The girl, who the Sunday Star-Times will not identify, says she was raped on March 6 by a 22-year-old man. She says another man held her down while the assault was carried out.

She says she was threatened with violence if she told anyone of the attack, and was also told it was her fault she was raped.

She finally broke her silence after being sent to the school nurse, then the school counsellor, because of the infection's symptoms.

The girl told the school counsellor - who referred her to the Auckland District Health Board's child and adolescent abuse unit - that she did not want anyone else told of the assault.

Her mother and grandparents, who are the girl's guardians, were not told of the assault until they withdrew her from the school in May.

The mother removed the girl because she thought it was behind the mood swings she had suffered in the previous two months.

"She was very withdrawn and running away. She wasn't the same girl."

As the mother was getting the leaving form signed off, she was approached by the counsellor, who referred her to a doctor, from whom she learned of the rape.

Until then, the family could not understand the change in the girl. A birthday outing for a family member was coincidentally at a restaurant where one of the alleged attackers worked. The girl wouldn't eat, was shaking and froze when she saw the man.

The girl's grandfather, who is a justice of the peace and MBE, said he was outraged the school and medical service had chosen to keep the attack from the family.

"I don't think the school understood the seriousness of the incident," he said. "We would have wanted to help, we want to help now. We were not allowed to know."

The girl's mother said the combination of her age and learning disability meant the school had no right to keep the information to itself.

Her daughter had been given medication for the infection but had not taken it because she could not understand the instructions.

The principal said the school followed the counsellor's code of ethics, which allowed it to make a judgement on whether to inform the parents. He said the decision had been made not to and, given the opportunity, the school would make the same decision again.

Dr Patrick Kelly, clinical director of the abuse assessment unit, said the Auckland health board had a policy for those aged under 17. For those under 14 years of age, there were no exceptions - parents or guardians would be informed.

But working with those aged 14 to 16 required doctors to balance the child's right to privacy with that of emotional and physical safety.

"There is no automatic requirement that a young person's parent or guardian has a right of access to information about that young person."

He said when a young person asked that parents not be informed, and was judged able to make the decision, "it may be appropriate to respect this wish".

Acting president of the secondary principals' association Graham Young said schools had policies on the process, of which parents should be aware.

"I know how we feel as a parent and how we feel as a school teacher. Sometimes there is a conflict."

He said the school in this case "seems to have done everything absolutely correctly".

The girl's grandfather contacted police, who interviewed the two men. They denied the assault, and another witness - who is related to the girl - has since given a string of conflicting statements.

Police wrote to the family, saying inconsistencies between the girl's story and that of her alleged attackers meant the investigation was closed. But Detective Sergeant Kim Libby of Takapuna police said information from the Star-Times meant new inquiries would now be made.

Police were unaware of the infection the girl contracted from the alleged rapist.

Libby said the girl's statement had never changed from that originally given. She had been specific on detail of where the assault took place, who did it and how it was carried out.