Children’s Commissioner launches new campaign ‘Dear Children’ via Curative, urging New Zealanders to commit to keeping tamariki safe

As Children’s Commissioner, Dr Claire Achmad is prioritising children’s safety and wellbeing and drawing national attention to the urgent need to address harm against mokopuna, with a new campaign, crafted by Curative, titled: ‘Dear Children’.

At the heart of the campaign is a letter from the Commissioner to our nation’s 1.23 million children, in which she affirms ‘you have the right to be safe.’ To the adults reading, she’s saying ‘A child’s right to safety is something we adults should protect fiercely – and I’m asking you to play your part’.

Dr Achmad says of the campaign: “The reality is that children – often very young children – are dying in our country by homicide. We can’t let it happen anymore.

“Child homicide is an issue that has required my attention since day one in the role. Abuse, violence and neglect are part of the daily reality for thousands of children in our country. But this is completely preventable.

“That’s why I’m using the platform I have as Children’s Commissioner, together with my team at Mana Mokopuna, to start a nationwide conversation that I want to lead to action – so that all our mokopuna can grow up safely.”

Despite decades of attention, many cases of child harm go unreported or unaddressed often due to systemic gaps, stigma, a lack of support for families and parents, and people looking away. International data from 2023 showed New Zealand has one of the highest rates of deaths of children under five compared with similar countries, about 7 times higher than the UK.

Eddy Royal, Founder and Director of Curative says that the timing of the campaign is intentional as we lead into the summer holidays: “When Claire and her team shared some of the tragic numbers, we agreed that timing of messaging is important. As we are all thinking about and planning time with family, the happiness of our children is top of mind. But this is also a time of year of extra pressure and stress for many. So, going into the summer holidays, we want New Zealanders to be aware that child abuse is a problem in our country, and to commit to looking out for children.

“Claire also wanted to get a message directly to our children, to let them know that they have a right to safety, and that right is something that all adults should protect fiercely. It was from a simple conversation that ‘Dear Children’ was born. Claire has put her own words, and her own signature to the commitment to keeping our children safe. And the campaign calls on all adults to do the same.”

Logan Bradley, Curative Creative Director says that with holiday sales and planning in full swing, there is also a lot of demand on people’s time and attention in advertising environments: “We knew that we needed a creative approach that would cut through the noise of this time of year. The creative needed to be simple with a sense of focus – a pared back, minimalist approach that reflected the visual attributes of a typed letter. The campaign visually oscillates between the dark reality of the problem, and the inherent beauty of Aotearoa’s children that are the reason behind it all.”

Says Royal: “We have worked with the team at Together to establish a strong out of home and digital media strategy – and we’re grateful for additional support from Go Media and LUMO. Our partners at For Purpose have built a NationBuilder website that allows us to track signatures, and then share progress in real time directly through to dynamic digital billboards, which launch in the second week of the campaign.

“We hope that by inviting all adults to sign the letter, we start an important conversation and support change together. By tracking the numbers publicly, we also hope to show just how important this issue is to all New Zealanders.”

Dr Achmad says simply: “My request to all adults in our country is to sign this letter alongside me. Together, let’s send children a crystal clear message: they are precious to us and we will do better by them, so they are all growing up safe.

“Please join me in creating a ripple effect of real change. Let’s show New Zealand’s children we won’t accept any of them being harmed anymore”.

To find out more visit dearchildren.co.nz.

Mana Mokopuna | Children’s Commissioner
Dr Claire Achmad, Children’s Commissioner
Matt Langworthy, Manager Rights, Insights & Advice 

Curative
Eddy Royal, Managing Director
Logan Bradley, Creative Director
Victoria Tupou, Project Director
Lauren Wepa, Designer
Chanel Tukuitonga-Yandall, Designer
Georgia Hoffman, Senior Producer

For Purpose
Kristin Gillies, Director
Zenaida Beatson, Director & Designer
Eric Austin, Developer
John Williams, Developer

Together
Sam Boniface, Client Principal
Caleb Chan, Media Planning Executive