30 Nov 2008

Anti-smacking message distributed to marae

8:34 am on 30 November 2008

A child advocacy group is pushing for all marae to be smack free zones.

It will be distributing one thousand "smack free" stickers to marae and homes around New Zealand to reinforce the message.

Hone Kaa, chair of child advocacy group Te Kahui Mana Ririki, says the number of child abuse cases this year highlights the need for action.

The group and other agencies have come up with the "Smack Free Marae" and "Smack Free Home" stickers, in English and Maori.

Dr Kaa says the campaign is based on the successful Smokefree campaign and it is up to marae to decide whether to use them, but he hopes they will.

The stickers will be distributed at hui next week.