Making stuff up

This is the kind of journalism I really object to;

Every week in Palmerston North, more than 200 children cower in their rooms knowing the grown-ups in the house are fighting.

It's stated as fact. So how is this known?

Child advocate Rachel Smithers says police attend more than 70,000 family violence incidents throughout New Zealand each year, while more than an estimated four times as many go unreported.

Based on the figure of 400,000 incidents a year in New Zealand, there are 175 to 200 incidents in Palmerston North alone each week.

How did she arrive at 400,000?

Never mind. Palmerston North has 1.9 percent of New Zealand's population. So using the figure of 400,000 they have 7,600 family violence incidents. That's 146 per week. But it's still an estimation.

If the reported figure was used - 70,000 - we would be down to 26 incidents.

In two out of three cases, the adults think the children don't know and aren't affected.

But they're wrong.

What's that based on? Have the children been interviewed? No, but...

One Australian study has shown that only one in three abused parents realise their children know what's going on, when in fact, they all do, and they all want it to stop.

Ignoring what this sentence actually says (which is nonsensical) and what the journalist intended it to say, it is not OK to extrapolate the findings in one setting as fact in another.

And the following isn't the journalist's problem but highlights the silliness of some of these 'counsellors'.

Ms Smithers says while many agencies offer help to abused victims, and to the abusers, her role is making people think about how the children are affected.

There were almost always children affected when adults were violent, she says, even in cases like the alleged Tony Veitch incident.

"There will be children who really admire him, and now they are hearing that he hurt a woman."

So now even more of Palmie's children are victims of violence. Fallen role models. What a tragedy.

Now, to be fair, there is every chance that many children in Palmerston North are frightened by parents/caregivers who are violent. Probably more than the police have had dealings with. Victimisation surveys show that violence in the home is amongst the least reported crimes. By all means say so and make your own estimations but don't write them up as statements of fact.