Family Rights, Care, and Disruption

Impacts on families and family law following Canterbury earthquake events

E Spencer

The Christchurch earthquakes impacted several aspects of life in and around the city. This page offers post-quake research articles and general resources pertaining to family disruption, as well as legal cases and policy resulting from the disaster.

Research Papers:

• “It’s about the most needy children”: A Foucauldian analysis of school social workers’ responses to need in post-earthquake Canterbury - Research paper on children adversely effected by the earthquakes, using a social worker lens when working with children and families post-quake.
• Helping, caring and learning: strengths in new entrants settling into and learning in primary school in post-earthquake Christchurch - This research paper conducted a study of five-year-old children who had experienced an earthquake disaster during their preschool years. With the help of school teachers, the interviews of these children shed light on their long-term responses to the disaster and how they were coping. The paper examines these different reactions in relation to both Western and Māori models of resilience and recovery.
• Greenfield drivers: residential choice, transport, and the subjective experience of travel in the greenfield suburbs: a case study in Christchurch, New Zealand - The 2010/2011 Christchurch earthquake sequence and its destruction of thousands of homes created huge pressure for housing development, the bulk of which is now occurring on greenfield sites on the peripheries of Christchurch City and its neighbouring towns. This paper looks at the key drivers behind residential choice for families with children who live in recently developed, low-density, greenfield subdivisions.
• Developing a Framework for Post-disaster Livelihood Recovery - This study identifies the critical factors to affect livelihood recovery following the Lushan and Kaikōura earthquakes, and includes community safety, availability of family support, level of community cohesion, long-term livelihood support, external housing recovery support, level of housing recovery and availability of health and wellbeing support. The results conclude that the framework used constitutes successful livelihood recovery and could be applied in Christchurch.
• Housing in Post-Quake Canterbury: Human Rights Fault Lines - This article documents the shortcomings in the realisation of the right to housing in post-quake Canterbury for homeowners, tenants, and the homeless.
• Parenting adolescents following a natural disaster - In this study, 14 parents and nine adolescents self-reported measures of family functioning and adjustment prior to and after intervention. It was found that Group Teen Positive Parenting (GTPPP) enhanced parenting competence, parental wellbeing, and decreased conflict between parents and their adolescents. These findings suggest that GTPPP may provide a practical way of supporting families after a natural disaster.
• Exploring the Acceptability, Feasibility, and Effectiveness of a Digital Parenting Program to Improve Parental Well-being After the Christchurch Earthquakes: Cluster-Randomized Trial - Up to 6 years after the 2011 Christchurch earthquakes, approximately one-third of parents in the Christchurch region reported difficulties managing the continuously high levels of distress their children were experiencing. In response, an app named Kākano was co-designed with parents to help them better support their children’s mental health.
• Possible impacts of workplace-based school zoning in Christchurch, New Zealand - During the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, many parents found themselves isolated in a total breakdown of transportation and communications infrastructure, while their children were stranded at school. This study consists of surveys and interviews of school stakeholders, including parents and staff, along with GIS mapping of school locations. The study reveals deeper motivations for choosing a primary school, including a desire to maintain close proximity to school children under 14 years in case of illness or emergency.
• The role of “not for profits” (NFPs) in disaster preparedness in Aotearoa New Zealand - The authors set out to understand their perspectives and practices in regard to disaster preparedness activities to support people who live precarious lives, especially single parents, who are the least prepared for disasters.
• The effects of the Christchurch earthquakes of 2010 and 2011 on the quality of life of children and adolescents with disabilities - Many parents observed that their children developed improved coping skills over the earthquake period. The findings in this study offer a better understanding of how earthquakes can affect the quality of life for children and adolescents with disabilities.

Credit: Eroica Ritchie. Source: https://quakestudies.canterbury.ac.nz/store/object/83946

Personal Stories:

Women’s Voices: Recording Women’s Experiences of the Canterbury Earthquakes

• Tink’s Story - because her grandson was in jail, Tink was regularly travelling up to Christchurch to visit him. “That took its toll on me and so I just decided, nope, that was it, not coming back here to Christchurch‟.
• Alana Harvey’s Story - Alana was grateful that she and Molly were sharing a bed that morning. “Very very luckily for both of us, Molly had got into bed with me at about 2 o’clock in the morning, which she only does very rarely”. Because they were together, the quake wasn’t as traumatic as it could have been. Molly took some time to get to sleep on her own after the quake, but she would have found it much worse if she had been alone in her own bed during the quake.

Community Outreach and Resources for Families:

• All Right? Audiences: Parents and Whānau Presentation - Presentation slides from a research project carried out by the All Right? campaign. The project conducted a phone survey of approximately 800 people in November 2015, enquiring about the coping strategies and wellbeing of parents.
• S.K.I.P Website - This is the archived page for SKIP: Strategies with Kids, Information for Parents. This was a government funded initiative that supports parents and whānau to guide their children’s behaviour in a positive way.
• All Right? Communications: Media Release - September 2014 - A new tool developed in the aftermath of the earthquakes will help parents around New Zealand spend more quality time with their children. Tiny Adventures is an app for smart phones that has been developed in partnership between SKIP (Strategies with Kids, Information for Parents) and the All Right? campaign.
• All right? Communications: Article – Family Time - Research found that communication is a big issue for Canterbury youth, with some saying their parents can be distracted at times. It will come as no surprise that the stresses associated with dealing with EQC, insurance companies, and living in a city recovering from a disaster, were seen as the key reasons parents were distracted.
• Book: Quaky Cat - This book, held by the Canterbury Museum, tells the story of Tiger, a cat who ran away in the earthquake because he was scared and how he made his way back to his owner, Emma. Created by Diana Noonan and Gavin Bishop in response to the 4 September 2010 earthquake, the book attempted to help children understand earthquakes and provide comfort for children who were anxious. An audio version of the book can be found through RNZ's Storytime.
• Book: The Butterfly and the Earthquake - The book was written by Carol McKeever after the 22 February 2011 earthquake. It tells a fictional story about a young boy called Tom and his family who support each other after an earthquake occurs. It is designed to be read to children by a sympathetic adult to help children discuss any fears they have and to help them ask for support.

Credit: The Press, Fairfax Media New Zealand. Source: https://quakestudies.canterbury.ac.nz/store/object/134061

Media and Journalism:

• Parenting with Ian Lambie - RNZ interviews clinical psychologist Ian Lambie, who specialises in children and adolescents. Lambie discusses how parents can help their children understand the gravity of the Christchurch earthquake, while managing their mental wellbeing and helping them to recover from the trauma of the experience.
• 'It's very emotional': Two children who lost parents in Christchurch earthquake remember families ten years on - This is a Newshub article about Lucas, whose father was killed in the CTV building collapse. Lucas reflects on his life over the past decade and comments on the need for more support for the children of earthquake victims.
• School children return to class in Canterbury - RNZ reports on the return to classes for many Canterbury schools, for the first time since the earthquake nine days ago.
• First day back at school for some Christchurch pupils - RNZ report on the re-opening of schools in Christchurch in the hopes that returning to education will help children and their parents regain some sense of normality.
• Earthquake family tries to comfort traumatised children - This is an interview with the Wingfield family, who are leaving Christchurch after the continuing aftershocks proved too stressful for their situation.
• Call for more school support for stressed Canterbury kids - RNZ talks to health correspondent Karen Brown, who reports on the continuing signs of stress in many Canterbury children, five years on from the Canterbury earthquakes. Child health and education experts want children to get more help.
• Psychologist: More support needed for young quake victims - RNZ interviews Christchurch-based clinical psychologist Catherine Gallagher, who says that children not even born when the city was devastated by the 2011 earthquake are showing signs of quake-related stress.
• Christchurch sitting on mental health 'time bomb' - Dr Sue Bagshaw, the head of a youth health clinic Christchurch, fears the high rates of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder among children will skyrocket due to the earthquake.
• Raising Resilience - American social-psychologist Tara Powell on the challenges of building confidence in children who have been traumatised by a natural disaster, such as Hurricane Katrina or the Christchurch earthquake.
• Fairfax Video, September 2010 (33) - This is an interview with students from the Banks Avenue School on their experiences during the 4 September 2010 earthquake.
• The Panel with Ali Jones and Michael Moynahan (Part 2) - A panel beginning with discussion on the death of David Rockefeller and concluding with Kim Button of the Neighbourhood Trust. This covers the emotional scars facing children in Christchurch following multiple earthquake events.
• PGC building survivor from February Christchurch quake - This audio recording discusses quake victims and how children of injured parents are being supported and the impacts from long periods of parent separation.
• Fairfax Video, June 2012 (2) - A video interview with members of the Beecroft family around challenges from housing shortages in Christchurch. Their family is one of several facing difficult living situations in the city following earthquake events.
• The Observer 20 June 2011 (Page 4) | "No safe haven in Brookhaven." - Article about a family ready to move to Australia at a moment's notice, as they await a decision on if they will be allowed to return to their home post-earthquake.

Credit: Peter Walker. Source: https://quakestudies.canterbury.ac.nz/store/object/78477

Further Searches:

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