7.1.4 Violence towards non-biological children Case Study 4: Falaniko’s* wife and the adopted children Falaniko and his wife Susana adopted Falaniko’s a son in 2001 and a daughter in 2003. All of which are Falaniko’s younger sister’s children. They raised them as their own for many years. In 2013, Susana became pregnant to their first child and again to their second child in 2016. Around that time Susana’s behaviour towards the two adopted children changed dramatically. She started to treat them differently to her biological children. She became violent towards them. Falaniko goes to work every day but knows they are vulnerable during that time as Susana beats them up and verbally abuses them. “The things she says to those kids was so mean and demeaning. It hurts me because at the end of the day they are my flesh and blood.” (Falaniko) One day, Falaniko returned home and saw his adopted daughter had a blood clot in her eye. When asked why, she replied her mother had thrown a pen at her. On another occasion he returned home to find his adopted son with a cut on the back of his ankle only to discover that a knife had been thrown at him. Recently Susana has been known to throw the daughter’s head against a concrete slab. According to Falaniko, Susana’s reasons for her actions were because the children were disobedient. *Names changed to protect the identities of those involved The Inquiry was saddened to hear many stories similar to that of Falaniko and his wife, where children when adopted, were treated worse by their adopted or step families than they would have been if were biological children. The children in this case are flesh and blood (tino ma āano) of Falaniko and as highlighted were harmed in a space they were meant to feel safe and complete with alofa. The right to equality and to be treated fairly whether adopted or not was not upheld in Falaniko’s home or used to guide the upbringing of their children. It is clear from this case that the adopted children were dragged while the biological ones were carried and were not seen as equals. Falaniko’s case also begins to give an insight into a different kind of abuse towards children that is less understood yet just as, if not more, harmful and prevalent – harsh verbal violence.