Domestic violence in New Zealand

There is a lack of reliable data about domestic violence in New Zealand,[1][2] where it is often called family violence or family harm. The definition under the relevant New Zealand law includes not only intimate partner violence but also violence against other family members, including children and extended family or whanau, as well as people living together in the same household, such as flatmates.[3]

While some advocacy groups, such as the White Ribbon Campaign, focus on male violence against women, the underlying social problem is much broader and far more complex, that the Police and government agencies recognise is a cryptic social problem that places a significant burden on New Zealand society as a whole.

Prevalence

The prevalence of domestic violence in New Zealand is difficult to assess. The 2018 New Zealand Crime and Victims Survey,[4] conducted by the Ministry of Justice, estimates that about a fifth of women and a tenth of men in New Zealand experience one or more episodes of intimate partner violence during their lifetime. For various reasons, New Zealanders report less than a fifth of the personal criminal offences they experience to Police and while threats are some of the most commonly experienced offences, these offences are also some of the least likely to be reported.

Government and Law enforcement response

In recent years the government has established the It's not OK! campaign to raise awareness amongst New Zealanders that family violence should be a concern to everybody and they should ask victims and perpetrators if help is needed in any situations where they recognise it may be happening, as well as encouraging both victims and perpetrators to seek help.[5][6]

In 2018 Police introduced a different way of responding to what they called family harm which sought to intervene at the earliest opportunity, rather than repeatedly responding to incidents between the same two parties that got progressively worse.[7]

Research
  • Family Violence Clearing House

Legislation
  • "Domestic Violence Act, 1995". New Zealand Law online. 1995.
  • "Family Violence Act, 2018 (2019 reprint)". New Zealand Law online. 2019.
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See also

References
  1. anna.leask@nzherald.co.nz @AnnaLeask, Anna Leask Anna Leask is senior police reporter for the New Zealand Herald (2016-05-08). "Family violence: 525,000 New Zealanders harmed every year". ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 2019-03-05.
  2. Johnson, Alan (February 2019), "Are You Well? Are We Safe? State of the Nation Report", The Salvation Army Social Policy & Parliamentary Unit, Auckland p. 36
  3. Taonga, New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. "Domestic violence – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand". teara.govt.nz. Retrieved 2019-03-05.
  4. "New Zealand Crime & Victims Survey (NZCVS) | New Zealand Ministry of Justice". www.justice.govt.nz. Retrieved 2019-03-05.
  5. It's Not OK, info@areyouok org nz. "Home". It's Not OK. Retrieved 2019-03-05.
  6. It's Not OK, info@areyouok org nz. "Statistics". It's Not OK. Retrieved 2019-03-05.
  7. "Family Harm approach (with resources)". New Zealand Police. Retrieved 2019-03-05.
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