Family violence
6.1 Introduction
Justice sector agencies have a range of systems and initiatives in place to respond to both victims and perpetrators of family violence (20). The Family Court provides for protection and other orders under the Domestic Violence Act 1995 and the Guardianship Act 1968. The Police, Courts and Corrections departments provide a range of criminal justice responses to family violence. The Department of Child, Youth and Family Services (Child, Youth and Family) responds to children who suffer from family violence, abuse and neglect. Child, Youth and Family and Justice agencies also provide funding for a range of community based crisis intervention services (including Refuge and Rape Crisis), and programmes for victims and/or perpetrators of family violence.
This section first considers the nature and extent of family violence by examining the incidence of family violence, and trends relating to convictions and protection orders (section 6.2).
The difficulty of assessing, from current information, the extent to which the level of family violence is changing is noted (section 6.3.1). A number of issues bearing on reducing family violence are then discussed, including the evaluation of the 1995 domestic violence legislation, the Crime Prevention Package in the 1996 Budget, the over-representation of Māori and Pacific peoples as both victims and perpetrators of family violence, gaps in services, repeat victimisation, the impact of family violence on children, and links with other strategies and initiatives (section 6.3.2 on).
It is concluded that it remains crucial that the impetus from initiatives during the 1990s is maintained and that family violence continues to be seriously addressed by policy makers and agencies responsible for implementing policy.
6.2 The nature and extent of family violence and victimisation
6.2.1 The incidence of family violence
Most family violence not involving children is perpetrated by men against women. Some significant findings of the 1996 Women's Safety Survey (21) were that:
- almost a quarter (24%) of the female respondents with current partners and almost three-quarters (73%) of the female respondents with recent partners reported experiencing at least one incident of physical or sexual violence at the hands of their partner
- family violence was markedly higher among Māori - 44% of Māori women (22% of non-Māori women) with current partners and 90% of Māori women (70% of non-Māori women) with recent partners reported experiencing at least one partner-inflicted act of physical or sexual violence
- a number of women had been subjected to repeat incidents of family violence, with 2% of all women and 6% of Māori women reporting repeated battering by their partner.
Children are often victims of family violence in the home. Over the last five years there have been around 300 charges per year resulting in conviction for the offence Assault on a Child (see section 6.2.3 below). Health statistics are also suggestive: 209 children aged under 14 were admitted to hospital for treatment of injuries purposely inflicted by other persons in 1996 (22). In addition, for the 1997/98 financial year, investigations by Child, Youth and Family uncovered evidence of approximately 4,400 incidences of either physical, sexual or emotional abuse (23).
In New Zealand a high proportion of homicides are domestically related. One study found domestic disputes to be the single greatest cause of murders committed between 1988 and 1994 (24). Between 1993 and 1998 inclusive, 42.8% of murders and 36.8% of manslaughters were domestically related (25).
Most family violence is not reported or does not come to the notice of government agencies. For example, the 1996 Women’s Safety Survey found that only 8% of women who disclosed abuse by current partners had talked to the Police about the most recent violent incident, and only 21% who disclosed abuse by recent partners had informed the Police.
6.2.2 Trends in convictions involving family violence
There is no single criminal offence or set of offences designed specifically for family violence incidents. The offence of "Male Assaults Female" under the Crimes Act 1961 is the most usual charge for violence toward adults. A Police estimate is that around 80% of cases prosecuted under this offence would involve family violence as a component.
Two lesser offences of Common Assault (under the Crimes Act 1961 and Summary Offences Act 1981) are also sometimes used for domestic assaults. Offence categories such as Sexual Violation and Grievous Bodily Harm may also be used depending on the nature and seriousness of the assault. The offence of "Assault on a Child" is most commonly used in cases of assault and abuse perpetrated against children.
As can be seen from Figure 6.1, charges resulting in conviction for the main offences related to partner violence (Male Assaults Female and domestically-related Common Assaults (26)) rose sharply to 1994, and have since decreased. From 1990 to 1994 convictions for Male Assaults Female more than trebled (from 1263 to 4157), and almost doubled for Common Assault (from 640 to 1180). In 1998 convictions for Male Assaults Female fell to 3151, and for Common Assault to 911.
Figure 6.1 Trends in charges resulting in conviction for offences involving family violence: 1990 to 1998
The rise in convictions to 1994 is likely to be associated with the re-emphasising of the Police Family Violence Policy in 1993 which states that, except in exceptional circumstances, offenders should be arrested if there is sufficient evidence, and that the more serious charge of Male Assaults Female should be used in most circumstances.
An interesting feature of table Figure 6.1 is the fall-off in convictions for both Male Assaults Female and domestically-related Common Assaults from 1995. The reasons for this change in trend are not clear, but include a possible relaxation in application of the Police Family Violence Policy including a greater tendency to document attendances without making an arrest. Police have also indicated that there are increasing difficulties with finding enough evidence to prosecute and convict offenders in cases of domestic assaults.
Māori and Pacific Peoples are over-represented as offenders relative to the size of their populations, particularly for the offence Male Assaults Female. The conviction rate per 100,000 adults in 1998 for this offence was 873 for Māori, 857 for Pacific peoples and 79 for New Zealand Europeans.
Charges resulting in conviction for Assault on a Child have risen steadily over the decade: from 103 in 1990 to a peak of 326 in 1996, and 294 in 1998. The conviction rates for Assault on a Child in 1998 for Māori and Pacific peoples were 33 and 30 per 100,000 respectively. For New Zealand Europeans the rate was 3 per 100,000.
6.2.3 Protection Orders
Under the Domestic Violence Act 1995 the Family Court can issue protection orders and a range of other orders relating to property.
Table 6.1 records details of applications for protection orders in 1997 and 1998, the first two full years in which the Domestic Violence Act 1995 came into effect.
Table 6.1 Applications for Protection Orders: 1997 and 1998
Statistical data for 1997 and 1998 are very similar. In both years there were just over 7000 applications involving some 11,000 children. Around 29% of applicants and 31% of respondents were Māori with a further 7% of applicants and 9% of respondents being Pacific peoples. Physical and psychological abuse were the main reasons given for the majority of applications for protection orders in both years.
For most of the decade there was a steady increase in charges resulting in conviction for breaches of Protection Orders - from 276 in 1990 to 498 in 1996. In 1997 the number of convictions leapt to 1227, followed by a further large increase to 1885 in 1998. Between 1996 and 1998 the number of offences of breaching Protection Orders recorded by Police increased by 145%, the number of charges prosecuted increased by 224%, and the number of charges resulting in conviction increased by 278%.
These large increases are related to the introduction of the Domestic Violence Act 1995. Under the Act a greater range of applicants can apply for orders and the grounds for applying have been widened, increasing the pool of potential offenders. The Act also widened the range of conduct which can result in a breach. The updating of the Police Family Violence Policy in 1996 may also have given Police added impetus in responding to breaches.
6.3 Policy issues relating to family violence
6.3.1 Interpreting the statistics
Convictions for the main offences related to partner violence have more than doubled over the last decade (an increase of 114%), although falling somewhat from peaks in 1994.
Underlying the statistics are issues relating to policing policies and practices, and the willingness of victims of family violence to involve the Police. Of particular relevance is the 1987 Police Family Violence Policy which was re-emphasised in 1993 as part of the Police Strategic Plan, and updated in 1996. The large increases in charges for the offence of Male Assaults Female in 1993 and again in 1994 appear to provide strong evidence that the 1993 initiative, linked to the Police Strategic Plan, resulted in changed Police behaviour. However it is difficult to interpret the fall in this offence in each year from 1995.. It may be that the Police are less vigorously implementing the policy or it may reflect difficulties with implementing the policy in all cases. The Police have also indicated that there may be increasing difficulties in gathering enough evidence to prosecute and convict an offender. Such possibilities mean that clear conclusions cannot be drawn about trends in family violence.
Bedevilling all such interpretations is the problem of the low level of reporting by victims and a lack of information as to whether this is changing. As indicated above, and consistent with the results of similar overseas research, results from the 1996 Women’s Safety Survey indicated a low level of reporting of violence inflicted by partners. Further surveys are needed to provide more reliable data on trends. In the absence of this it is not possible to draw firm conclusions about the effectiveness of legislative and policy changes.
6.3.2 The effectiveness of recent legislative changes
In 1995, the domestic violence legislation (Domestic Violence Act 1995 and Guardianship Amendment Act 1995) put in place a new approach for responding to family violence across New Zealand. The Domestic Violence Act:
- widened the definition of domestic violence to include non-physical abuse and witnessing of abuse by children
- extended the relationships that can be covered by a protection order
- introduced mandatory programmes for perpetrators and made available programmes for applicants and children
- provided better protection and processes for victims and tougher sanctions for respondents.
The Guardianship Amendment Act 1995 introduced a presumption that violent parents should not have unsupervised access to their children.
The Ministry of Justice and Department for Courts are currently conducting a process evaluation of the Domestic Violence Act. This evaluation aims to provide information on how well the objectives of the Act are being achieved. It will be completed by June 2000.
The 1995 changes represent a substantial investment by Government in new programmes. The Ministry of Justice, together with the Department for Courts, has commissioned evaluations of programmes for both applicants and children (protected persons) to assess whether the programmes are meeting their objectives. In addition, the Department of Corrections has commissioned an evaluation of community based violence prevention programmes. These programmes are attended by those subject to criminal justice orders as respondents under the Domestic Violence Act 1995, or voluntarily. These programme evaluations will be completed progressively over 2000 and 2001. On their completion there will be a sound body of knowledge from which to assess the impact of the 1995 legislation and consider any further policy changes.
6.3.3 Prevention of family violence
The significant economic and social cost of family violence to New Zealand each year makes it essential to find ways of preventing or reducing the occurrence of family violence. In 1994 the Government adopted the Crime Prevention Strategy which had reducing the incidence of family violence as one of its seven key goals.
The 1996 Crime Prevention Package comprised funding of $12 million for twelve new or expanded initiatives aimed at the prevention of family violence. Funding was provided through Votes Social Welfare, Corrections, Education and Prime Minister and Cabinet.
The Package included funding for:
- Māori family violence prevention
- personal safety training for girls
- specialised services for child victims and witnesses of family violence
- additional resources for victims' services
- extension of family violence services in rural areas
- community-based sex offender programmes
- prison-based parenting programmes
- prison alcohol and substance abuse treatment unit
- community-based violence prevention and sex offender treatment programmes.
These initiatives were funded for the 1996/97, 1997/98 and 1998/99 financial years and are all subject to evaluation (27). Subject to the findings of these evaluations, individual agencies will need to determine whether or not to continue with these initiatives within existing baselines unless Government decides to provide funding in the 2000 Budget.
6.3.4 Over-representation of Māori and Pacific peoples
Māori and Pacific peoples are over-represented as victims and perpetrators of family violence, and are less likely to report family violence or to access existing services. Both these groups require services which are culturally appropriate and take into account their distinct needs.
Te Puni Kōkiri is currently working on a Strategic Agenda for Iwi/Māori. This aims to focus the work of agencies in the family violence sector and develop a co-ordinated and strategic approach to reducing Māori family violence. A report on the consultation phase of the Agenda will be going to Ministers in November 1999, with the completion of the Agenda scheduled for June 2000.
An interdepartmental working group is investigating options for the delivery of specialised family violence services for Pacific peoples (28). The working group is expected to submit a final report to the Justice Sector Chief Executives Group in May 2000.
6.3.5 Gaps in Services
There are specific groups within the community who, for various reasons, do not access services provided by the Government or who require specialist interventions. It is important that these groups are identified and appropriate responses developed.
One such group may comprise family violence victims and perpetrators who do not come to the notice of the Courts or other government agencies and are not likely to receive government funded services. An interdepartmental working group is considering funding and other issues relating to non-mandated and self-referred clients of family violence services. The working group is expected to submit a final report to the Justice Sector Chief Executives Group in August 2000.
There is also a lack of services for victims and perpetrators from minority ethnic groups. These groups will often have special needs (for example English may be their second language) which means that mainstream services are not effective or appropriate for them. A further interdepartmental group has been convened to consider the delivery of services for other ethnic groups (29). It is expected that the final report of this working group will also be provided to the Justice Sector Chief Executives Group in August 2000.
6.3.6 Repeat victimisation
A small proportion of women are repeat victims of family violence, with Māori women particularly affected. Initiatives aimed at assisting women to avoid future victimisation and targeting men who repeatedly offend have the potential to make a significant contribution to reducing the impact and incidence of family violence in New Zealand.
The New Zealand Police, in consultation with the Crime Prevention Unit and the Ministry of Justice, are currently compiling information on repeat victimisation prevention initiatives (including family violence initiatives) for distribution to district management and planning staff. All Police district managers are now required to develop strategies to address repeat victimisation. Agencies are also considering the development of approaches similar to the ‘Killingbeck model’ (30) trialled in the United Kingdom.
6.3.7 The impact of family violence on children
Children are significantly affected by family violence in the home. There is a large body of research showing that children who are either victims or witnesses of family violence are more likely to become perpetrators (in the case of males) or victims (in the case of females) of family violence in their adult lives. This makes it crucial to address the needs of this group, and a number of steps have been undertaken to do so.
A study of Police family violence files (31) found that on average, there were just over two children present each time the Police attended a family violence incident in a home, with these children usually being under the age of 10 years. The Police, the Department of Child, Youth and Family Services and National Collective of Independent Women’s Refuges are currently trialling a project (the Child Witness Pilot Project) which is targeted at these children. A safety assessment and referral form is completed by Police officers when they attend a family violence incident to refer children who are present on to appropriate agencies. The project is currently being piloted in the Far North (Kaitaia and Kaikohe), West Auckland, Wanganui, Nelson and South Canterbury. It will be evaluated with a view to being implemented nationally.
The Ministry of Justice has recently completed an evaluation examining the domestic violence legislation (the Domestic Violence Act 1995 and Guardianship Amendment Act 1995) which provided for supervised access in cases of domestic violence. The research found that the provisions for access to children in the domestic violence legislation have led to a growing use of access arrangements which are safer for both children and custodial parents. It also suggested a number of areas where improvements could be made. The Ministry of Justice is working with the Department for Courts and other relevant agencies to examine practice, policy or legislative changes that may be required as a result of the findings of the report.
Finally, a project has commenced to develop a joint Child, Youth and Family/Courts interagency protocol regarding child protection interface issues between the two agencies.
6.3.8 Links with other strategies and initiatives
A number of initiatives in the welfare, education and health sectors have been implemented which, while not being a direct response to family violence, have the potential to have a substantial impact on reducing it. These include:
- the Strengthening Families strategy, focussed on improving the ability of "at risk" families to resolve difficulties and problems and maximize the outcomes for their children with a focus on good parenting
- Family Start, a component of the Strengthening Families strategy, which aims to improve long term child outcomes through improving family functioning and parenting practice and to assist parents to improve their personal and family circumstances
- the establishment of a Māori Provider Development Fund ($3.5 million each year for three years), administered by Te Puni Kōkiri, to address administrative, infrastructural and capability issues of Māori service organisations
- funding by Child, Youth and Family of programmes and service providers including Iwi social services, programmes to promote attitudinal change by Māori to violence, local funding to Māori services providing family violence interventions, and social work assistance to Māori families affected by family violence
- Social Workers in Schools, a programme which aims to deliver school-based social work services to assist at-risk children, young people and their families.
These initiatives all lie outside the criminal justice sector, but have the potential to markedly reduce violence within families.
6.3.9 Family Violence Focus Group
The Family Violence Focus Group is co-convened by the Ministry of Social Policy and Crime Prevention Unit and comprises representatives from both government and non-government sectors. The Focus Group has begun work on developing a strategic plan for family violence. This work will include revising the Government Statement on Family Violence published in 1996.
6.4 Summary and conclusions
Evidence from the Women’s Safety Survey conducted in 1996 suggests that family violence is very widespread in New Zealand. Almost a quarter of female respondents with current partners and almost three-quarters of those with recent partners reported at least one partner-inflicted act of physical or sexual violence. There is also substantial violence against children within families.
The New Zealand Police have made a sustained effort to reduce family violence by implementing the Police Family Violence Policy. This encourages the arrest of offenders and states that the relatively serious charge of Male Assaults Female should be used in most circumstances.
There have been a number of significant policy initiatives aimed at reducing family violence during the 1990s, including new domestic violence legislation in 1995,(32) the re-emphasising of the Police Family Violence Policy in 1993, and the Crime Prevention Package in the 1996 budget. Nevertheless family violence remains a serious problem in New Zealand, not only because of its impact on victims, but because of the cycle of inter-generational violence and criminality that it can feed. It thus remains crucial that the impetus is maintained and that family violence continues to be seriously addressed by policy makers and agencies responsible for implementation.
Critical issues that need continuing attention include:
- Policing policy and practice. The Police response to family violence incidents, and in particular the consistent application of the Police Family Violence Policy, is a crucial component of the overall response to family violence. Continuing effort is needed to ensure that the Policy is being effectively applied, successful strategies are identified, and best practice is adopted.
- Evaluation and research. The findings of the various evaluations of the Domestic Violence Act 1995 currently taking place will be crucial in determining whether the most effective and efficient approaches are in place to achieve the objective of the Act to reduce and prevent the occurrence of family violence. These findings are likely to have implications for the policy and service response of agencies involved in implementing the Act. Further surveys of victims to provide information on trends will also assist with assessing the effectiveness of current initiatives.
- Prevention. The 1996 Crime Prevention Package provided funding for a range of family violence prevention initiatives up until the end of the 1998/99 financial year. Individual agencies now need to determine whether or not to continue with these initiatives within existing baselines or to seek Government funding.
- Responding effectively to family violence within Māori and Pacific peoples communities. Māori and Pacific peoples are heavily over-represented both as victims and perpetrators of family violence. Addressing the needs of these groups is crucial to achieving any significant reduction in the extent of family violence in New Zealand.
- Repeat Victimisation. Reducing the level of repeat victimisation is particularly important. The evidence that is currently available suggests that considerable gains in reducing family violence can be made by implementing projects aimed at preventing repeat victimisation.
- Addressing children's needs. Medium to long term success in preventing and reducing the level of family violence will depend on the quality of the response to the needs of children who have experienced or been exposed to violence at home.
- Links with other initiatives/strategies. The potential benefit to family violence of initiatives and strategies such as Strengthening Families, Family Start and Social Workers in Schools is the identification of children and families who suffer from family violence and their referral on to appropriate agencies. Success in this area is dependent upon having in place appropriate and effective referral mechanisms.
Footnotes
20. The Domestic Violence Act 1995 defines family violence as including physical, sexual and psychological abuse.
21. Morris, A. (1997) Women’s Safety Survey 1996, Victimisation Committee, Wellington.
22. Ministry of Health, Progress on Health Outcome Targets: Te haere whakamua ki nga whainga hua mo te hauora: The state of the public health in New Zealand 1998.
23. Department of Social Welfare, Statistics Report 1998.
24. Miller, I. & Russell, N. (1996) Homicide in New Zealand 1988 - 1994: Patterns and Relationships. A paper presented to the 11th Annual Conference of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology, 29 January - 1 February 1996, Wellington. The study found that 39.2% of murders between 1988 and 1994 had a domestic dispute as their motivation.
25. Source: National Homicide Monitoring Programme. Domestically related homicides are those where a domestic relationship exists between the offender and victim. A domestic relationship includes: husbands and wives, separated or divorced husbands and wives, de facto or ex-de facto husbands and wives, parents, custodial parents, non-custodial parents, de facto parents, their children, adult children, grandparents and grandchildren, siblings, step-siblings, relatives, girlfriends and ex-boyfriends.
26. The Police record whether prosecutions for Common Assault are domestically related.
27. As at September 1999, there were five evaluations outstanding (Specialist Services for Child Victims and Witnesses of Family Violence, Community Based Violence Prevention Schemes, Community Based Sex Offenders Programmes, Stocktake of the Safer Community Councils, and Results Centred Evaluation of the Safer Community Councils). The last of these evaluations is due in December 1999.
28. The overall aim of the working group is to identify gaps in current family violence prevention services for Pacific peoples and provide options on how to address those gaps in services.
29. This work was initially to have been undertaken by the same working group examining family violence services for Pacific peoples. However, because of the complexity of the issues for both Pacific peoples and other ethnic groups, the Justice Sector Chief Executives Group agreed to split the project between two working groups.
30. The Killingbeck model is an approach to family violence trialled by the Killingbeck Division of the West Yorkshire Police in the United Kingdom. The basis of the project is a three-tiered graded response of increasing intensity for family violence police attendances.
31. Taylor, JJ (1999) Child Witness Pilot Project. Presentation to Children and Family Violence: Effective Interventions Now Conference. 4 - 5 July 1999, Wellington.
32. The Domestic Violence Act 1995 and the Guardianship Amendment Act 1995.
