Strangulation punishable by seven years jail gets support from Northland campaigner

Karen Edwards hopes the new law gives victims the confidence to come forward to the police to lay a complaint.

A Northland woman advocating for violence-free families says recognising strangulation as a separate offence could help reduce the number of victims.

The new offence of strangulation or suffocation will carry a maximum penalty of seven years in prison. Previously there was no separate offence for strangulation as it was treated as assault.

The changes, as part of the Family Violence Amendment Act, are designed to help curb family violence. The legislation was spearheaded by the former National government and passed unanimously last month, coming into law yesterday. Karen Edwards, a Northland mother who knows the devastation caused by family violence after her daughter was murdered, spoke yesterday in support of the new law and revealed her own terrifying near strangulation experience.

She said a former partner grabbed her around the throat.

"You go into survival mode and I reacted quickly. I just yelled and there were kids around so he backed off," Edwards said.

"If I hadn't reacted quickly I hate to think what might have happened."

She dealt with the incident at the time but did not go to police.

Edwards said strangulation needed to be seen as a punishable offence and often the after effects were underestimated.

"It's a form of attempted murder," she said.

Edwards hopes, with it being recognised as an offence, hopefully it would help victims and the community realise how serious strangulation was and give victims the confidence to come forward to the police to lay a complaint.

"It may also act as a deterrent for the abusers who react in the heat of the moment. Maybe now they might stop and think."

Edwards supports the 'It's Not OK' campaign and is part of its national television advertising.

Everyone who features in the refreshed ads is an advocate for violence-free families.

Northland couple Phil and Rowena Paikea, along with Edwards, feature in a line-up of well-known New Zealanders in the ad.

Forced marriage and assault on a family member also became new offences from yesterday.

The new legislation also allows victims to give evidence via video recording made before the hearing.

It also makes changes to the Bail Act by making the safety of the victim and their family the primary consideration when granting bail and imposing conditions.

The latest Ministry of Justice figures show an estimated one million New Zealanders are directly involved in family violence every year. Last year, police officers attended a family violence call out every four minutes.