KEY POINTS:
Justice Minister Annette King today announced plans for on-the-spot domestic violence protection orders. Below is her full speech
Thank you very much for joining me for this special morning tea highlighting the issue of domestic violence in New Zealand.
The first thing I want to do today is to congratulate Preventing Violence in the Home for this initiative to encourage New Zealanders to come together for morning teas over the next fortnight to talk about domestic violence.
Justice Minister Annette King and Assistant Police Commissioner Grant Nicholls at this morning's launch
Congratulations also to Bank of New Zealand for helping to promote this campaign that aims to raise awareness and money for Preventing Violence in the Home's national helpline.
The sad truth is that we simply cannot talk enough about domestic violence in New Zealand. In terms of violent crime, domestic violence continues to be the real tragedy for our society.
The more we talk about domestic violence, and the more we create an environment in which victims of domestic violence feel able to report what is happening to them, the more chance we have of coming to grips with this scourge on our society.
I am encouraged by the fact that women are reporting incidents of domestic violence in greater numbers, and that it is becoming clearer that women now have sufficient confidence in the police to report incidents.
So what we are now seeing is a truer reflection of the level of violence against women in our society. In last year's crime statistics, the increased number of violent offences was almost entirely driven - 5810 out of 6252 extra offences - by recorded family violence.
The result of this initiative over the next fortnight, and continued campaigns like 'it's not OK', may well be that more women come forward to report. That is a positive thing, because it is more difficult to work together to make our society safer if we don't understand the scope of the problem we are facing.
Last week I visited a number of programmes in the United Kingdom dealing with domestic violence - including the Leeds Inter-Agency project, the Family Justice Centre in Croydon and the victim support team at West London Magistrate's Court - to share our approaches to domestic violence. Some wonderful work is being done in the UK, as it is here, of course, and there is no doubt there are many things we can learn from each other.
The organisations I visited were particularly interested in hearing about New Zealand's review of the Domestic Violence Act 1995 and related legislation, and I am pleased to be able to tell you today about the main outcomes of that review. The cabinet papers detailing the outcomes are being posted on the Ministry of Justice website today.
Before I talk about those outcomes, I want to outline briefly the Government's approach to family violence. We have a Family Violence Ministerial Team established to provide leadership across the state sector, promote public debate, and demonstrate the Government's commitment to addressing this critical social issue.
A Taskforce for Action on Violence within Families provides advice to the Ministerial team, and is overseeing a comprehensive programme of action being undertaken by government and non-government agencies to improve the health, well-being and safety of victims of domestic violence.
The Ministry of Justice contributes to the Taskforce's programme by undertaking work to assist victims of domestic violence in both the Family and District Courts. Key projects being undertaken include:
" developing the role of an independent Victim Advocate/Support Person to provide support and assistance to victims of domestic violence in the eight Family Violence Courts.
* developing operating guidelines for how Family Violence Courts are run;
* improving security in Courts for victims; and providing information pamphlets outlining available services for victims.
And, as I said, another significant initiative has been the Ministry's review of the Domestic Violence Act 1995 and related legislation.
I am pleased that the review has found that the legislation is widely supported, but three areas were identified where the Act could be strengthened to meet its objectives of reducing and preventing violence in domestic relationships. These three areas are:
* The role of Police and enforcement of protection orders
* The role of the Courts in domestic violence matters
* Further protection of children in Family Court matters.
A public discussion document was released in December 2007 outlining 19 preliminary proposals to amend the Domestic Violence Act and the Care of Children Act 2004. A total of 103 submissions were received from a broad range of submitters, including private individuals, academics, the legal profession, and non-government agencies representing domestic violence specialists, social assistance, and public interest groups.
Last month the Cabinet approved proposals for legislative amendments to the Domestic Violence Act 1995 and related legislation, and a Bill is currently being drafted. I hope to introduce the Bill as soon as it is ready.
Two key proposals concerning the role of Police and enforcement of protection orders relate to the ability of Police to issue safety orders when attending a domestic violence incident and amending the penalties for breach of a protection order.
As I said, it is clear women now believe police will take them seriously if they ask for help and protection. This is illustrated by the fact that police laid 5151 more domestic violence prosecutions last year than in 2006, but the more effective tools we can give police the better they will be able to play their part in addressing this blight on our society.
Under the new proposals, Police will be able to issue on the spot short term family violence safety orders. The purpose of these orders is to strengthen the immediate safety of complainants by removing the alleged perpetrator of violence from the home for up to 72 hours.
The safety orders will be issued by Police in situations where there is an insufficient basis to arrest, but where an assessment of safety reveals a likelihood of domestic violence and an order is necessary to protect the safety of the victims.
The proposals also strengthen the penalty system for breach of protection orders. The current two-tier structure has the effect of restricting sentencing to the lower penalty in many cases, even where the breach is serious. One maximum penalty of up to two years' imprisonment will be introduced. This will allow for an appropriate sentencing range depending on the circumstances of the offending.
There are also four key proposals that improve the response of the Family Court and the criminal courts to domestic violence.
The Family Court will be required to give reasons promptly for declining both "without notice" and "on notice" applications for a protection order. This proposal enhances natural justice, assists applicants in appealing decisions, and educates lawyers about requirements for a successful protection order application.
Some protected persons seek to discharge their protection order because of pressure being exerted on them. Under the new legislation, the Family Court may only discharge a protection order if it is satisfied that the respondent has stopped using domestic violence against the protected person/s and that the order is no longer necessary for the protected person's safety.
When the criminal courts are sentencing an offender for a "domestic violence related offence" the courts must consider making a protection order on behalf of the victim if one does not already exist. The criminal courts' role, however, will be restricted to making the protection order, and any conditions, variations to the protection order and matters relating to children have to be referred to the Family Court.
The proposals seek to enhance access to programmes for both respondents and protected persons by widening the time allowed for attending a programme and increasing the number of programmes that can be attended. Programmes are important because one of the main motivations for persons applying for a protection order is often to get their abusive partners on a programme so they can be assisted in changing their violent behaviour.
Two key proposals, amongst a range of proposals, will improve the responsiveness of the current domestic violence regime to children who are affected by domestic violence. The key proposals relate to the current inconsistencies between the Domestic Violence Act 1995 and the Care of Children Act 2004.
The Domestic Violence Act only provides for a lawyer for the child to be appointed where a child makes an application for a protection order through an adult representative. Under the new legislation the Court will be provided with discretion to appoint a lawyer for children in protection order proceedings where children are likely to be affected by any order.
The current Care of Children Act contains specific provisions which prescribe how the court must deal with care and contact arrangements for children where physical and sexual abuse is alleged, but not psychological abuse.
This inconsistency needs to be addressed. The Act will be amended to ensure that when a protection order is in place these provisions are applied in cases where psychological abuse is alleged.
In addition, the Act will be amended to ensure that when making a parenting order the Court must take into account any allegation of psychological abuse directed at a child or witnessed by a child. This will ensure that this abuse is explicitly recognised by Judges when making parenting orders.
The Domestic Violence Act 1995 is central to providing protection to its victims. As I have discussed here today, the Government has made decisions that I believe will enhance the Act's effectiveness.
Ending family violence cannot be achieved through legislation alone, however. What is needed is sustained, co-ordinated and multi-level action over a number of years and across all sectors of society - particularly health, justice, education and social services.
The initiative we are here today to support is one excellent example of what is needed. Thank you very much for inviting me to join you.
