Sue MORONEY
Women’s Affairs Spokesperson
25 November 2012
MEDIA STATEMENT
Stats cast a dark shadow over White Ribbon Day
The revelation that family violence related deaths in New Zealand have increased by more than 50% since 2008, casts a
dark shadow over White Ribbon Day today, says Labour’s Women’s Affairs spokesperson Sue Moroney.
Police annual reports reveal that there were 27 family violence deaths reported in 2011, and an OIA request received by
Labour shows a shocking 67 “homicide and related offences” (includes both actual deaths and attempted murder) between
2011-2012.
“That increase is harrowing. Any Government truly committed to helping victims of family violence would take these
figures as an instruction to take stock, and take action.
“Instead, under National, police have actually stopped effectively reporting family violence statistics and have
admitted that current statistics for family violence "offences" are no longer able to give meaningful comparisons across
time.
“Action to halt family violence requires an understanding of the gravity of the situation we are in. Confusing the data
is the oldest trick in the book. It’s a trick for a government that wants to hide bad news or muddy a lack of progress.
The statistics police are collecting as a part of Family Violence Investigations Reports (FVIRs) are said to be
“provisional” and not in line with the “gold standard” threshold of official crime statistics, and as such not robust
enough for public release.
“What we do know is that between January 2011-October 2012 there were 77,521 family violence investigations where at
least one offence occurred. That boils down to 125 cases of family violence every day of every week over those 20
months."
“National’s approach to family violence is characterised by the underfunding of services, including rape crisis and our
frontline police.
“Women’s Affairs Minister, Jo Goodhew, needs to be held to account for these dire statistics. Police Minister Anne
Tolley needs to front up to the needs for proper resourcing within our police force. Both women are in positions of
power and must advocate for those in need.
“Too many New Zealanders are dying at the hands of their loved ones. On this White Ribbon Day I am calling on the women
who have a voice in Government, to use it.”
ENDS