Family Violence

Taking Action Against Family Violence

The level of family violence in New Zealand is unacceptably high. Family violence affects partners, children and older family members, and is damaging to society and the economy.

All New Zealanders deserve families and whānau that have healthy, respectful, stable relationships free from violence. No one should expect or tolerate any controlling behaviour that uses fear, force, intimidation or emotional and financial abuse.

To significantly reduce family violence and promote stable, healthy families, a collaborative approach across agencies is necessary. There also needs to be an emphasis on changing the attitudes and behaviour that contribute to family violence.

Family Violence Facts

Statistics from recent studies show the extent of family violence:

• 116 children hospitalised in one year as a result of assault
• About 300 women hospitalised each year as a result of assault
• Police record around 12,000 family violence related assaults each year
• Around 10 children are killed each year in New Zealand
• Around 75,000 care and protection notifications to CYF, 13,000 of these cases were assessed as involving abuse or neglect (Aug 2007 figures)
• International research suggests between 3 and 10 percent of elderly people are affected by abuse or neglect.

The New Zealand Family Violence Statistics Fact Sheet  provides a summary of information dating from, in some cases, 2002 until the present, relating to family violence in New Zealand. This publicly available information has been supplied by government and non-government agencies such as the New Zealand Police, the Ministry of Justic, the National Collective of Independent Women's Refuges Inc, Age Concern New Zealand Inc and the National Network of Stopping Violence Services.

Topics covered include, but are not limited to:

Effects of Family Violence

Family violence has many negative downstream effects. These include: family break-up; putting children’s health, education and long-term outcomes at risk; and the economic costs to families, the health and justice systems, and workplaces.