and emotionally demanding work. The workforce is predominantly female and the Commission came to the conclusion that the low value placed on care work and consequent low remuneration is undoubtedly gendered. Recommendations included redressing pay inequity. 50. The Commission recommends that the Government: (a) reset targets for women’s representation that expressly acknowledge gender equality and commit to progressively eliminate the gender pay gap across all groups and ethnicities by 2019 by using demonstrated effective mechanisms including intensive monitoring processes and legislative levers;xl and (b) commit to implementing the recommendations from Caring Counts. Child Poverty 51. Child poverty remains a significant issue in New Zealand, affecting 270,000 children and young people. 230,000 children of the poorest children are discriminated against on the basis of their parents’ work status because of the way the In Work Tax Credit has been designed and applied. This is currently the subject of litigation before the Court of Appeal.xli 52. An Expert Advisory Group on Solutions to Child Poverty was established by the Children’s Commissioner in March 2012. The Group has developed a series of proposals to reduce child poverty and mitigate its effects. The Commission recommends that the Government commit to a timetable for implementing the recommendations in the Experts Advisory Group’s report on Solutions to Child Poverty.xlii Right to life, liberty and security of the person 53. Violence, abuse and harassment continue to occur at unacceptably high levels in New Zealand, despite wide recognition of the problem and wide-ranging efforts to address it. Globally, disabled people are up to three times more likely to be victims of physical and sexual abuse and rape, and have less access to physical and psychological and judicial interventions. 54. Violence against women in New Zealand is pervasive and as Kofi Annan has noted, perhaps the most shameful human rights violation.xliii Studies quoted by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs show the gender of victims of sexual violence as being between 92 and 95 percent female.xliv The groups most at risk of sexual violence are young women, Māori women, women who have been victimised before and people with disabilities.xlv Young women between the ages of 16 and 30 comprise 66-70 percent of victims of sexual violence. Just under half of all victims are New Zealand European, just under one third is Māori, and just over one tenth is Pacific. Urgent and ongoing attention is required to address violence in the home and the wider community. Page 31 of 35