4. VIOLENCE AND ABUSE A. Women 96. In 2014, there were 7163 recorded male assaults female offences and 6103 recorded offences for breaching a protection order.71 There were 1,927 reported sexual offences against an adult over 16 years. While these statistics are compelling, they do not reflect the full picture – only 1 in 10 sexual assaults are actually reported to Police72 and only 3 of them are prosecuted. 97. Twenty four percent of New Zealand women report having experienced sexual assault in their lifetime.73 Seventy three percent of these assaults were perpetrated by a partner, ex-partner or other family member. One in three (35.4%) ever-partnered New Zealand women report having experienced physical and/or sexual Intimate Partner Violence (“IPV”) in their lifetime. When psychological/emotional abuse is included, 55% report having experienced IPV in their lifetime. 98. In 2014, Women’s Refuges received 78,161 crisis calls. 5,198 women accessed advocacy services in the community and 2,794 women and children stayed in safe houses. 99. The Commission notes that women with disabilities are much more likely to suffer from domestic violence than other women in New Zealand74,75 100. The continuing high level of violence against women and girls remains one of New Zealand’s greatest contemporary challenges. The absence of an agreed common understanding and definition of family and sexual violence and a lack of appropriate data and indicators invariably limit the ability to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of various programmes and services.76 101. The Commission met with key civil society groups in the development of the New Zealand’s second National Plan of Action on Human Rights (“NPA”). The lack of adequate and sustainable funding for some programmes, and the absence of joined up 71 https://nzfvc.org.nz/news/increasing-family-violence-calls-fewer-resolutions-nzfvc-data-summaries-2015 http://www.justice.govt.nz/publications/global-publications/n/new-zealand-crime-and-safety-survey2014/publications/global-publications/n/new-zealand-crime-and-safety-survey-2014/documents/nzcass-mainfindings-report 73 http://www.justice.govt.nz/publications/global-publications/n/new-zealand-crime-and-safety-survey2014/publications/global-publications/n/new-zealand-crime-and-safety-survey-2014/documents/nzcass-mainfindings-report 74 Statement by the Minister of Women’s Affairs at the launch of the publication “Domestic Violence and Disabled People” in 2011. 75 Also confirmed in Carolyn Frohmader and Therese Sands, “Fact Sheet: Violence Against People with Disabilities in Institutions and Residential Settings, November 2014. http://www.pwd.org.au/documents/orgdocs/FS-Violence-PWD2014.doc (accessed 14 January 2016). 76 Reported sexual assaults only account for 1% of actual assaults. 72 26

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