Latest news with #familyharm
RNZ News
30-06-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
New data being considered in family harm and gender based violence research
A report into deaths from gender based violence from the National Mortality Review Committee has found there's been no significant reduction in the number of victims between 2009 and 2022. Photo: Unsplash/ Kristina Flour Maternal suicide, perinatal deaths and non-family homicides have all been included in a new report to try and get a full picture of violence against women and children in New Zealand. This is the ninth report on gender based violence for the National Mortality Review Committee. Dr Nicola Atwool, the chair of the Family Violence Death Review expert group, told Nine to Noon , that the reports have traditionally looked at family harm deaths, but in this report they were looking at the broader issue of femicide. She said little was known about some of these areas, including when women were killed by a non-family member, maternal suicide, and perinatal death. Maternal suicide is death while pregnant or within a year of giving birth. Perinatal death is the death of a baby during pregnancy or within 42 days after birth. Dr Atwool said there was a clear correlation with family harm for both maternal suicide and perinatal death. In the case of maternal suicide, Atwool said 63 percent of the women had recorded cases of family harm. But she said that was likely to be an undercount, because people often did not disclose family harm at the time it was happening. The report shows there were 41 cases of maternal suicide between 2006 and 2023, and of these, 26 (63 percent) had a police-reported family harm. Atwool said the report found that appropriate interventions during the period of pregnancy and after a baby is born could significantly reduce the number of lives lost. This was one of the areas they would be investigating further with other agencies. Dr Atwool said she also noted the ongoing inequities for wāhine and kōtiro Māori (Māori women and girls), compared with non-Māori. "We identified inequities in the rates of family violence homicide for wāhine and kōtiro Māori compared with non-Māori women and girls between 2018 and 2022. Had these inequities not existed, there would be approximately 25 more wāhine and kōtiro Māori alive today." NZ Police data showed that of the 1169 homicides in New Zealand between 2007 and 2022, 34 percent of victims were women, and more than half of those women (58 percent) had a family relationship to the offender. Dr Atwool said that despite a range of programme and efforts to address family violence there had been no significant decline in the number of homicides against women. "There are fluctuations, but no significant downward trend." The full report can be found here . If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
22-06-2025
- General
- RNZ News
How Debbs Murray found freedom and safety
Debbs Murray has spent more than two decades working tirelessly in the family violence sector, for refuge, and various government and non-government agencies including the police. She is the founder of ECLIPSE family violence services based in Waikato, through which thousands of frontline family harm prevention workers have been trained. The training focusses on helping practitioners build greater understanding of the complexity of family violence and coercive control - and why so many victims don't or can't get out. But through all of that advocacy over 20 years, Debbs has never really shared her own experience in writing, of the seven years she was in a relationship marked by severe family violence and absolute coercive control. She's now written a book about her extraordinary journey - and that of her four children. It's aimed at anyone experiencing family violence and their loved ones who want to help. Photo: supplied
RNZ News
19-06-2025
- RNZ News
Police attend serious family harm incident in Turangi
Emergency services were called to the address about 6.30am on Friday. Photo: RNZ / REECE BAKER Police are at the scene of a serious family harm incident in Turangi. Emergency services were called to the address about 6.30am on Friday. A scene guard was at the property and enquiries were ongoing. More to come. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
19-06-2025
- RNZ News
Cordons lifted in central Auckland suburb of Mt Roskill after police incident
Police used distraction tactics to separate a man and woman during a family harm incident in Mt Roskill, following a standoff. They said a man has now been taken into custody and nobody was injured. An RNZ reporter at the scene of the incident on White Swan Road, said police confirmed the Eagle Helicopter circling above was used to identify an opportunity for distraction techniques to be deployed. Four loud noises were heard at 4.07pm but it's unclear if they were gunshots. Police closed off a section of White Swan Road before 1pm as officers responded to a family harm incident. Cordons were in place between Ellis Ave and Richardson Rd as officers attempted to engage with an individual in a nearby house. Photo: Marika Khabazi The reporter said earlier an officer armed with a sniper was deployed outside a house, monitoring the situation from a distance. Some residents living on the section of White Swan Road where the incident had unfolded were unable to return to their homes and had been told by police to stay away in the meantime. About a dozen White Swan Road residents, including parents with children who had just finished school, were not allowed to enter the cordons to get home. One resident said they'd been given no information on how long the road would be blocked for. The principal of Lynfield College was at the scene, trying to help students who weren't able to return home. Kath Knell said the school would be providing a safe place for students while they waited. It's understood the school, along with Marshall Laing Primary School, had not needed to lock down. WHITE SWAN RD, MOUNT ROSKILL - FINAL UPDATE - 5:00PM White Swan Rd is now OPEN in both directions. All buses have resumed their regular routes. Allow extra time for delays in the area to ease. ^ND All cordons in the area where lifted just before 5pm. After the four-hour stand-off, an Auckland man was arrested on family-harm charges. Police have since confirmed that, despite not being injured, the man was taken to hospital for observation. St John said it took one person to hospital in a moderate condition, while another was assessed at the scene and was also in a moderate condition. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
19-06-2025
- RNZ News
Roads closed in central Auckland suburb of Mt Roskill due to police incident
Photo: RNZ / REECE BAKER Police have closed a road in the Auckland suburb of Mt Roskill, as officers respond to a family harm incident. A section of White Swan Road has been blocked off, with cordons in place between Ellis Ave and Richardson Rd. Officers are attempting to engage with an individual in a nearby residence. Police say the matter is contained and there is no risk to the wider community. This is breaking news, more to follow Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
