A couple hold hands as they walk through downtown Sydney with their shopping from Australian department store retailer Myer, March 6, 2014.
A couple hold hands as they walk through downtown Sydney with their shopping from Australian department store retailer Myer, March 6, 2014. Reuters/Jason Reed

New Zealand has been making little progress in preventing domestic violence. New figures revealed that the country’s police force may be behind in the effort to curb abuse against women.

According to data released to Radio New Zealand, the number of reported family violence has changed little in the past 12 months. Among the OECD countries, New Zealand has one of the highest rates of domestic violence. Statistics showed that 29 people are killed every year on average.

In 2014, New Zealand police responded to 94,300 reports of domestic violence. The number is slightly lower compared to the 95,080 cases in 2013. Police national manager Superintendent Tusha Penny said the figures may not represent the actual number of cases as only between 13 and 20 percent of incidents of domestic violence were being reported. She described domestic violence as a “wicked problem.”

Heather Henare, the former head of the National Collective of Women’s Refuge, believes New Zealand is still avoiding the realities of domestic violence even if it is open to talk about the issue not being “okay.” She said New Zealand has yet to talk about what happens when incidents of domestic violence are not reported.

Police has sought outside help to improve the way authorities handle cases of domestic violence. Penny told Insight that community groups will be brought in to assess how officers work in situations of domestic violence.

Meanwhile, the Salvation Army said the New Zealand government has failed to address core social issues in the country. TVNZ reports that the organisation has released its own version of a State of the Nation report. Salvation Army criticised the government for dropping the “ball” in putting an end to domestic violence.

The report author Alan Johnson said the government’s “It’s Not OK” anti-violence campaign has not made a big difference in domestic violence prevention. He added that the government has not exerted a “positive comprehensive” effort to address the issue. He noted there was no change in societal behaviour since the same patterns of violence are being observed every year.

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