… those who work to end the violence need to have the information released immediately, so we can see the extent of the problem. Otaki Labour candidate, Rob McCann
The need for a serious approach and more funding
Labour Party press release
Carol Beaumont, the Labour Spokesperson for Consumer Rights and Standards and Women’s Affairs, has visited the Otaki electorate to speak about violence towards women.
This is a very serious issue in New Zealand, says Carol Beaumont, and we shouldn’t need another horrific event such as the Roast Busters scandal to raise awareness and get the government to take action.
Agencies involved in stopping violence in the Kapiti area attended a morning meeting with deep concerns being raised about the lack of funding.
What I hear from people who are working at the coal face is that resources being stretched to breaking point and at the same time this government is not releasing data on domestic violence, she said.
This is very concerning and points to a rise in violence which just happens to coincide with the government refusing to release statistics.
Problems getting data and statistics
Rob McCann, Otaki Labour candidate agrees. You don’t need to undertake too much analysis to know that something is not right. The Police won’t release the data on family violence, and requests to Statistics New Zealand come back with a hefty price tag.
What is even more inexcusable is that they will not release requested data as there is only one court in the Horowhenua, says Mr McCann.
…we will have to produce aggregated outputs of this data so that no individual person or court can be identified. Statistics New Zealand.
Why a region should have the extent of domestic violence hidden from them is beyond me. What we know is that more women are ringing the Police, Women’s Refuge houses are full to overflowing and services are stretched.
We should not be playing politics with domestic violence and the public and those who work to end the violence need to have the information released immediately, so we can see the extent of the problem, says Mr McCann.