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To: The Prime Minister of New Zealand, the Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence, the Minister of Justice, the Minister of Social Development, and all Members of Parliament.
PETITION FOR URGENT LEGISLATIVE & SYSTEMIC CHANGE TO END FAMILY VIOLENCE IN AOTEAROA
We, the undersigned, declare that the family violence crisis in Aotearoa New Zealand is a state of national emergency. Our current systems are designed to manage, not solve, this crisis [1]. We demand immediate, specific, and funded legislative and policy changes to create a system that prevents violence, guarantees safety for victims, and holds perpetrators to account.
THE SPECIFIC CHANGES WE DEMAND
DEMAND 1: Legislative a "right to be believed and protected" in the family violence act.
- Amend the Act to create a statutory presumption that where a person reports a pattern of coercive control (including isolation, financial abuse, threats, and psychological intimidation), their account is to be given significant weight in protection order proceedings and safety planning. This shifts the burden off the victim to "prove" immediate physical danger.
DEMAND 2: Amend sentencing laws to make completion of an accredited, psychologically-informed perpetrator programme (like the UK's "Building Better Men" model) a mandatory component of sentencing for any family violence conviction, and a core consideration for parole. [4]
- Fund a national rollout of these programmes, with specific streams designed by and for Māori (e.g., based on the successful Pā Harakeke model) and other communities.
- Pilot and fund GPS monitoring of high-risk perpetrators who are subject to protection orders, alerting the victim and Police if the perpetrator breaches an exclusion zone.
We are not asking for another strategy, another working group, or another report. We are demanding specific, binding, and funded actions that will tangibly change the calculus for survivors and perpetrators.
We call on the government to introduce a Family Violence (System Overhaul) Bill within the next parliamentary session that enacts these changes. Our women, our children, and our whānau cannot wait any longer. [2]
Enough is enough. It is time for action, not words.
Why is this important?
THE UNACCEPTABLE STATUS QUO
- Police respond to a family violence incident every 4 minutes. That is over 130,000 investigations a year, and it represents only what is reported.
- Family violence is the leading driver of homelessness for women and children. A victim must often choose between abuse or the street.
- The system is victim-led. Survivors, often in acute trauma, are forced to navigate a complex web of Police, Courts, Work and Income, housing agencies, and counselling services—most with long waitlists.
- Perpetrators face low accountability. While protection orders are a tool, enforcement is inconsistent, and access to mandated, effective intervention programmes is scarce.
- This is a system failure, not a personal one. We demand the following specific changes.
Please sign and share this petition with your friends and family. Every signature builds pressure on Parliament to act. Every share reaches someone who may not yet know that another Aotearoa is possibly one where every woman is believed, every child is safe, and every perpetrator is held accountable.
References:
[1] National Council of Women of New Zealand. (2026). Salvation Army's State of the Nation report shows family violence has reached highest level since 2018. Available at: https://www.ncwnz.org.nz/forms/shares/new?page_id=4308
[2] Australasian Lawyer. (2025). Māori, LGBTQ+ community members do not highly trust the justice system: survey. Available at: https://www.thelawyermag.com/nz/practice-areas/public-sector/maori-lgbtq-community-members-do-not-highly-trust-the-justice-system-survey/534577
[3] New Zealand Family Violence Clearinghouse. (2025). State of the nation 2025 : kai, kāinga, whānau. Available at: https://library.nzfvc.org.nz/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=9131
[4] UK Parliament. (2025). Written questions and answers: Domestic Abuse: Reoffenders. Available at: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2025-01-03/21734
[7] RNZ. (2025). Child to Parent Violence and Abuse - Breaking the stigma. Available at: https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/audio/2018992894/child-to-parent-violence-and-abuse-breaking-the-stigma
[8] New Zealand National Party. (2025). 38,000 fewer victims of serious violent crime as gang laws mark one year. Available at: https://www.national.org.nz/news/20251121-hon-paul-goldsmith-thirtyeightthousand-fewer-victims-of-serious-violent-crime-as-gang-laws-mark-one-year
[9] New Zealand Family Violence Clearinghouse. (2025). Government Data | Official NZ Agency Statistics. Available at: https://vine.org.nz/knowledge-hub/violence-statistics/government-data