The New Zealand Institute
| Grade | NZ Rank | Trend | Latest Value | 2015 Target | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 23rd equal of33 | Equal | 1.3 per 100,000 | 1.2 | Deaths stable but violence still high |
The assault mortality rate measures the risk of death from intentional assault. It contributes to perceived personal safety. Assault mortality is the tip of the iceberg of violence in a country. A country with a high prevalence of violence is likely to have a high assault mortality rate. The advantage of using assault mortality as a measure of violence is that it is less affected by under-reporting.
Family violence is responsible for one-third to one-half of homicides each year. Family violence is estimated to cost at least $1.2 billion dollars annually in health care, welfare payments, law enforcement and direct costs for those affected.
Violence against children accounts for around one-third of family violence deaths. Research has shown that survivors of child abuse often suffer long-term psychological effects including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, suicide, and high risk sexual behaviour.
The assault mortality rate shown in Figure 1 fluctuates from year to year but an improvement can be seen from 1992 to 2000. Despite that improvement New Zealand’s performance in 2007 placed it 23rd equal with Greece and South Korea out of 33 OECD countries (Figure 2). New Zealand’s rate is over four times higher than the best performing countries Iceland, Japan and the UK, so big improvements should be possible.
While some improvement in assault mortality did occur, serious violent offences increased substantially from 2000 to 2009 (Figure 3). The data for 2010 shows a decline in recorded serious violent offences with the rate dropping below that for the last three years.
International comparisons of child maltreatment deaths are not readily available. However a 2003 UNICEF report on child maltreatment in the 1990s ranked New Zealand 3rd worst of 27 OECD countries. Since then, the number of reports of concern received by Child, Youth and Family (CYF) relating to children or youth being abused or neglected in New Zealand doubled (Figure 4). This is partly due to growing awareness of the need to protect children and more willingness to contact CYF if there are concerns for a child’s welfare. The number of CYF findings of abuse (physical, sexual, emotional) and neglect has also more than doubled over the seven years from 2003-04 to 2009-10.
Family violence remains a major issue for New Zealand and is a priority for Police and other agencies. Offences decreased by 3.1% to 52,408 in the 2010/11 fiscal year compared to 2009/10, which is a marked reversal in what had been a steady upward trend in recent years. There were 34 murders in 2010/11 compared with 65 in 2009/10 a drop of 24%. This is the lowest figure on record since fiscal year reporting began in 1986. However across a 25 year period the murder trend remains flat. Within these figures, family violence murders dropped from 35 in 2009/10 to 20 in 2010/11.
Programmes and policies to reduce assault mortality aim to reduce violent crime and improve protection for those who are vulnerable. The justice agencies (Ministry of Justice, New Zealand Police, Department of Corrections, Ministry of Social Development-for youth justice matters, the Crown Law Office and Serious Fraud office) have developed eight shared outcomes that guide their work including reducing crime and the impact of crime. These flow into the outcomes and measures for each agency. The New Zealand Police Statement of Intent 2011/12 to 2013/14 includes reducing harm from crime and anti-social behaviour and ensuring vulnerable people (children, older people and people subject to violence, including family violence) are protected.
Reducing violence has been a high priority for Police over many years. Violent offending by youth is particularly high so justice and other agencies have developed interventions aimed at whole groups or populations as well as selected interventions for at risk groups or individuals. More recent Police initiatives involve focusing on the most serious offending, violent criminals, gangs and organised crime groups. Reporting on outcomes now includes serious assaults resulting in injury as well as homicides with the aim of reducing the number of victims. Reducing family violence is also a priority.
The 1995 Domestic Violence Act aimed to reduce and prevent violence in domestic relationships by highlighting that domestic violence is unacceptable behaviour and ensuring that there is effective legal protection for victims. Parliament amended the Crimes Act in 2007 removing the defence of reasonable force used to correct a child.
Despite hundreds of millions of additional dollars being invested in health, education and benefits over the last decade, poor outcomes for vulnerable children persist. In July 2011 Government released the Green Paper for Vulnerable Children, Every Child Thrives, Belongs, Achieves, and called for the public to share their ideas and respond to proposed actions to improve outcomes for young people with submissions closing in February 2012. Thereafter a White Paper outlining the Vulnerable Children’s Action Plan will be prepared.
In August 2011 the Child and Family Protection Bill, a law to protect child victims of family violence, was unanimously passed in Parliament. The Bill focuses on keeping children safe when they have been exposed to family violence in the home and improves the responsiveness of the Family Court to those victims.
In September 2011 Parliament also passed the Crimes Amendment Bill (No 2) which creates an offence for failing to take reasonable steps to protect a child or vulnerable adult from the risk of death, grievous bodily harm, or sexual assault. The offence carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment.
A Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen child protection was signed in August 2011 between the Police, Ministry of Social Development (Child, Youth and Family) and District Health Board representatives. As child abuse requires the expertise, knowledge and resources of a wide range of agencies, the cross-agency approach to consulting, sharing information and working collaboratively together is expected to improve protection of vulnerable children.
New resources including a booklet, advertising, posters and video clips to raise awareness about and address family violence were released in August 2011. These resources are for targeted use in Māori (E Tu Whanau) and Pacific communities (Pasefika Proud – Our families, Our People, Our Responsibility).
In response to the increase in notifications and findings of abuse for children, Government has announced an additional 149 full-time social workers to support children in all low decile (1-3) primary schools. The Social Workers in Schools service will also extend to an additional 388 schools.
Providing policy advice to reduce the incidence and impact of violence against women is also a priority for the Ministry of Women’s Affairs.
Much of the government and agencies’ activity is on responding to the effects of violence. Less effort appears to be concentrated on examining and reducing the predisposition to violence within society.
The D grade is based on New Zealand’s high rate of assault mortality relative to OECD peers. The recent decline in serious violent offences, if sustained, may result in lower assault mortality. However family violence would need to continue to decline and findings of abuse and neglect among children and young people that are increasing would also need to decline, to assist in reducing the assault mortality rate.
In 2004 the assault mortality rate was 1.2 per 100,000 people. A target of 1.0 per 100,000 would place New Zealand just outside the top half of the OECD but is a big challenge because such a low rate has not been recorded during the last 28 years.
Figure 1: Ministry of Social Development (2010). The Social Report, at http://www.socialreport.msd.govt.nz/safety/assault-mortality.html. Data obtained from MSD on 17 August 2011.
Figure 2 OECD (2011). Health Data – Mortality Causes – Assault, retrieved 27 July 2011 from http://stats.oecd.org.
Note: Reporting year varies. 2004 - Canada; 2005 - Belgium; 2006 - Australia, Denmark, Germany; 2007 - Chile, Italy, New Zealand, Switzerland, USA; 2008 - France, Israel, Luxembourg, Mexico, Poland, Spain, Sweden; 2009 - Austria, Czech Rep., Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovak Rep., Slovenia, South Korea, UK.
Figure 3: Statistics New Zealand (2010). New Zealand Recorded Crime Tables-Calendar year offence statistics, retrieved 1 August 2011 from http://stats.govt.nz/tools_and_services/tools/TableBuilder/recorded-crime-statistics/ASOC-offence-calendar-year-statistics.aspx#National.
Statistics New Zealand (2011). Historical Population Estimates, retrieved 1 August 2011 from http://stats.govt.nz/tools_and_services/tools/TableBuilder/recorded-crime-statistics/ASOC-offence-calendar-year-statistics.aspx.
Note: Figure 3 uses data for the National Annual Recorded Offences for the Latest Calendar Years (ASOC) categories: Homicide and related offences, Acts intended to cause injury-serious assault, Aggravated sexual assault and Aggravated robbery.
Figure 4: Ministry of Social Development (2011). The Statistical Report: For the year ending June 2010, Table CY.3 Findings of investigations of Care and Protection reports of concern requiring further action, retrieved 27 July 2011 from
http://statistical-report-2010.msd.govt.nz/the+statistical+report+2010 and the New Zealand Family Violence Clearinghouse, Family Violence Statistics Fact Sheet, Investigations of care and protection notifications requiring further action, p.9 retrieved 18 August 2011 from http://www.nzfvc.org.nz/sites/default/files/Statistics%20Fact%20Sheet%20December%202009.pdf.
Further information links for assault mortality
Crawford, R. & Kennedy, P. (2008, August). Improving Interventions to Reduce Violent Offending by Young People in New Zealand. Ministry of Justice, available at http://www.justice.govt.nz/publications/global-publications/i/improving-interventions-to-reduce-violent-offending-by-young-people-in-new-zealand/publication.
Family Violence Death Review Committee (2010, Feb). Family Violence Death Review Committee: First Annual Report to the Minister of Health: October 2008 to September 2009. Wellington, available at http://www.fvdrc.health.govt.nz/moh.nsf/indexcm/fvdrc-resources-publications?Open&m_id=3.1.
New Zealand Police (2011, October). New Zealand Crime Statistics 2010/2011-A Summary of Recorded and Resolved Offence Statistics and the associated ‘Frequently Asked Questions’. Also New Zealand Police Statistics for calendar year ending 31 December 2010 and associated ‘Question and Answers’ available at http://www.police.govt.nz/service/statistics.
Snively, S. (1995). The New Zealand Economic Cost of Family Violence. Social Policy Journal of New Zealand, Issue. 4, available at http://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/journals-and-magazines/social-policy-journal/spj04/04-the-new-zealand-economic-cost-of-family-violence.html.
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