Latest news with #Chhour
Scoop
3 days ago
- Health
- Scoop
Protecting Families By Protecting Pets – A National Call To Action
Press Release – New Zealand Government Together, we can shine a light on this issue and bring about change. Lets make sure no family member two-legged or four-legged is left behind in the journey to safety, says Mrs Chhour. Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence Karen Chhour is advocating for increased protections for family pets in family violence incidents. 'I want to talk about some hidden victims of domestic abuse – our pets,' says Mrs Chhour. 'New Zealand unfortunately has unacceptably high rates of family violence in the developed world, and at the same time one of the highest rates of pet ownership. 'Pets are part of the family. They are our companions, our comfort, often a source of unconditional love. Tragically, this means that when family violence happens, our animals are often caught in the crossfire. 'Abusers know how much their victims love their pets, and they use that love as a weapon. 'Many people are shocked to learn how deeply linked pet abuse is with domestic violence. According to the latest research from Women's Refuge: • 53% of women in abusive relationships delayed leaving their violent partner out of fear for their pet's safety. Over half of victims hesitate to escape because they cannot ensure their pet will be safe without them. • About 24% of women (nearly 1 in 4) had a pet killed by their abuser. This horrifying statistic shows that for a significant number of survivors, their worst fears were realised – their beloved companion was brutally taken from them. • Frontline agencies are reporting a rise in sadistic violence toward animals in domestic abuse cases. These are not isolated incidents; they are part of a pattern of extreme cruelty designed to instil terror. 'These numbers and examples are shocking and painful to hear, but sadly they reflect the reality for families across the country and in every community. 'Talking about this issue is important, but taking action is even more important. 'Today, I'm both asking for your help and making a commitment as Minister. 'Please spread the word that if you or someone you know is experiencing family violence, remember that you can include pets on Protection Orders. 'Under New Zealand's Family Violence Act, when you apply for a Protection Order, you can ask the Family Court to add a special condition to protect your animals. This means the abuser can be legally forbidden from hurting or taking the pets. 'Too few people know about this so I would encourage everyone to tell your friends, family, and colleagues. 'My commitment is to strengthen these protections. 'I will be advocating to colleagues that we urgently need to update the Protection Order application and affidavit forms. We need these forms to explicitly cover pets and animal safety. 'I am also pushing for improved training and guidance so that lawyers, judges, and support workers routinely consider pets in every family violence case. 'Our courts and our system must recognise that pets are family, and that protecting them is part of protecting victims. 'This will be a team effort by all of us, we all have a role to play in stopping this cycle of abuse. 'It can be as simple as checking in on a friend if you suspect they're afraid to leave an abusive home because of a pet. 'It can be educating our children that kindness to animals and people is non-negotiable. 'No one should have to live in fear, and no animal should suffer as a pawn in domestic violence. 'Together, we can shine a light on this issue and bring about change. Let's make sure no family member – two-legged or four-legged – is left behind in the journey to safety,' says Mrs Chhour.
Scoop
3 days ago
- General
- Scoop
Protecting Families By Protecting Pets – A National Call To Action
Press Release – New Zealand Government Together, we can shine a light on this issue and bring about change. Lets make sure no family member two-legged or four-legged is left behind in the journey to safety, says Mrs Chhour. Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence Karen Chhour is advocating for increased protections for family pets in family violence incidents. 'I want to talk about some hidden victims of domestic abuse – our pets,' says Mrs Chhour. 'New Zealand unfortunately has unacceptably high rates of family violence in the developed world, and at the same time one of the highest rates of pet ownership. 'Pets are part of the family. They are our companions, our comfort, often a source of unconditional love. Tragically, this means that when family violence happens, our animals are often caught in the crossfire. 'Abusers know how much their victims love their pets, and they use that love as a weapon. 'Many people are shocked to learn how deeply linked pet abuse is with domestic violence. According to the latest research from Women's Refuge: • 53% of women in abusive relationships delayed leaving their violent partner out of fear for their pet's safety. Over half of victims hesitate to escape because they cannot ensure their pet will be safe without them. • About 24% of women (nearly 1 in 4) had a pet killed by their abuser. This horrifying statistic shows that for a significant number of survivors, their worst fears were realised – their beloved companion was brutally taken from them. • Frontline agencies are reporting a rise in sadistic violence toward animals in domestic abuse cases. These are not isolated incidents; they are part of a pattern of extreme cruelty designed to instil terror. 'These numbers and examples are shocking and painful to hear, but sadly they reflect the reality for families across the country and in every community. 'Talking about this issue is important, but taking action is even more important. 'Today, I'm both asking for your help and making a commitment as Minister. 'Please spread the word that if you or someone you know is experiencing family violence, remember that you can include pets on Protection Orders. 'Under New Zealand's Family Violence Act, when you apply for a Protection Order, you can ask the Family Court to add a special condition to protect your animals. This means the abuser can be legally forbidden from hurting or taking the pets. 'Too few people know about this so I would encourage everyone to tell your friends, family, and colleagues. 'My commitment is to strengthen these protections. 'I will be advocating to colleagues that we urgently need to update the Protection Order application and affidavit forms. We need these forms to explicitly cover pets and animal safety. 'I am also pushing for improved training and guidance so that lawyers, judges, and support workers routinely consider pets in every family violence case. 'Our courts and our system must recognise that pets are family, and that protecting them is part of protecting victims. 'This will be a team effort by all of us, we all have a role to play in stopping this cycle of abuse. 'It can be as simple as checking in on a friend if you suspect they're afraid to leave an abusive home because of a pet. 'It can be educating our children that kindness to animals and people is non-negotiable. 'No one should have to live in fear, and no animal should suffer as a pawn in domestic violence. 'Together, we can shine a light on this issue and bring about change. Let's make sure no family member – two-legged or four-legged – is left behind in the journey to safety,' says Mrs Chhour.
Scoop
3 days ago
- General
- Scoop
Protecting Families By Protecting Pets – A National Call To Action
Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence Karen Chhour is advocating for increased protections for family pets in family violence incidents. 'I want to talk about some hidden victims of domestic abuse – our pets,' says Mrs Chhour. 'New Zealand unfortunately has unacceptably high rates of family violence in the developed world, and at the same time one of the highest rates of pet ownership. 'Pets are part of the family. They are our companions, our comfort, often a source of unconditional love. Tragically, this means that when family violence happens, our animals are often caught in the crossfire. 'Abusers know how much their victims love their pets, and they use that love as a weapon. 'Many people are shocked to learn how deeply linked pet abuse is with domestic violence. According to the latest research from Women's Refuge: • 53% of women in abusive relationships delayed leaving their violent partner out of fear for their pet's safety. Over half of victims hesitate to escape because they cannot ensure their pet will be safe without them. • About 24% of women (nearly 1 in 4) had a pet killed by their abuser. This horrifying statistic shows that for a significant number of survivors, their worst fears were realised – their beloved companion was brutally taken from them. • Frontline agencies are reporting a rise in sadistic violence toward animals in domestic abuse cases. These are not isolated incidents; they are part of a pattern of extreme cruelty designed to instil terror. 'These numbers and examples are shocking and painful to hear, but sadly they reflect the reality for families across the country and in every community. 'Talking about this issue is important, but taking action is even more important. 'Today, I'm both asking for your help and making a commitment as Minister. 'Please spread the word that if you or someone you know is experiencing family violence, remember that you can include pets on Protection Orders. 'Under New Zealand's Family Violence Act, when you apply for a Protection Order, you can ask the Family Court to add a special condition to protect your animals. This means the abuser can be legally forbidden from hurting or taking the pets. 'Too few people know about this so I would encourage everyone to tell your friends, family, and colleagues. 'My commitment is to strengthen these protections. 'I will be advocating to colleagues that we urgently need to update the Protection Order application and affidavit forms. We need these forms to explicitly cover pets and animal safety. 'I am also pushing for improved training and guidance so that lawyers, judges, and support workers routinely consider pets in every family violence case. 'Our courts and our system must recognise that pets are family, and that protecting them is part of protecting victims. 'This will be a team effort by all of us, we all have a role to play in stopping this cycle of abuse. 'It can be as simple as checking in on a friend if you suspect they're afraid to leave an abusive home because of a pet. 'It can be educating our children that kindness to animals and people is non-negotiable. 'No one should have to live in fear, and no animal should suffer as a pawn in domestic violence. 'Together, we can shine a light on this issue and bring about change. Let's make sure no family member – two-legged or four-legged – is left behind in the journey to safety,' says Mrs Chhour.
Scoop
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Investing In Public Safety And Reforming Young Offenders
Initiatives to help serious and persistent young offenders turn their lives around, and improvements to facilities for them, have been given a significant financial boost in Budget 2025. Building on the successes that have already led to a 13 per cent reduction in young people with serious and persistent offending behaviour (a key Government target), more than $103 million is being invested over four years in upgrading facilities and funding ways to address recidivism amongst young people. 'This investment will have a real impact on these young people and their whānau. It will also ensure our communities are safer, both immediately and in the future', Minister for Children Karen Chhour says. 'This Government's efforts to keep the public safe and reform young offenders is already bearing fruit. The Budget ensures we can continue this important work.' The funded initiatives over four years include: $22 million for repairs and upgrades to Oranga Tamariki residences $16 million to implement the new legislative regime for Young Serious Offenders, as proposed by the Oranga Tamariki (Responding to Serious Youth Offending) Amendment Bill $33 million in safety and quality improvements to the facilities at youth justice residences $33 million for the operation of military style academies and transitional support for young serious offenders. 'Sometimes all it takes to improve the lives of an entire whānau is supporting one young person to make better choices. 'We continue to want better for, and from, these young people. This is not just an investment in facilities, it is an investment in them,' Mrs Chhour says.
NZ Herald
19-05-2025
- Politics
- NZ Herald
Family and sexual violence prevention minister warned of ‘declining police responsiveness'
However, police and Police Minister Mark Mitchell said officers are not attending fewer family violence events that require a police response. They said police are in fact coding 7.7% more family violence events as priority one emergencies. Chhour says the Te Aorerekura Action Plan was launched last year, to help government agencies better collaborate on the issue – enabled by a new technological platform to replace the current system. But Labour says there is 'real alarm' among community providers, and the concerns raised in the document should alarm Chhour as Minister-in-charge. Te Pūkotahitanga provides advice to the Minister, and Te Puna Aonui – a group designed to bring together government agencies on the elimination of family violence, including Education, Health, Police, Justice, Corrections and Oranga Tamariki. In March it provided Chhour with a summary of a recent hui between Matatuhi, a collective of Family and Sexual Violence Māori kaimahi (workers), and police, to discuss their Risk Harm Assessment Framework. It said Chhour had requested the summary to support her engagements with Mitchell. It noted concerns had been raised last December 'about declining police responsiveness to family and sexual violence incidents, including high-risk situations'. The document lists examples of 'delays and misjudgements in police responsiveness', including an assault in one provider's reception area to which police took 50 minutes to respond, and incidents of child to parent violence not being prioritised. 'It's increasingly falling to community providers to ensure whānau are made safe and kept safe in family violence situations due to slow or no police response,' it states. 'This poses a serious risk to kaimahi health and safety.' Labour Police spokeswoman Ginny Andersen says she is also hearing from NGOs who have reported the same issue. 'They're reaching out for help for a situation, either for one of their clients, or a situation in one of their facilities, and they cannot get a police officer once it's been established it's a family violence issue. 'What we are hearing loud and clear is that people aren't coming.' Labour's Family and Sexual Violence spokeswoman Helen White says the concerns are serious enough that the minister responsible should have intervened. 'Her job is to be a zealous advocate for the victims in this country,' she said. 'She's got to get in there and advocate strongly, she's got to go to the Police Minister and say 'that's just not good enough'.' Mitchell says he and Chhour are 'very aligned'. He says police are triaging differently in relation to social issues that are more appropriate for a non-police response, but will continue to respond when there is a serious offence, violence, or an immediate risk to property, life or safety. Mitchell encouraged anyone with specific concerns to raise these directly with police. Police Assistant Commissioner Mike Johnson said the Risk Harm Attendance pilot began in September, and was expanded across all emergency communications and dispatch workers in December. He said requests for police attendance are assessed against criteria of severity, circumstance, attributes and need. Johnson said if it's deemed a physical response is not required, the call is transferred to the 105 online or call taker, after which it is sent to the local Family Harm Team for assessment and appropriate action. 'Police's median response time for family harm events decreased by over three minutes in 2024 compared to 2023.' Johnson said initial feedback suggests the framework's producing positive outcomes, and a decision about its future will be made after a full evaluation next month. Chhour said as the Minister responsible for Te Puna Aonui, she is pleased with their work to break down siloes across the public service. She said the Te Aorerekura Action plan, launched in December, is focused on keeping people safe through multi-agency responses, holding people to account, improving workforce capability and investing in workforces to equip people to assess risk, and share information. 'This work will be enabled by a new technological platform to replace the current family safety system, so that agencies have appropriate information for risk management and safety planning.'
