Latest news with #LeonieMorris
RNZ News
2 days ago
- RNZ News
Fear of reprisals if stalkers warned without target's knowledge
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi An anti-stalking advocate says a proposed new law has a worrying caveat in which stalkers can be warned by police about their behaviour, without the victim first being notified. The government is amending the Crime Legislation (Stalking and Harassment) Amendment Bill to enable police to act if a person has engaged in stalking behaviour twice in two years. Aotearoa Free From Stalking project lead Leonie Morris said this was a good move, but she was uneasy that stalkers could be warned about their behaviour, for fear of reprisals. "One thing that we're very concerned about is that at the moment police can notify a stalker that he has been stalking and that he'll be breaking the law if he does it again. "We're happy with that, but we don't want police to do that until they've notified the victim that that's what they're going to do and they've talked through with the victim a safety plan - because otherwise if just out of the blue he is told that she's gone to the police and the police are now saying to him, 'You need to be much more careful with your behaviour,' he could retaliate against her." Morris said the bill needed changing to ensure that before police warned stalkers, they talked to the victim about how they could keep themselves safe and whether warning a stalker might be dangerous. Another potential area for improvement involved proving whether a person had intent to deliberately stalk someone, Morris said. "The law just asks for evidence that someone knows their behaviour is likely to cause fear or distress, but how can you tell whether somebody's lying or not? "The law needs to make it more simple and straightforward… to prove that he was stalking against her will, his behaviour was unwelcome." Morris said the onus should be on the stalker to prove otherwise, not the victim. "In overseas jurisdictions, rather than just saying he knew that his behaviour would cause her fear or distress, they say he knew or ought to have known, because how do you prove what a stalker knew?" The bill unanimously passed its first reading in December and had just been through a select committee process which attracted 608 written and 62 oral submissions. The response was to strengthen the bill, including lowering the threshold to two stalking or harassment acts within 24 months rather than three within 12 months, as well as other changes - including expanding the definition of an act of stalking or harassment to include "doxxing" - the publishing of material about the person being stalked. However, Morris said just strengthening the bill was not enough. "There needs to be considerable police training. There needs to be a public awareness campaign so people know exactly what stalking is. We need stalkers to know what stalking is and we need victims to recognise stalking when it happens to them." She said police training was vital. "In recent years that we've been looking into stalking, people report to us that police don't take stalking seriously, so there needs to be a big culture change there." She said the bill was "definitely better" than what it was, but Aotearoa Free From Stalking would continue to advocate for improvements. A petition calling for stronger laws on stalking was presented to Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith last year. Photo: RNZ / Lillian Hanly Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said moves to strengthen laws against stalking reflected Parliament's concern that stalkers had been able to evade real consequences for too long. Goldsmith told Morning Report the behaviours targeted by the bill included loitering, damage to reputation, recording, tracking or following and using technology in stalking methods. Asked whether it was a hurdle to require evidence that a stalker knew their behaviour caused distress, Goldsmith pointed to police's ability to warn the stalker so that "they can be in no doubt about that". "Obviously the legislation does need to have defences, because the behaviours that are listed that may amount to stalking are very broad - things like damaging reputation or loitering. "So we don't want people to be unable to defend themselves against claims, and so that's a basic expectation." Goldsmith said legislation was catching up with technology, and took into account modern harassment and stalking such as tracking, following or publishing recordings. He said the ultimate aim was to reduce the number of victims of serious, violent and sexual offending. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Scoop
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Auckland Women's Centre Joins Tidal Wave Of Criticism Of Transphobic Curriculum Proposals
Press Release – Auckland Women's Center Auckland Women's Centre is the latest in a growing number of organisations expressing serious concerns regarding the draft Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) Framework for schools. Leonie Morris, Project Lead for the Centre's Aotearoa Free From Stalking campaign described the draft framework as 'a significant failure in supporting the diverse needs of tamariki and rangatahi in Aotearoa', due to its erasure of trans and non-binary people, and of Māori culture and because the Centre considers that the framework's treatment of consent is inadequate. Ms Morris called the government's recall of the previous guidelines as 'jeopardising the next generation by using their safety as a political football in an imported culture war'. Her comments come in the wake of strong criticism of the draft framework from health and wellbeing organisations such as the Mental Health Foundation, InsideOUT and Sexual Wellbeing Aotearoa. 'RSE should reflect and affirm diverse identities, and equip students to build relationships grounded in respect, care, and equity,' says Ms. Morris. 'This draft falls profoundly short of that goal.' The draft guidelines completely omit reference to gender diversity, including the experiences of transgender and non-binary young people. 'This is a harmful act of erasure. Trans and non-binary rangatahi already face disproportionately high rates of harm. Excluding their realities not only invalidates their identities but also entrenches marginalisation within educational spaces,' said Ms Morris Concepts central to Māori understandings of identity and well-being are also entirely absent from the revised guidelines. 'The removal of all references to iwi Māori and te ao Māori, is deeply concerning and breaches the Crown's responsibilities to uphold te Tiriti o Waitangi,' said Ms Morris. 'This exclusion strips the curriculum of cultural relevance and actively undermines equity for Māori students.' Comprehensive information about topics such as body image, gender stereotypes, media influences, staying safe online, and pornography needs to be added, and should begin prior to young people's ability to access the internet, said Ms Morris. 'Gender stereotypes can fuel serious problems like bullying, sexism, harassment, domestic abuse, and gender-based violence. Inclusive, comprehensive RSE equips students with the tools to recognise and resist harmful behaviors early.' 'Stalking often stems from distorted beliefs about relationships—beliefs that are often shaped in adolescence,' said Ms. Morris. 'Effective RSE challenges myths, such as the idea that persistence equals love, and instead fosters respect, boundaries, and consent.' Gender violence is endemic in this country – the NZ Crimes & Victims Survey shows around a third of women in Aotearoa New Zealand have experienced sexual violence, and more will have experienced other forms of intimate partner violence. 'Education is our strongest tool for violence prevention,' said Ms. Morris. 'When young people are equipped with knowledge and empathy, we nurture a generation committed to respect, consent, and safety.'
Scoop
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Auckland Women's Centre Joins Tidal Wave Of Criticism Of Transphobic Curriculum Proposals
Auckland Women's Centre is the latest in a growing number of organisations expressing serious concerns regarding the draft Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) Framework for schools. Leonie Morris, Project Lead for the Centre's Aotearoa Free From Stalking campaign described the draft framework as 'a significant failure in supporting the diverse needs of tamariki and rangatahi in Aotearoa', due to its erasure of trans and non-binary people, and of Māori culture and because the Centre considers that the framework's treatment of consent is inadequate. Ms Morris called the government's recall of the previous guidelines as 'jeopardising the next generation by using their safety as a political football in an imported culture war'. Her comments come in the wake of strong criticism of the draft framework from health and wellbeing organisations such as the Mental Health Foundation, InsideOUT and Sexual Wellbeing Aotearoa. 'RSE should reflect and affirm diverse identities, and equip students to build relationships grounded in respect, care, and equity,' says Ms. Morris. 'This draft falls profoundly short of that goal.' The draft guidelines completely omit reference to gender diversity, including the experiences of transgender and non-binary young people. 'This is a harmful act of erasure. Trans and non-binary rangatahi already face disproportionately high rates of harm. Excluding their realities not only invalidates their identities but also entrenches marginalisation within educational spaces,' said Ms Morris Concepts central to Māori understandings of identity and well-being are also entirely absent from the revised guidelines. 'The removal of all references to iwi Māori and te ao Māori, is deeply concerning and breaches the Crown's responsibilities to uphold te Tiriti o Waitangi,' said Ms Morris. 'This exclusion strips the curriculum of cultural relevance and actively undermines equity for Māori students.' Comprehensive information about topics such as body image, gender stereotypes, media influences, staying safe online, and pornography needs to be added, and should begin prior to young people's ability to access the internet, said Ms Morris. 'Gender stereotypes can fuel serious problems like bullying, sexism, harassment, domestic abuse, and gender-based violence. Inclusive, comprehensive RSE equips students with the tools to recognise and resist harmful behaviors early.' 'Stalking often stems from distorted beliefs about relationships—beliefs that are often shaped in adolescence,' said Ms. Morris. 'Effective RSE challenges myths, such as the idea that persistence equals love, and instead fosters respect, boundaries, and consent.' Gender violence is endemic in this country – the NZ Crimes & Victims Survey shows around a third of women in Aotearoa New Zealand have experienced sexual violence, and more will have experienced other forms of intimate partner violence. 'Education is our strongest tool for violence prevention,' said Ms. Morris. 'When young people are equipped with knowledge and empathy, we nurture a generation committed to respect, consent, and safety.' Public submissions on the draft RSE Guidelines are open until 9 May via the NZ Curriculum website: For further information, people can also visit the Auckland Women's Centre's website:
