And domestic violence? The message we get is that it is weird for men to be victims... that females are not perpetrators.
I Googled "domestic violence stats NZ" and got these links as my top 4.
http://www.2shine.org.nz/index.php?section=1
http://www.kirklaw.co.nz/folio/lwf.ns4/files/stats.htm
http://www.police.govt.nz/safety/home.domesticviolence.html
http://library.canterbury.ac.nz/web/ref/justicestat.shtml
The fifth link is for men...
http://www.menz.org.nz/Information/domestic.htm
Now, lets revisit the first link and find some facts on domestic violence:
1 in 3 NZ women experience physical and/or sexual abuse at the hands of a partner throughout their lifetime. (Fanslow and Robinson, 2004)
A woman is killed by her (ex)partner every 3.7 weeks
Between 20 November 2005 and 3 January 2006, six women were killed by their partners or previous partners - leaving 19 children orphaned.
During December 2005 and January 2006, NZ Police attended nearly 11,000 instances of reported family violence - this is about one incident every eight minutes.
Women’s Refuge provided services to 17,773 women and 12,161 children during 2005/06.
In a NZ Department of Justice study, 1 in 5 men admitted to assaulting their partners in the last year (Leibrich, Paulin, Ransom, 1995)
In 2000, 50% of homicides in NZ were family violence related (NZ Police Internal Report, 2003)
In 2005, 29 of 61 murders were domestic violence related.
During December 2005 and January 2006, NZ Police attended nearly 11,000 instances of reported family violence - this is one incident every eight minutes.
In December 2005, CYFS received over 5,000 notifications of suspected child abuse.
12 children are killed every year in New Zealand. Most deaths are caused by people responsible for the child’s care (Kotch, Chalmers, Fanslow, 1993)
The co-relationship between child abuse and partner abuse is estimated to be between 45-65% (Edelson, 1999)
About 10 children are killed every year in New Zealand by a member(s) of their family.
Around 22% of New Zealand girls and 10% of New Zealand boys have experienced sexual abuse (Anderson 1993, Youth 2000).
Only 12% of all victims of abuse ever come to the notice of the justice system
The annual cost of family violence in New Zealand is at least $1.2 billion – this conservative figure based on notifications to police is more than the $1.0 billion earned from our wool exports in 1993-1994 (Sniveley, 1994)
Police deal with more than 70,000 family violence calls a year but estimate only 18% of incidents are reported.
Police attend 120 calls a day to incidents of family violence.
In 2005 Police attended 63,685 incidents of violence and estimate that at least 62,625
children and young people aged under 17 were involved.
The Domestic Purposes Benefit gives options for abused women and enables them to take a stand against violent child rearing. Most spend less that 3 years on the DPB (Nixon and McCulloch, 1994)
Abused women are five times more likely to need mental health services and three times more likely to need other health services. Violence causes severe health deterioration across all mental and physical health measures (Elvidge, 1997)
What about the second link?
n 2005 there were 27 domestic violence related murders, 24 involving men killing a partner - or the woman's new partner. Three of the cases were of women killing men.
Show your true colours, Anna Chalmers, The Dominion Post, 22 November 2006
Women's Refuge assisted 13,729 women and 10,053 children during 2003. Approximately 30% of these were repeat clients.
Statistics New Zealand, Focusing on Women (2005)
Each year 11 women die and about 400 women are hospitalised due to assault.
Aotearoa New Zealand NGO's shadow report to CEDAW Monitoring Committee (2002)
15 - 20% of women reported having experienced physical or sexual abuse and 44 - 53% of women having experienced psychological abuse in 2001.
Aotearoa New Zealand NGO's shadow report to CEDAW Monitoring Committee (2002)
50% of all homicides of New Zealand women are committed by the woman's partner or ex-partner.
New Zealand 5th Periodic Report to CEDAW - The Status of Women in New Zealand (2002)
3% of women reported being afraid that their partners might kill them.
New Zealand 5th Periodic Report to CEDAW - The Status of Women in New Zealand (2002)
15% of residents in women's refuges had a permanent disability as the result of battering.
Oh, how interesting... nowhere in these "facts" does it mention that men die as a result of domestic violence at the hands of their partners, nor that females abuse children.(EDIT: Well, actually it does, first line... but the point remains the same, if we look at the figures below, we see men die at around 25% the rate women do from D violence)
Lets look at the realities and myths section for some clarity shall we? (First link).
Myths and Realities
People make a big deal about domestic violence, but it's not that common.
One in three NZ women experience physical and/or sexual abuse throughout their lifetime at the hands of a partner. Women and children are more at risk of violence in their homes than in the street. As a private crime behind closed doors, domestic violence never shows up in statistics as much as it occurs.
She asked for it /she probably deserved it.
No-one has the right to abuse another person. Drunk or sober, provocative or agreeable, everyone has the right to be safe from violence. By focusing on provocation, we excuse the person actually committing the violence. Violence against women is a criminal act. Violence against any person is a criminal act.
Why doesn't she leave?
Many people do not understand why the battered woman doesn't leave. Most victims who stay in a violent relationship recognise that if they take steps to leave, they risk the violence escalating. If your partner has threatened to kill you and your children, you will think very carefully before you put yourself or your family at greater risk. Most victims do not have enough support from outside the relationship to leave safely. Most women in seriously violent relationships eventually do leave, but may take a long time to get out, leaving and returning several times. We need to understand leaving as a process rather than a one-off event.
It will get better.
The longer the violence continues, the more serious the violence becomes. The relationship will only get better once the abuser stops violent and controlling behaviour.
Middle-class women are not the victims of violence as much as working-class women.
Violence occurs across all classes and socio-economic groups. Wealthy abusers use their resources to control their family. Violence is reported less often amongst higher socio-economic groups, who have more to lose from a criminal record.
Women in violent relationships are uneducated.
The formal education of women in relationships with abusers ranges from no qualification to doctorate.
Women in violent relationships are crazy.
This myth focuses blame on women and negative personality characteristics. Research shows that abusers and victims are no more crazy than people in non-violent relationships. "Crazy" behaviour adopted by some women may be their best attempt to survive in a very difficult situation.
Children need fathers.
Children need safety and security, not abuse. Children who grow up in families where there is violence are emotionally scarred and often repeat similar patterns in their own families. Fathers can choose to be non-violent with their women partners and children.
Drinking causes violence.
Alcohol and other drug abuse doesn't cause violence but may act as a "trigger" and increase the severity of the abuse. It is often used as an excuse for violence. Many violent offenders do not abuse alcohol or drugs, or may not be violent when intoxicated. Violent offenders who abuse alcohol or drugs need to address both problems. Continuing alcohol or drug abuse will reduce the effectiveness of stopping violence programmes.
Religious men are not violent.
Men who have religious beliefs are just as likely as other men to be violent. Religious beliefs often stress male superiority in the household. This thinking underlies violence as men believe they are justified to punish women and children for not being obedient.
Women are just as violent as men.
Some studies have shown that women are just as violent as men in heterosexual relationships. However, while some women may use violence towards their male partners, it is usually always men who use systematic violence for the purposes of instilling fear and dominating their partner. Statistics show us that it is usually women and children who are the victims of domestic violence.
Violent men are not loving partners.
Many violent men are at times loving, sensitive and playful. It may be this side of his personality which attracted women to him initially and induces the woman to stay.
Violent men cannot control their violence.
Men often believe this which enables them to avoid taking responsibility for their own behaviour. Violence is a tactic of choice - men choose who, when and where they abuse. Most men who are violent to their partners appear reasonable and "respectable" outside the family.
Domestic violence is a heterosexual thing and is rare in lesbian and gay relationships.
There is the same incidence of domestic violence in lesbian and gay relationships as in heterosexual relationships. The abuser may be the larger or the smaller partner, and there can be different tactics of control used, i.e. one partner may threaten to out the other partner to her family or employer.
Oh, females do abuse but it is not as serious... good to know.