New report highlights deaths of mothers and babies due to family violence

Investigating early interventions to save the lives of mothers and babies is one of the actions set to follow a report examining violence-related deaths of women and girls in Aotearoa New Zealand.

‘Femicide: Deaths resulting from gender-based violence in Aotearoa New Zealand | Kōhuru Wahine: nā te ririhau ā-ira i te whenua o Aotearoa’ was released today; produced by family violence death review (FVDR) subject matter experts on behalf of He Mutunga Kore | National Mortality Review Committee (the Committee).

The Committee Chair, Dr Liza Edmonds, says, “Much of what’s contained in this report is confronting. I’d like to acknowledge the women and girls who have lost their lives through violence, and those who live on through the aftermath of this trauma.

“In publishing this report, we aim to start a discussion about deaths resulting from violence against women and girls and the prevention and response strategies that are urgently required.”

Broad approach captures deaths not previously accounted for

NZ Police data shows between 2007 and 2022 of the 1,169 homicides in Aotearoa New Zealand, 34 percent of victims were women; more than half of those women (58 percent) had a family relationship to the offender. 

Dr Nicola Atwool, chair of the Family Violence Death Review subject matter expert group says, “This report takes a broad approach to examining femicide, identifying family violence deaths that have not previously been accounted for in data such as that collected by Police.

“For example, violence during pregnancy contributes to deaths of mothers and babies, and there’s a strong link between family violence and maternal suicides (death of a mother during pregnancy and up to a year after birth).

“This report finds that appropriate interventions during this period could significantly reduce the number of lives lost, and this is one of the areas we’ll be investigating further with other agencies.”

Some groups more vulnerable due to ongoing inequity 

Meanwhile, the report highlights a lack of data on violence against a number of vulnerable population groups, including those outside of the traditional male/female binary, migrant and refugee women, and disabled people. This limits the ability to develop appropriate prevention strategies for these groups.    

Dr Atwool says, “The data that we do have demonstrates no significant reduction in family violence has occurred between 2007 and 2022, and that due to ongoing inequity some groups of women are more vulnerable than others.”

Dr Atwool notes the ongoing inequities for wāhine and kōtiro Māori (Māori women and girls) compared with non-Māori.

“We identified inequities in the rates of family violence homicide for wāhine and kōtiro Māori compared with non-Māori women and girls between 2018 and 2022. Had these inequities not existed, there would be approximately 25 more wāhine and kōtiro Māori alive today.” 

Emergent issues highlighted include technology-facilitated violence (such as that promoted through social media), organised crime, and the higher risk of homicide faced by older women with disabilities or chronic health conditions.

As there is currently no routine way of collecting information about the context of these deaths, consideration hasn’t been given to how they might be prevented.

Dr Edmonds says, “As a signatory to the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women, we should be doing all we can to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls. This report shows that we have a long way to go.”

Read ‘Femicide: Deaths resulting from gender-based violence in Aotearoa New Zealand | Kōhuru Wahine: nā te ririhau ā-ira i te whenua o Aotearoa’

Background

‘Femicide: Deaths resulting from gender-based violence in Aotearoa New Zealand | Kōhuru Wahine: nā te ririhau ā-ira i te whenua o Aotearoa’ follows guidelines for reporting on femicide released by United Nations Women and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). However, it goes further, also exploring deaths associated with damage to women’s bodies – such as the deaths of unborn babies exposed to violence, and women and girls who die by suicide.

This report was produced by family violence death review (FVDR) subject matter experts on behalf of He Mutunga Kore | National Mortality Review Committee (the Committee). 

The Committee is the primary advisor on mortality review to the board of Te Tāhū Hauora Health Quality and Safety Commission. It was established in 2023, replacing the previous five committee structure.

Family violence death review has been retained as an ongoing programme of work of the Committee.

This is the ninth report on deaths related to family violence.