Judge Boshier speaks about the Domestic Violence Act, 10 years on.

The Principal Family Court Judge, Peter Boshier, delivered a speech yesterday (27 March 2006) at Te Unga Waka Marae in Epsom, Auckland, on the Family Court’s response to family violence, ten years since the Domestic Violence Act 1995 came into force. He begins: “Domestic violence in this country has reached a stage where the community must respond and must act. Even though not all are directly affected by it or experience it, domestic violence is a scourge which must be addressed by our whole society…. I believe we are observing signs of a very serious breakdown in areas of our national social life…The Ministry of Justice advised me that between November the 20th 2005 and January the 3rd 2006, six women were killed by their partners or previous partners. These deaths further included the new partner of one of the women killed. Another family member was seriously injured. There was also a suicide by a male partner after he had killed his wife. To my understanding, these deaths left 19 children orphaned by domestic violence. There was also one child who died as a result of injuries sustained through family abuse….”

This speech was published in the June 2006 issue of the New Zealand Family Law Journal - view library record for details.