Up until the 1970’s domestic violence by a husband against a wife was generally accepted. This was shown in a 1949 court judgment in a case involving a man using an iron bar to beat his wife. The judge had advised him to use a stick instead “while it might be proper for a man to beat his wife at times, he must beat her properly…the Bible subscribes to and supports the statement, but the beating must be done as a service of love and not in temper”. Before the 1970’s there had been little discussion on the issue of domestic violence. Women were considered inferior to men; most married women were dependent on their husbands financially. In 1973 the first women’s refuge was set up in Christchurch after a group of women came together with a common interest in providing a safe haven for victims of violence. The women’s refuge movement started in a socio- political environment that defined the reality of family violence, and especially the existence of gender-based violence. “The women’s refuge center was fantastic. Not only did I meet women in a similar position, but I was helped with every aspect of what one goes through after coming out of a dreadful marriage”- New Zealand’s Women’s Weekly, 23 October 1978, Page 12-13. In the 1980’s a survey suggested that around 16% of women were hit by their male partners, half of them regularly. To the 1970’s wife- beating was accepted by both formal and informal males in New Zealand society, giving the wife a bit of a clip around the ear was regarded as satisfactory.
That later part of the 1970’s was a period of tremendous growth for Women’s Refuge with groups forming and safe houses being established all over New Zealand. The Christchurch Women’s Refuge continues strongly today. Women’s refuge operates throughout New Zealand providing a wide range of programs. In 1982 the Domestic Purposes Act was passed to protect victims of domestic violence. The object of this act was to facilitate efforts to reduce the incidence of domestic violence and made it at least four significant changes to the Crimes Act. It provided for non-violence and non- molestation orders to be made on application to the district or family court. The non- violence order applied to a person who had used or threatened violence against their partner or children living in the same household. In 1995 the Domestic Violence Act was passed rectifying some of the flaws of the 1982 Act. Changes included a new definition of violence, psychological e.g. harassment and intimidation, an increase in the range of applicants who can apply for a protection order such as flat mates, extended family’s. This led to a change in attitude with police taking a more pro-active approach, as previously police interference has not seen as proper. The 1970’s and 1980’s have also seen a great focus on fathers in families the feminism movement publicized men’s violence towards their wives. In the same period many men came to play a more active role within families, sharing child-rearing and developing closer bonds with their children.
The consequences of the Second Wave of Feminism on Domestic Violence was the change in family dynamics and a corresponding awareness of domestic violence in New Zealand society. As a result of the awareness of domestic violence within the home specifically in marital violence led to pressure on police in dealing with family affairs. Previously police had taken a hands off approach with dealing with family affairs. Domestic violence became ‘zero tolerance’, police were actively encouraged to make arrests in domestic assault cases. New Zealand police had the “pro arrest” stategy where police apprehended when there was evidence of a domestic assault.
There were legislative changes after the Second Wave of Feminsim. The Domestic Protection Act 1982, which became law in March 1983, it contained provisions for non-molestation and non-violence orders, this allowed police to detain for 24 hours without charge any person who had breached a non-violence order, thus providing a “cooling down” period. Later The Domestic Violence Act 1995, the Act has been considered a significant step towards combating the realities of domestic violence in New Zealand. Central to the new law is the protection order. Since the law came into effect on 1 July 1996, any person claiming to be the victim of domestic abuse has been able to apply to the Family Court for immediate invocation of a temporary protection order. "A temporary protection order prevents an alleged offender from entering an applicant’s property or neighbourhood, from contacting the applicant, from physically or psychologically abusing the applicant, from impeding the applicant’s freedom of movement, and from possessing any firearm. A temporary protection order can be made without notice, and unless legally challenged it becomes permanent after three months."
Features of the Act are:
• the definition of “domestic violence” is expanded to include psychological abuse, intimidation and threats, as well as sexual and physical violence
• protection orders can be made against flatmates and people in close relationships not living together, as well as those living together in homosexual, heterosexual de facto and married relationships
• protection orders can be made in relation to the associates of an alleged offender
• applications for protection orders can be made on behalf of another person or of a child
• any person breaching a protection order can be arrested without warrant
• the provision in the Domestic Protection Act allowing offenders to be detained for 24 hours without being charged is repealed – all arrested offenders must now be charged