Another bill to protect child victims of domestic violence

Another bill to protect the victims of domestic violence was introduced to Parliament today by Justice Minister Simon Power.

The Child and Family Protection Bill will focus on keeping children safe where there have been instances of family violence in the home.

"We have already made great progress in protecting victims of domestic violence," Mr Power said.

"The Domestic Violence (Enhancing Safety) Bill, which is currently before Parliament, will allow police to issue on-the-spot protection orders to help protect victims of domestic violence. It will also allow sentencing judges in the criminal courts to issue protection orders on behalf of victims.

"The Child and Family Protection Bill introduces further changes to ensure the courts can act to protect children and families from all forms of violence and abuse.

"There is a need to ensure court processes are effective, that the protection provided by court orders is clear, and administrative barriers are minimised."

This bill will provide greater protection for child victims of domestic violence and to improve Family Court processes, including:

 

• Clarifying that when a protected person dies, their children will remain protected. This will avoid any legal confusion at a time when a grieving family is already under stress.
• Amending the Care of Children Act 2004 to ensure that children who are victims of psychological violence receive greater protection.
• Ensuring a focus on the best interests of the child, by enabling courts to review parent contact arrangements within a few weeks of a temporary protection order being made.
• Avoiding any opportunity for a gap between a temporary and a final protection order that could result in protected persons having no protection.

The bill also strengthens the protection for children at risk of unlawful removal from New Zealand by:

 

• Removing the need to prove that the risk of removal is ‘imminent'.
• Making the orders more flexible. This could, for example, allow a child to travel overseas to attend a family wedding or funeral.

The bill also contains the last legislative amendment required for New Zealand to ratify the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. Ratification of the Optional Protocol will ensure that New Zealand is meeting its international obligations to protect children from economic and sexual exploitation.