Panui December 2009

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Table of Contents

Sexual violence survivors show strength and courage
From the Chief Executive – Time to move on….
The ‘CSI effect’ has implications for verdicts
More common cases of sexual violence least likely to end in conviction
White ribbons ride north
The balancing act
– Four projects on gender pay gap
Working at MWA ‘great’
Well-being for ethnic women
Women’s rights under scrutiny
All aboard
In brief
– Update on progress of New Zealand women
– Rural Women New Zealand Award
– New Zealand keeps its place in global gender gap measure
– Te Toiora Mata Tauherenga: Report of the Taskforce for Action on Sexual Violence
– ‘Welcome Home’ loan limit increased
– Postcodes needed

 

Sexual violence survivors show strength and courage

Tribute was paid to the strength and courage of sexual violence survivors who participated in the Ministry of Women’s Affairs research project Strong and Safe Communities: Effective interventions for adult victim/survivors of sexual violence at an event held in October.

Speaking at the event – held to present the findings from the two-year research project – Women’s Affairs Minister, Hon Pansy Wong, thanked everyone involved in the research, including the Crime and Justice Research Centre at Victoria University for their ‘skill, dedication, and absolute professionalism’.

‘Above all, we must express our deep gratitude to the survivors who participated in the research. Without their strength and courage we would not be here tonight.’

During the project the researchers engaged with a wide range of individuals and agencies across New Zealand. The five reports were released publicly in October and contain new and significant information on a crime that is regarded by criminal justice agencies as second-only to murder in seriousness.

Mrs Wong said that the research was the first comprehensive analysis to be conducted on adult sexual violation in New Zealand in the past three decades.

‘The research dispels myths around sexual violence, such as that sexual violence is often committed by a stranger.

‘Although sexual violence cases involving a stranger have the highest success rate for prosecution, and the victims of such incidents are more likely to report them to police, the reality is that sexual violence is more often committed by someone known to the victim, such as a partner, a friend, a family member, or a carer.’

Mrs Wong said the research confirmed the importance of the belief and support of family and friends to assisting of recovery of victims of sexual victims. It also revealed that many victims are more likely to initially access the medical and mental health systems, social services, and other community services than specialist services.

‘Therefore it is important these frontline services are equipped to detect signs of sexual violence and refer the victims to other agencies to receive the specialised help they need.’

From the Chief Executive – Time to move on….

My term as Chief Executive of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs is coming to its end in February 2010. All public service Chief Executives have set term contracts and February will be the six-year anniversary of my appointment to this role at the Ministry.

Although my term finishes in February, I will in fact stay on here just a few extra months – probably until May or June – so that I can be sure about handing on the reigns to the new Chief Executive. So you may see the job advertised in the next month or so, but you can also know that we will all be full steam ahead before and during the transition to a new leader.

Changes such as this may bring some sadness but they also are exciting. That applies to me, the staff here and perhaps you too, as readers of Pānui.

For the staff, it has been very affirming to know that the State Services Commissioner is to appoint a CE for another five year term, indicating the commitment of government to the Ministry of Women’s Affairs. I am sure you will be delighted to hear this too.

It pleases me greatly to see the Ministry in such good spirits with strong staff, a focused work programme, and having an impact across the public sector.

Sadly there is still so much to do, gains for women can be fragile and, in so many areas improvements are static or even in danger of turning backwards. Having a vibrant Ministry is necessary, but far from sufficient, to secure sustained change for women. Every one of you, whether in government, business, iwi, communities and families, and irrespective of your gender, has to take a part in making the difference.

And as to my future? It is hard to imagine a more worthwhile role than this one, but I have many ideas about ways I could contribute. I have no intention of slowing down, and am beginning to think about new paths ahead. 

I am hoping that in the months to come I will have a chance to see many of you and to talk more about what I have learned from this last six years and what more must happen, and how we can all make it so! There will be an article on my reflections and a final goodbye in the March issue.

Best wishes and a happy and safe holiday season.


Shenagh Gleisner
Chief Executive

The ‘CSI effect’ has implications for verdicts

New Zealand juries can be influenced by television programmes such as Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) and this has implications for their verdicts, Dr Denise Lievore said on release of the final two reports in MWA’s sexual violence research project.

Denise was research manager for the project and said police and crown prosecutors spoke to the researchers about the ‘CSI effect’.

‘They said that juries don’t understand the real nature of sexual violence, particularly the issue of consent, and have unrealistic expectations of what evidence will be available. This has implications for their verdicts. One Crown prosecutor said:

‘There’s a high threshold of proof considering there is unlikely to be independent witnesses. The ‘CSI effect’ where juries seem to believe there will always be compelling forensic evidence or admissions from the offender… CSI is not reality and the case must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt, not all doubt’.

The project marked the first time in New Zealand that crown prosecutors have been interviewed for such research. More can be read in the report Responding to Sexual Violence: Attrition in the New Zealand criminal justice system. All reports are on the MWA website at www.mwa.govt.nz/our-work/svrproject/

More common cases of sexual violence least likely to end in conviction

Sexual violence cases involving people who are most vulnerable, and those with more typical scenarios, are least likely to end in a conviction.

These are cases where the victims knew the perpetrator, had a disability, had made previous allegations of sexual or physical violence, or where alcohol or other drugs were involved.

By contrast, cases that are less common – but are more likely to resemble the stereotypical ‘real rape’ – were more likely to result in a conviction. That is, those involving strangers, force or physical injury.

This is one of the main findings in the Ministry of Women’s Affairs’ report Responding to Sexual Violence: Attrition in the New Zealand criminal justice system, one of five related research reports that are now available on our website. It includes an analysis of almost 2000 sexual violation cases recorded by the police over a 30-month period. Only around 16 percent proceeded to trial and only 13 percent resulted in a conviction.

Announcing the release of the reports, Ministry of Women’s Affairs Chief Executive, Shenagh Gleisner, said victims often did not report an assault because of feelings of shame, self-blame, and the fear of not being believed.

‘It is a sad fact that some victims can encounter disbelief, blame, and ostracism. It is absolutely critical that, to set them on the path to recovery, they are believed, supported, and helped when they find the courage to tell someone what has happened to them.

‘This includes family members, friends, GPs, nurses, and many others working in the medical or mental health system, social services, or other community services. Our research tells us that victims are initially more likely to go to these people than to specialist services, although they do talk about the importance of specialist counselling as a critical part of their recovery.’

‘These reports are all available on the Ministry’s website and I urge people to read them. As I advised Pānui readers in September, this is an important piece of work. We are distributing the research as much as possible and strongly encouraging wide debate on the findings.’

The reports can be read at www.mwa.govt.nz/our-work/svrproject/

White ribbons ride north

A motorcycle ride in support of White Ribbon Day visited more than 35 towns and cities across the North Island over two days.

The White Ribbon ride, led by the Super Māori Fullas and Patriots Defence Motorcycle Club, took four separate routes through eastern, western, and the central North Island. It left Wellington on White Ribbon Day, 25 November, and ended in Bream Bay, Whangarei on 27 November. The ride was organised by the Families Commission as part of the White Ribbon campaign.

Other events organised by the national campaign committee included a breakfast in Wellington for 200 men, a White Ribbon men’s race, and the handing out of thousands of white ribbons at spots all around Wellington. Minister of Women’s Affairs, Hon Pansy Wong, members of her staff, and MWA staff members arrived at Wellington railway station at 7.00am on White Ribbon Day to give ribbons to commuters. Later in the day, male staff members from the Minister’s office and from MWA joined in the race.

The breakfast was cooked by some of Wellington’s top chefs and amongst the guest speakers were ex-ruby league player Ruben Wiki, and our own Minister of Women’s Affairs Minister, the Hon Pansy Wong, who took a very active role throughout the day.

Many events and activities were held all around the country as New Zealanders expressed their opposition to violence against women.

The Ministry of Women’s Affairs is represented on the White Ribbon national campaign committee which is made up of representatives from government agencies and NGOs.

The White Ribbon Campaign is the largest effort in the world of men working to end violence against women. In over 55 countries, campaigns are led by both men and women, even though the focus is on educating men and boys. In some countries it is a general public education effort focused on ending violence against women.

 

The balancing act

Assisting women and men balance their paid and unpaid work commitments is well documented as an important intervention in closing the gender pay gap.

Flexibility can assist men and women to remain in the labour market and can facilitate sharing of care for children or other dependants within families. It can also assist organisations to retain and further develop the talent they need.

As part of our work programme on the gender pay gap, we have chosen to look at flexible work practices in the accountancy profession because recent research has highlighted it as a ‘demographically challenged occupation’ (EEO Trust Workplace Age and Gender, 2009) and it is on the Department of Labour’s list of skills in short supply. Retaining the talents of women can be one strategy to meet these challenges. Flexibility will be one of the tools required.

Research also shows that the nature and quality of the flexible work practices makes a difference – especially in terms of potential pay outcomes for women.

For example, everyone benefits where flexibility allows women and men to access senior and professional roles, provides part-time jobs that retain access to training and development, or is embedded in a culture where working long and unsociable hours are not the route to promotion.

We know that some accountancy firms are already using flexible work practices – and not just for their accountancy staff but throughout the company. This project aims to explore what a sample of companies are doing, what works (and for whom) and what the outcomes for all the players have been.

We know that flexible work practices on their own cannot improve pay outcomes – but they are part of a whole menu of interventions that can make a difference.

Four projects on gender pay gap Our gender pay gap work is to develop policy projects that will contribute to making a difference to reducing the gender pay gap. The gender gap is important because it represents a waste of women’s skills and talent and an undervaluing of their contribution. We have talked to many leading thinkers in this area, and know from this that more ‘research’ is not needed. Hence we have developed a set of practical projects, working with other groups/organisation to add to their efforts and to increase the impact of our work. We have also looked at women at different levels in work, at contrasting workplaces, and also with a focus both on current imbalances as well as looking to the future. In the last Pānui we told you about the work we are doing on the differences in graduate incomes for males and females. This month we describe a little about our plans in relation to flexible work. Watch out in the next two Panui as we outline the other projects we have developed including work on career pathways for low paid women and on women in trades, current and emerging.

Working at MWA ‘great’

Moving from an agency with 1,400 staff to one with less than 40 has been a big change for MWA’s acting deputy policy manager, Anne Shaw.

Anne is on secondment to MWA from the Department of Internal Affairs and one of the first things she noticed at her welcome was that ‘we can all gather in the kitchen for morning tea’.

Other changes for Anne in her new role include getting involved in a broader range of issues and having bigger input into strategic discussions on the Ministry’s work programme and direction. She says it is quite different working in a population ministry where ‘you need to influence others’ work programmes and carefully pick the issues/policy projects you get involved in so you can get maximum value’.

Anne says she is grateful to be able to contribute to the Ministry’s work.

‘Working at the Ministry of Women’s Affairs is great, I am really enjoying the wide range of areas we provide advice on and the team has been really welcoming and ensured I have fitted in quickly. I’m really impressed by the smart and energetic analysts I have reporting to me.

‘It has been good to work on issues like violence against women and women in leadership. Both fit with previous experience I’ve had working as a volunteer for Victim Support and in providing advice to Ministers on appointments to government boards.’

Anne’s responsibilities as deputy policy manager include growing a team of highly talented younger staff; contributing to strategic leadership of the policy group; ensuring the high standard of MWA’s written papers; being the key point of contact between the policy team and the Minister’s office; and oversight and management of policy projects.

Anne’s current role at DIA – where she has been since June 2005 – is managing the Community and Sector Policy Team.

Well-being for ethnic women

It is a key priority for the Ministry of Women’s Affairs that all women are healthy, empowered, resilient, and safe. We recognise, however, that achieving this goal is easier for some women than others. For example, we understand that ethnic women can be particularly vulnerable, and can have particular issues around safety and access to services.

As part of a joint project on intimate partner violence in Ethnic communities, MWA and the Office of Ethnic Affairs (OEA) have been consulting with Ethnic women in a bid to understand what the specific issues are for them and what information they need to ensure they are safe, and have access to the support they need.

The meetings so far have identified a number of barriers for Ethnic women seeking support and services including:

• a lack of knowledge and information about:

    -    the law in New Zealand
    -    where to go for help and support
    -    their rights and responsibilities and protections as New Zealand citizens

• communication difficulties
• a lack of a social support network.

Some practical steps are planned as part of the project which include a brochure outlining relevant legislation; information on where to go for support; and a local directory of agencies and support services available to assist Ethnic communities.

We will also conduct a literature review, which will enable MWA and OEA to understand more about the nature and prevalence of intimate partner violence in Ethnic communities, and identify successful models of prevention and intervention that are culturally appropriate.

Women’s rights under scrutiny

Every four years, signatory countries to the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) must report on their progress on women’s rights.

CEDAW is the primary international instrument relating to women’s rights.

It sets out an agenda for countries to end discrimination against women. The CEDAW Committee reviews the reports and makes comments and suggestions where it believes further progress is needed. MWA is currently working with government agencies to prepare New Zealand’s seventh report, due in September 2010.

Like the sixth report, it will contain a section called ‘Voices of New Zealand Women’. The content of this section will be informed by the numerous meetings we have with NGOs and women’s and community groups every week. It will also be shaped by the input we received from the Ministry’s Chief Executive’s regional meetings held earlier this year. If you have any views about what information should feature in this section, please email: international@mwa.govt.nz, or write to us at PO Box 10049, Wellington. You can read the sixth report on our website at www.mwa.govt.nz/news-and-pubs/publications/international/cedaw-report.html

There is further information on the MWA website, www.mwa.govt.nz, plus email updates for those who want to stay informed (email: international@mwa.govt.nz with ‘subscribe to CEDAW update’ in the subject line if you want to receive this).

Finally, community groups are able to submit independent reports setting out their view on the way their government is meeting its obligations to the CEDAW agreement. These are called shadow reports. The National Council of Women (NCW) is co-ordinating a process to develop an independent shadow report for New Zealand. Information about contributing to that report is available on NCW’s website: www.ncwnz.co.nz .

All aboard

The Ministry of Women’s Affairs is leading the charge to get more women involved in New Zealand governance and to increase the number of women on state and private sector boards.

Ministry of Women’s Affairs Chief Executive, Shenagh Gleisner, said as awareness of this issue grows, more and more groups are recognising that they have a part to play in bringing about a change.

‘This is a complex issue and one that needs a multifaceted approach if we are going to succeed in bringing about long-term change.

We’ve noticed a marked increase in the number of organisations taking an interest in this issue, which is very heartening. It’s going to take all of us working together to make a difference.’

The result of this increased focus on getting more women into governance roles has seen the Ministry engaging with and supporting a growing number of interested parties, including Business New Zealand, the Institute of Directors in New Zealand, Chambers of Commerce, the New Zealand Institute of Management, and the Equal Employment Opportunities (EEO) Trust. Shenagh said partnership and collaboration were crucial for the Ministry.

‘We have a unique and powerful role in growing awareness and understanding of this issue. Together with our partners we can get the message out through business and governance networks that having more women on boards can improve business performance, and that companies can benefit from the wealth of women’s talent and skill that’s out there.’

Director of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs’ Nominations Service, Pamela Cohen, agrees, offering the Ministry’s report Women on Boards: Why women on company boards are good for business as a good example of the benefits of such partnership.

The report was released by the Ministry in May this year in association with Business New Zealand and the Institute of Directors of New Zealand. It presented international evidence showing the connection between women on boards and company performance, and how having more women involved in leadership, particularly at a board level, could improve business performance.

Pamela said the high level of support, commitment and input from those two organisations ‘is a very good indication of how important this issue is for New Zealand, which is lagging behind other developed countries in the participation of women on boards’.

She cited advice from international management consulting firms such as McKinsey & Company that companies start appraising their talent-management systems by reviewing the composition of their board.

‘The more traditional appointment method often favours known candidates over those with the competencies that a board needs. Robust selection processes help organisations get the right candidate and can uncover talented individuals, including women.’

Pamela says it’s also important for both businesses and women to understand the importance of the right mix of competencies and experience on a board.

‘We’re working to convince leading chairmen and directors that diversity on boards makes sound business sense. At the same time, women need to better understand the skills and experience required for corporate board roles, and the pathways to achieve them,’ she says.

‘With our Nominations Service, we’ve grown a significant database of women that can be put forward for state sector boards. Some of them may also be suitable for private sector roles, and we’re aiming to increase that number.

 ‘There are women out there with the skill and experience to competently take up these roles, but who need more support or guidance to make the right career decisions or take the next steps in the right direction.

‘We want to help them realise their potential as leaders.’

For more information about the Nominations Service check out the Ministry of Women’s Affairs website www.mwa.govt.nz/women-on-boards.

In brief

 

Update on progress of New Zealand women

Indicators for Change: Tracking the progress of New Zealand women was published by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs last year to provide an overall picture of how New Zealand women were doing in a range of areas. The report used indicators to give a ‘snapshot’ of how women, or particular groups of women, were faring in areas such as health, education, economic outcomes, and leadership.

The report has been updated and Indicators for Change 2009: Tracking the progress of New Zealand will be available on the Ministry’s website at the end of December.

Rural Women New Zealand Award

Applications are now open for the Rural Women New Zealand Enterprising Rural Women Award 2010. The Award recognises outstanding rural businesswomen running their own enterprises and celebrates the success of rural women entrepreneurs. The finalists will have shown great determination and innovation in creating or developing a successful rural enterprise.

More information is available on the Rural Women NZ website www.rwnz.org.nz or telephone 04 473 5524 or by emailing enquiries@ruralwomen.org.nz.

New Zealand keeps its place in global gender gap measure

New Zealand stayed at fifth placing on this year’s World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index. The annual Index assesses countries on how well they are dividing their resources and opportunities among their male and female populations, regardless of the overall levels of these resources and opportunities.

Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden have stayed in the top four placings since the Index was first released in 2006, although this time Iceland replaced Norway at the top of the list with a score of 82.8 percent.

New Zealand has been at 5th place since 2007, with a score of 78.8 percent. The United States dropped from 27th to 31st place.

The full report can be seen at www.weforum.org/pdf/gendergap/report2009.pdf

Te Toiora Mata Tauherenga: Report of the Taskforce for Action on Sexual Violence

Justice Minister Simon Power released the report of the Taskforce for Action on Sexual Violence in October.

The report primarily reflects the views of those delivering front-line services for sexual violence victims and treatment for offenders. Mr Power said the next step was for the ‘Government to consider the recommendations in the report about how we can better prevent and respond to sexual violence’.

‘The taskforce is an excellent example of community and government working collaboratively on a complex social problem. Community sector representatives were at the table with ten government chief executives to consider how sexual violence could be addressed more effectively.’

The report confirms that sexual violence is one of the most costly crimes for the health, social, and justice sectors.

The report can be read at www.justice.govt.nz/policy-and-consultation/taskforce-for-action-on-sexual-violence/the-taskforce-report

‘Welcome Home’ loan limit increased

First home buyers in higher priced housing areas of New Zealand can now borrow more money under the government’s Welcome Home Loan scheme. The amount that can be borrowed has increased to $350,000 in selected areas.

No deposit is required under a Welcome Home loan if you are borrowing $200,000 or less. Any amount over $200,000 needs a deposit equal to 15 percent of the amount over $200,000.

The maximum income requirements for eligibility for the loan are:

• One or two borrowers can have a maximum household income of $85,000 per annum
• Three or more borrowers can have a maximum household income of $120,000 per annum.

More information is available at the Welcome Home Loan website www.welcomehomeloan.co.nz

Postcodes needed

We would like all readers’ postcodes on our files, so would appreciate it if you could email us and let us know your postcode. Email mwa@mwa.govt.nz Thank you.

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