Statistics in New Zealand
We have gathered these statistics on a variety of subjects, and may add more or update them as they change and as new information comes to light.
We do not make claims about statistics that estimate how much violence is not reported, simply because there is no data to validate what is not reported.
The statistic that NZ Police recorded a family violence investigation on average every five and a half minutes in 2014 (101,981 family violence investigations) is based on a data table of recorded crime and apprehensions from Statistics New Zealand. No information is provided to advise how it was based on that data, and therefore it should not be deemed to be reliable.
Recommended reading: The Partner Abuse State of Knowledge Project (PASK) is the world's largest domestic violence research data base, made up of 2,657 pages, with summaries of 1,700 peer-reviewed studies. In this unprecedented undertaking, a total of 42 scholars and 70 research assistants at 20 universities and research institutions spent two years or more researching their topics and writing the results. Approximately 12,000 studies were considered and more than 1,700 were summarized and organized into tables. The 17 manuscripts, which provide a review of findings on each of the topics, for a total of 2,657 pages, appear in 5 consecutive special issues of Partner Abuse published between April 2012 and April 2013. All conclusions, including the extent to which the research evidence supports or undermines current theories, are based strictly on the data collected. A 12-page summary of findings is available.
Before you go on to read the statistics we present below, we suggest that you read 'Misleading Statistics' to get an understanding of why our numbers may be different to the numbers you read elsewhere.
If you would like to contribute to this list of statistics, please provide your draft outline and related evidence documents to us by email.
Elder Abuse (Age Concern): http://oag.govt.nz/2013/ageing/our-ageing-population/indicator-46
- 1314 cases of elder abuse are reported to Age Concern (average) per year, based on 2010-2012 figures.
Child Abuse: Taken from 3 June 2015 New Zealand Family Violence Clearinghouse www.nzfvc.org.nz Data Summary: Children and Youth affected by Family Violence
- In 2014, there were 9,499 children who were emotionally abused, 3,178 children who were physically abused and 1,294 children who were sexually abused.
- 10 children were victims of homicide in 2014.
- In 2014 there were 1165 recorded offences resulting in injury reported to NZ Police, and 1720 recorded offences not resulting in injury.
International Prevalence Research:
Sexual Abuse:
- 1 in 6 men (17% of men) have experienced abusive sexual experiences before age 18 (equates to 44% of total NZ victims). https://1in6.org/the-1-in-6-statistic/
- Up to one in five women (20% of women) will experience sexual assault (equates to 56% of total NZ victims). Fanslow, JL. and Robinson, EM. (2004). Violence against Women in New Zealand: Prevalence and health consequences. Taken from Rape Prevention Education (NZ) 30 January 2016.
- 27% of women and 34% of men reported being physically abused by a partner
- 37% of women and 22% of men reported they had perpetrated IPV
- 16.7% of the male respondents reported physical abuse (12.9% for students and 15.4% for convicts),
- 29.5% reported bidirectional (i.e. both partners commit IPV against one another) violence (14.5% for students and 51.3% for convicts).
Gender Based Information
NZ Crime and Safety Survey 2014 (2015), New Zealand Police: http://www.justice.govt.nz/publications/global-publications/n/new-zealand-crime-and-safety-survey-2014/documents/nzcass-main-findings-report
- 5% of adults experienced a violent interpersonal offence by an intimate partner.
- 3% of adults experienced a violent interpersonal offence by a family member.
- 4% of adults experienced a violent interpersonal offence by someone known.
- 3% of adults experienced a violent interpersonal offence by a stranger.
- 5.7% of women and 4.4% of men were likely to be the victim of a violent interpersonal offence by an intimate partner in 2013.
- 3.8% of women and 2.7% of men were likely to have experienced threats and damage committed by an intimate partner in 2013.
- 3.4% of women and 2.5% of men were likely to have experienced a physical offence committed by an intimate partner in 2013.
- 1.6% of women and 0.5% of men were likely to have experienced a sexual offence committed by an intimate partner in 2013.
- 14.4% of women and 17% of men were likely to have experienced psychological violence (or abuse) committed by an intimate partner in 2013.
- In 2013, 1% of adults who’d ever had a partner experienced 61% of violent interpersonal offences by an intimate partner. This means that intimate partner violence is highly concentrated among a small group of people. (Use with caution: percentage has a margin of error between 10 and 20 percentage points.)
- Neither men (10%) nor women (10%) were more or less likely to be the victim of a violent interpersonal offence when compared to the NZ average (10%) in 2013. (Gender is not a factor)
- From January to October 2015, 42 men and 32 women were the victim of Homicide and Related Offences.
- From January to October 2015, 15,318 men and 17,553 women were the victim of Assault.
- From January to October 2015, 489 men and 3303 women were the victim of Sexual Assault.
- From January to October 2015, 6 people were the victim of Sexual Assault where gender was not defined.
- From January to October 2015, 4998 people were the victim of Assault where gender was not stated or inadequately described.
- From January to October 2015, 48 people were the victim of Sexual Assault where gender was not stated or inadequately described.
- 126 family violence homicides occurred between 2009 and 2012 (34.8 per year, excluding suicides).
- 63 homicides were the result of IPV.
- In IPV deaths 96% of females killed were killed by a male intimate partner.
- In IPV deaths 76% of males killed were killed by a female intimate partner.
- Females make up 23.8% of perpetrators in IPV deaths and 73% of victims.
- Males make up 76.2% of perpetrators in IPV deaths and 27% of victims.
- 37 homicides were the result of Child Abuse and Neglect (CAN).
- Females make up 45.9% of perpetrators in CAN deaths (13 mother, 3 female caregiver).
- Males make up 43.2% of perpetrators in CAN deaths (7 father, 9 stepfather).
- 26 homicides were the result of IFV.
- Females make up 19.2% of perpetrators in IFV deaths and 19.2% of victims.
- Males make up 80.8% of perpetrators in IFV deaths and 80.8% of victims.
