Vine Quick Reads: 19 June 2025

Vine Quick Reads: 19 June 2025

Welcome to our Quick Reads format. Each week we share selected news bites relevant to family violence and sexual violence in Aotearoa.

Consultation open on legal aid scheme

Te Tāhū o te Ture | Ministry of Justice is calling for submissions to inform the triennial review of the national legal aid scheme. The review aims to ensure that legal aid is efficient, sustainable, and accessible. The Ministry of Justice has released a discussion document to assist those making a submission.

Changes to Crimes Legislation (Stalking and Harassment) Amendment Bill

The government has announced changes to the Crime Legislation (Stalking and Harassment) Amendment Bill after recommendations by the Justice Select Committee. Revisions include:

• Lowered threshold for imprisonment from three acts within 12 months to two acts within 24 months
• Broadened definition of stalking to include doxing (publishing of personal information)
• Provision for the destruction of intimate visual recordings within 10 working days
• Provision for the courts to issue Firearms Prohibition Orders against those convicted under the Bill.

It also clarifies stalking as an aggravating factor in sentencing for other offences and reiterates those discharged without conviction can still be subject to restraining orders. Aotearoa Free From Stalking project lead, Leonie Morris, has responded to the announced changes. For more on the changes to the Bill, see our update to our news story, Submissions open for Crimes Legislation (Stalking and Harassment) Amendment Bill.

New article on the timelines of psychological, physical and sexual intimate partner violence

A new open access article has been published: Timelines of psychological, physical and sexual intimate partner violence among a nationally representative sample of Australian women (2025). The research mapped 815 women’s experiences of violence against significant relationship milestones to highlight common trends. For more, see The Conversation article: ‘He stopped me from talking to male colleagues’: new research shows how domestic violence so often starts with isolation and control.

Reports on gender parity and gender and ethnic diversity in public sector governance

Manatū Wāhine | Ministry for Women released the 2024 stocktake of gender and ethnic diversity on public sector boards and committees (2025), which shows a trending reduction in the proportion of women within public sector governance. Pākehā representation has slightly increased, while Māori representation has slightly decreased. Relatedly, The World Economic Forum have published the Global Gender Gap Report 2025 (2025) which measures the level of gender parity globally across the economy, education, health and survival.