What is "violence"? In some cases, it could mean a father sending his child a Christmas card or present. See the story below. It is followed by statements on the meaning of violent offending in New Zealand. For more discussion, see here.
Protest as father charged for sending gift
NZPA - Nelson Mail - 21/01/00
A men's rights group protested outside Wellington District Court yesterday after a man was charged with breaching a protection order by sending his daughter a Christmas present.
Mana Men's Rights Group chairman Bruce Cheriton said the man had been charged with breaching a protection order because he had sent his daughter some clothing as a Christmas present.
The case follows that of Invercargill prison inmate Lindsay Robin Parks, who was charged with breaching a protection order for sending his daughter a Christmas card from jail. Mr Cheriton said it showed legislation had gone mad and he wants to see the system changed. It encouraged fathers not to have any contact with their children.
Police had a different view. Wellington family violence coordinator Senior Sergeant Terry O'Neill said it was not uncommon for people to face such charges. In certain circumstances sending a card or present to a child could equate to someone engaging in, or threatening to behave in, an intimidating and threatening manner that might amount to psychological abuse, he said.
A breach of a domestic protection order can mean prison for up to six months or a fine of up to $5000.
The Invercargill man charged after sending his daughter a Christmas card was discharged without conviction after Judge Phil Moran heard that the message sent was Christmas wishes and congratulations about how well the girl was doing at school.
AND:
Media Statement By: Tony Ryall, Minister of Justice, 1 September, 1999
"The advice received shows that, using similar definitions of violent offending as are used by many countries in the study, New Zealand's rate of violent offending effectively halves."
And supporting information from the Ministry of Justice:
"24 August 1999
MINISTER OF JUSTICE
British home office study cited in the new zealand herald weekend herald august 21-22, 1999
You requested that the Ministry of Justice urgently assess the British Home Office report Criminal Statistics....
Some important differences in the definition of violent crime used among the contributing countries to the Home Office report are documented in the notes accompanying Table 1. Some countries such as Australia, the Netherlands, and Russia do not appear to include minor assaults, intimidation, and threats within their definition of violent crime. However, the New Zealand definition does include these crimes, which together make up approximately half of all violent crime in this country. If these crime types were to be excluded from our definition, the New Zealand violent crime rate would be approximately halved, making it lower than for Canada, Australia, and the United States."
Stuart Birks
27 January 2000, last updated 18 February 2000