Government Ignores Sexual Violence until Election Year

New Zealand First says the Government’s $10.4 million cash injection over two years for sexual violence services is only electioneering and not a long-term solution.

“Many frontline sexual violence services have been struggling for years to keep up with demand but the Government has failed to acknowledge the seriousness of their circumstances”, says Spokesperson for Social Policy Le’aufa’amulia Asenati Lole-Taylor.

“About 30 percent of New Zealand women experience physical or sexual violence, and yet only 9 percent of incidents are reported to police. These figures are horrifying in this day and age.

“The Government has let these agencies and the community suffer by holding back on much-needed funding until they wanted to score political points leading up to the election.

“Frontline agencies will be pleased to get more funding but it is still inexcusable for the Government to have waited until election year to do anything about the situation even though it was getting worse.

“New Zealand First wants to see a measured approach to tackling sexual violence, rather than just throwing money at the problem without an appropriate plan in place,” says Mrs Lole-Taylor.

ENDS

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