A report released on Thursday has found that some New Zealand women who left abusive partners were treated so poorly by support agencies that they questioned whether leaving had been worthwhile, RNZ reports. Researchers followed five women between 2021 and 2024, examining their records with police, Oranga Tamariki, refuges, the Ministry of Social Development, health and housing providers, courts and legal services.
Lead author Julia Tolmie, a law lecturer at the University of Auckland, said that while some workers gave valuable help, many agencies were punitive and judgemental. Three of the five women said unprompted that they had wondered whether they should have stayed, including one who had feared her partner would kill her. One participant with lasting injuries was repeatedly asked for medical certificates to receive support, and was contacted many times about housing over three and a half years without any result.
Source: RNZ