The Minister for Women Hon Julie Anne Genter and Under-Secretary for Justice Jan Logie (Domestic and Sexual Violence Issues) today welcomed United Nations recommendations to take more action on progress for women.
“We know there is a huge amount of work to do to make things better for women and girls, and this government is absolutely committed to that work,” Ms Genter said.
Under-Secretary Logie attended the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) held in Geneva recently instead of Minister Genter. The United Nations has today released the Concluding Observations on New Zealand’s eighth periodic report.
“Gender-based violence is a huge problem and this government is taking a comprehensive approach to eliminating it,” Ms Logie said.
“Budget 2018 allocated $2 million in funding to establish a dedicated body to provide a single point of leadership and accountability for a whole-of-government, and whole-of-society, response to family and sexual violence.
“This body will lead an ambitious plan to prevent violence in all our communities, to change attitudes and behaviours that enable violence to occur and specifically the gendered nature of that violence.”
“We will work with NGOs and New Zealanders to address the issues raised. We all have a role to play in empowering women and girls in all their diversity,” Ms Genter said.
The committee has asked the Government to report again in two years on particular recommendations that relate to gender-based violence against women, abortion, and the Family Court system.
Background
CEDAW is the primary international instrument that defines women’s rights and sets out an agenda for countries to end such discrimination. New Zealand ratified CEDAW in 1985.
Under-Secretary Logie led the New Zealand delegation at the CEDAW examination of New Zealand’s report on 12 July.
The next New Zealand Government periodic report on New Zealand’s progress, covering the full range of Committee recommendations is due in July 2022.