Vine Quick Reads: 11 December 2025

Vine Quick Reads: 11 December 2025

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

New report from Netsafe, Beyond a Single Story: Understanding young People’s Digital Experiences (2025)

Netsafe has released Beyond a Single Story: Understanding young People’s Digital Experiences (2025). To produce an accurate account of young people’s digital experiences, Netsafe conducted 8 workshops across Aotearoa, speaking to 176 young people from 19 different schools aged 13-15. The report is structured around the following four guiding prompts utilised in the workshops:

• Tell us about your time online
• What do you get out of your time online
• If you could change, add, remove or fix one thing about social media, what would it be
• A message to the people in charge.

New briefing on relationship between alcohol, violence against women (VAW) and the holiday season

The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) has published a new briefing, Seasonal rises in alcohol-related harm and violence against women. This Briefing outlines alcohol’s role in structural and interpersonal VAW and calls for the inclusion of gender-responsive alcohol harm-reduction as part of a broader, comprehensive approach to addressing the issue. For a summary, see the PHCC’s media release, alcohol-related violence surges over summer, new Briefing urges gender-responsive action.

Children's Commissioner launches 'Dear Children' campaign against child maltreatment

Mana Mokopuna | Children’s Commissioner, Dr Claire Achmad, has launched the nationwide advocacy campaign, ‘Dear Children’. The campaign is focussed on preventing all forms of child maltreatment (physical, sexual, emotional abuse, exposure to domestic violence, and neglect) and asks all adults to sign the open letter to signal their support and commitment. The campaign also encourages adults to “Speak Up”, “Be Present”, “Take Action” and “Champion Change” when it comes to the safety of children. For more, see the Mana Mokopuna media release and RNZ’s coverage.

Auckland Women’s Centre release Stalking Response Guide

Te Wāhi Wāhine o Tāmaki Makaurau | Auckland Women’s Centre (AWC) have produced the Stalking Response Guide to educate people on their rights and options when they are, or suspect they are being stalked. The guide contains information on reaching out for support, supporting someone else being stalked, and mitigating the impacts of stalking on your wellbeing. They have also produced a more comprehensive version of the Guide as well as a stalking response flowchart. AWC plan to update the Guide once the Crimes (Stalking and Harassment) Amendment Act comes into effect in 2026.

UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) releases concluding observations on New Zealand

UN CERD has released its Concluding observations on the 23rd and 24th periodic reports of New Zealand. The UN's observations include concerns related to, among other things, data collection, reports of systemic racism within the courts, racist hate speech/crimes, structural discrimination, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Māori cultural and land rights, and the governments response to the Royal commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. Alongside the Government delegation, a civil society delegation was in attendance, which included Lady Tureiti Moxon who presented a claim that the government has escalated discrimination against Māori during its term and is overriding constitutional norms.