Vine Quick Reads: 13 November 2026

Vine Quick Reads: 13 November 2026

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

New report explores day-to-day functioning of the family violence response system in Aotearoa

The ARC Centre of Excellence for the Elimination of Violence Against Women has published Examining the Family Violence “Safety” System in Aotearoa New Zealand: Where are Victim-Survivors Experiencing Safe Practice? (2026). This study examines the day-to-day functioning of the family violence response system in Aotearoa from the perspective of the victim-survivors who rely on it. For more, see RNZ coverage, 'Appalling' family violence system made survivors question leaving abuse partners, new report shows.

Consultation open on bills seeking to change how Te Tiriti o Waitangi is given legal effect in law

The Justice Select Committee is jointly consulting on the following three bills:

• References to Tiriti o Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi (Repeals) Amendment Bill, which would repeal references to the Treaty from several pieces of legislation;
• References to Tiriti o Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi (Standardisation) Amendment Bill, which seeks to implement standardised drafting to Treaty provisions and reference to the Treaty without substantively changing their legal effect;
• References to Tiriti o Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi (Strength of Legislative Obligations) Amendment Bill, which seeks to amend the weighting of Treaty provisions to a single standard of “take into account” across multiple pieces of legislation.

The committee has taken the approach of issuing one joint call for submissions in recognition of the closely related nature of these bills. For more, see Te Kāhui Tika Tangata | Human Rights Commission’s media release.

There is no set closing date, but the committee encourages the public to submit their feedback by 1 December 2026.

New Backbone Collective report on abusers’ interference in therapeutic services for children victim-survivors

The Backbone Collective has published a new report: “Daddy says no”: Mothers’ accounts of abusers blocking and compromising therapeutic services for children victim-survivors (2026). This report outlines the ways in which abusive guardians have used their guardianship rights to veto or interfere with child victim-survivors’ access to therapeutic services. It also details the impact of these actions on the child and protective parent. For more, see RNZ’s coverage, 'Most New Zealanders would be appalled': Abusive parents blocking children from therapy.

Report on online game and gaming-adjacent services released by Australia’s eSafety Commissioner

The eSafety Commissioner, Australia’s independent online safety regulator, has published a new report: Playing it safe: how online game services are (or are not) keeping kids safe online (2026). This report outlines the steps four large gaming providers Roblox, Mojang Studios (Minecraft), Epic Games (Fortnite), and Valve (Steam and Steam Chat) are taking to meet Australia’s Basic Online Safety Expectation. It details and compares the methods used by these companies to prevent and respond to online harm, including child sexual exploitation and radicalisation to violent extremism.

UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls calling for input on two forthcoming reports

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls has issued two calls for input to aid in the preparation of two reports to be presented to the 65th session of the Human Rights Council:

• Call for input to the report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls to the 65th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council
• Call for input to the addendum report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls on unilateral coercive measures and violence against women and girls

Guiding information for both calls can be found at their respective links above.

The deadline for both call-for-inputs is 12 February 2027.