Vine Quick Reads: 5 December 2025

Vine Quick Reads: 5 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 policy brief on alcohol policy and its role in preventing violence against women

Australian primary prevention organisation, Our Watch, has released a new policy brief, Opportunities to address alcohol policy as part of a holistic approach to preventing violence against women (2025). The brief recommends governments explicitly address the link between alcohol and gender-based violence in law, policy and regulation. It sets out practical opportunities for policy makers as well as a range of other community-based strategies. For more, see Our Watch’s media release.

UN Women frameworks on technology-facilitated violence against women and girls (TF VAWG)

UN Women has released two briefs on TF VAWG. Each presents the main elements of substantive forthcoming publications – a model framework for legislation on TF VAWG, and guidance for police on effectively addressing TF VAWG.

• Model framework for legislation on technology-facilitated violence against women and girls (2025)
• Guidance for police on addressing technology-facilitated violence against women and girls (2025).

Good Shepard NZ launches code of practice for specialist lenders on economic harm

Good Shepherd NZ and the Financial Services Federation have launched a Code of Practice to help specialist lenders prevent and reduce economic harm. The Code of Practice contains seven responsibilities for specialist lenders, including things like understanding economic harm in the context of their work, seeking to prevent their services being used in abusive ways, and prioritising the safety of customers. A companion resource, accessible at the link above, also gives specialist lenders options and ideas for how to meet their responsibilities.

Netsafe release annual report: Year in Review July 2024 – June 2025

Netsafe has released its annual report, Year in Review: July 2024 – June 2025 (2025). The report provides an overview of the organisation’s performance and their 2026 priorities. It contains dedicated reporting for different workstreams, including Netsafe’s Harmful Digital Communications Service and their work combatting Child Sexual Abuse Material. Netsafe have also issued a call for the Harmful Digital Communications Act to be modernised amid rising reports of digital harm, including AI deep fake pornography, sextortion and scams.

New report: Addressing Sexual Violence in New Zealand (2025)

The Helen Clark Foundation has released Addressing Sexual Violence in New Zealand (2025). The report makes a series of recommendations, which include adopting a clearer definition of consent in law, banning sexually explicit deepfake abuse, and ending virginity testing. The report is also accompanied by literature reviews, analyses and draft legislation on the topics listed, all available at the link above. For an overview, including a recording of the launch event and links to media coverage, see The Helen Clark Foundation’s page.

Better Later Life Action Plan 2025-2028

Te Tari Kaumātua | Office for Seniors has released the Better Later Life Action Plan 2025-2028. The plan focuses on three priority areas:

• Health and care services – helping people stay independent, connected and able to access services when they need them
• Housing – ensuring older people have secure, warm, dry homes in the right place
• Cost-of-living – supporting financial security and easing pressures for older people

For each priority area, the Office has an accompanying action plan to deliver these goals. For more, see the Parliamentary press release.

Submission open on Draft Carers' Strategy Action Plan

Te Manatū Whakahiato Ora | Ministry of Social Development is seeking feedback on the draft Carers' Strategy Action Plan, which aims to support unpaid or informal carers in homes and communities across Aotearoa. The Action Plan is intended to be a ‘rolling’ plan with no expiry date that can be built on over time as new challenges arise. This, along with a discussion document and a summary document are available to aid submissions at the link above. Consultation closes 12 February 2026.

Nesian Narratives Toolkit launched

The Nesian Narratives Toolkit, a research project led by Dr Analosa Veukiso-Ulugia, was created over four years of talanoa (discussion) between researchers and early childhood kaiako (teachers). It guides teachers of young taimaiti (tamariki/children) in nurturing critical thinking, decision-making, and interpersonal skills for Pacific children and others. Each of the 12 modules is themed around a “voyage” through a Pacific nation and covers topics like identity, emotions, consent, relationships, and environmental safety.

See an interview with the researchers on Pacific Media News, here.

New Zealand Disability Strategy 2026-2030 launched

Whaikaha | Ministry of Disabled People have launched the new 5-year New Zealand Disability Strategy with the vision: New Zealand is an equitable and accessible place for all disabled people and their whānau – where disabled people thrive, contribute, and choose the lives they want to lead. It covers 5 priority areas: education, employment, health, housing and justice. The strategy also highlights disabled people’s disproportionate experiences of family and sexual violence and unique challenges they face upholding their rights in legislative and justice contexts.

Latest UN femicide figures released

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime and UN Women have released Femicides in 2024: Global estimates of intimate partner/family member femicides (2025), which provides new 2024 global and regional estimates of women and girls killed by intimate partners or other family members. It estimates that around 50,000 women and girls were killed in the private sphere in 2024—about 60 per cent of all intentional killings of women and girls. The report also highlights technology-facilitated violence as a femicide risk factor, and the critical accountability gap in global data on femicide.