The Government acknowledged the problem and took steps to remedy the situation. The law provides citizens with the right to change their government peacefully, and citizens exercise this right in practice through periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of universal suffrage. There are no restrictions on the role of women in politics and government. Women and minorities are accorded full opportunity to participate in political life. Section 4 Governmental Attitudes Regarding International and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights A number of human rights groups operate without government restriction, investigating allegations and publishing their findings on human rights cases.
Government officials are cooperative and responsive to their views.
The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of all the above listed factors, and the Government effectively enforces it. The law penalizes spousal rape. A government-commissioned survey, published in 1995, found that 20 percent of New Zealand men had subjected their partners to physical or psychological abuse in the last year. Critics of the report believed that the definition of abuse was too broad, but the authors stood by their methodology and conclusions. The study recommended that antiviolence programs for men encourage abusers to take responsibility for their actions and compel abusers to understand that their behavior is unacceptable.