Radhakrishnan PriyancaFAMILY VIOLENCE BILLFAMILY VIOLENCE (AMENDMENTS) BILLThird ReadingsDebate resumed from 1 November.PRIYANCA RADHAKRISHNAN (Labour): Thank you Mr Speaker. It is indeed a privilege to rise and speak in support of the family and whānau violence legislation at its third reading. This is legislation that significantly amends the Domestic Violence Act 1995 and it is actually a piece of legislation that is incredibly needed. In 2016 there were about 118000 incidents involving family violence that police responded to and yet we know that about 76 percent of family violence incidents are not reported to police.Our statistics in New Zealand are horrific. Between 2009 and 2015 194 New Zealanders were killed as a result of family violence. Our family violence homicide rate per capita is two times that of Australia Canada or the UK—the countries that we commonly compare ourselves to. Children are present at two-thirds of all family violence incidents that are attended to by police. Children who experience—and we know this from the research that's been done—family violence are two times as likely to be victims of sexual violence four times more likely to commit sexual violence against a partner and three times more likely to attempt suicide and 57 percent leave school without a qualification.Now what this legislation does is provide a framework to support the cross-Government response to family violence that is so needed—that is something that this sector has been crying out for. There are quite a few bits of this piece of legislation that I would like to draw the attention of this House to but I want to focus on two because I think the thing that most excites me about this piece of legislation is the fact that it recognises that one size doesn't fit all—that domestic violence manifests differently in different communities.There are two points specifically that I want to make and to draw our attention to. This piece of legislation makes forced marriage an offence and it also amends the definition of family violence to explicitly include dowry-related violence. Now dowry is actually a practice that has changed over time. It started out as a sum of money typically or assets that were passed to a bride. It was meant to keep her safe. It was meant to keep her financially independent but that changed over time to become a sort of bride price" and it is a practice that happens here in New Zealand as well but one that many haven't heard of.This is a sensitive topic to many of our ethnic communities and for good reason too in a sense because for many years historically our communities haven't talked about family violence because there is a huge amount of fear that the entire community would be tarred with the same brush. But of course we know that not all families practise this and yet there are some that do and there must be remedies for those who are victims of this form of family violence. It's no longer a cultural practice. It was outlawed in countries like India back in the 1960s. So it is a form of family violence and we need to speak about it in a way that is sensitive because if we don't—and if we get the backlash that I often do when I talk about these issues on social media which is to say "Let's keep migrants out."—then that is unfair it's an inaccurate portrayal of what happens within these communities and it's dangerous to the women who are seeking to end those forms of violence as well.Violence exists everywhere. Many of the tools of power and control are the same but some differ and we must have this conversation in a way that recognises the issues that are specific to some communities so that we can address them and keep people safe without marginalising communities that often already feel like second-class citizens.I want to thank everyone—the former Minister of Justice the Hon Amy Adams; the current Minister of Justice the Hon Andrew Little; and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary to the Minister of Justice Jan Logie; submitters; officials; those who have advocated over decades; and the Justice and Electoral Committee that addressed this legislation—for the work they've done.As we stand here today and celebrate the festival of Diwali which celebrates the triumph of light over darkness knowledge over ignorance strength over weakness and good over evil I am proud to support this legislation which will go a long way to dispel the darkness that is family violence. I commend this legislation to the House."