WELLINGTON, May 19 (Xinhua) -- The New Zealand government announced on Sunday a new and collaborative approach to tackle family and sexual violence - one of the country's most disturbing long-term challenges.
The government is delivering the largest ever investment in family and sexual violence and support services as part of the Wellbeing Budget so as to break the cycle of family and sexual violence in New Zealand, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in a statement.
The budget package will deliver more support services to more New Zealanders, major campaigns aimed at stopping violence occurring and major changes to court processes to reduce the trauma victims experience, Ardern said.
"Every year about one million New Zealanders are affected by family and sexual violence, including almost 300,000 children," she said.
"My goal has always been for New Zealand to be the best place in the world to be a child and that means supporting parents and communities to ensure children grow up in secure homes free from violence," the prime minister said.
The family and sexual violence package includes funding and support for 24/7 sexual violence crisis support services, major advertising campaigns and intervention programs, enabling victims of sexual violence to give evidence in court in alternative ways in order to reduce the risk of experiencing further trauma, and providing specialist training for lawyers in sexual violence cases.
