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September 08, 2023 at 2:55 PM

NZ Herald: Labour considers law change after AUT student Farzana Yaqubi murdered by stalker

The murder of promising AUT student Farzana Yaqubi has led Labour to consider criminalising stalking, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has announced.

Meanwhile, National says it is a “complex area of law” and something they would “look seriously at” if elected.

Yaqubi, 21, was murdered in December last year by Kanwarpal Singh, who last month was sentenced to 17 years in prison after pleading guilty to murder.

The Herald on Sunday earlier revealed that she had gone to police with concerns she was being harassed two months before she was murdered.

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RNZ: Labour's crime crackdown promise met with cautious optimism - but not from National

With her justice spokesperson hat on, Andersen said Labour would also look at making stalking an imprisonable offence. It would add stalking to the Crimes Act, in line with laws in the UK and Australia, which carry penalties of between 12 months and 3 years' imprisonment.

Labour said it would work with legal experts and victim advocacy groups to progress changes. One such advocate, clinical psychologist and domestic violence specialist Dr Alison Towns, said it was a long time coming.

"Labour has made a commitment to look at it now from two previous ministers for justice. So that's great, it'll be really great that they'll continue to consider it, but it would be really good if we actually got some action on this now."

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Stuff: Man charged with performing indecent acts on young person in state care

A 34-year-old man has been arrested and charged with allegedly performing indecent acts on a young person and indecent communication with a young person in state care.

According to police, they arrested the man on Wednesday in a joint operation with Oranga Tamariki.

He was charged in relation to alleged offending against four youths in an Oranga Tamariki residence during May and June 2023.

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RNZ: Jehovah's Witness church spends 3 years fighting scrutiny of Royal Commission of Inquiry

The Jehovah's Witness church has been fighting scrutiny from a national inquiry into the historical abuse of children for three years, court documents show.

The church has accused the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care of wilfully "miscasting" its religion and ignoring evidence showing why it should be excluded from the inquiry.

In June, the Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses Australasia, which oversees 170 New Zealand congregations, filed for a judicial review to exempt itself from the inquiry, arguing it does not have historical abuse cases within the inquiry's scope.

The inquiry's scope was expanded to include faith-based institutions in November 2018 after lobbying from religious groups and survivors. The Jehovah's Witness faith is the only group to oppose being involved.

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Stuff: Nia Glassie case in Rotorua inspires novel

A writer who attended the Nia Glassie murder trial imagines the thoughts - and prejudices - of a jury

My debut novel, Dice, about the trial of four teenage boys who made up a sex game based on the throw of a dice, was born in 2008 when I was sitting in Courtroom One of Rotorua’s High Court - and watching the trial of those charged over the death of Nia Glassie.

Nia had been subjected to horrific child abuse. During the trial, there was a moment when Nia’s mum made a statement in a police interview that to me was pretty much an admission of manslaughter. I looked immediately at the jury expecting to see recognition of this and instead saw that one juror didn’t appear to be paying attention. I was shocked. A bit appalled. The defendants and our justice system were relying on these jurors.

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Re: Toilet politics: Trans people more likely to be victims, not perpetrators

Content warning: This article discusses transphobia, rape, and violence.

This election, we’re looking at the key issues affecting young voters, breaking down stats on the reality of the situation, what young voters think about it, and later, once they’re all announced, the policies from different parties on the issue.

In this piece, we look at stats on trans rights and safety.

At a glance: 

• Trans people are over four times more likely than cisgender people to be victims of violent crime.
• Trans and non-binary teens face a higher risk of sexual assault in schools that prevent them from using bathrooms or locker rooms consistent with their gender identity.
• Meanwhile, there is no evidence that letting trans people use public facilities that align with their gender identity increases safety risks towards cis women.

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NZ Herald: Family violence: Ōtūmoetai College student organises fundraising day to create awareness

Secondary school students in Tauranga are being encouraged to wear purple and donate a gold coin to support victims of family violence.

Ōtūmoetai College student Robert Unsworth said he founded the “Purple Token Day”, to be held on September 21, to create awareness about the “big problem” of family violence.

“I really went down a rabbit hole of finding all the statistics and all these scary stories on family violence in New Zealand. I feel like lots of people don’t really know the true extent of it,” the 18-year-old said.

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