In a world first, New Zealand has passed a law granting paid leave to victims of domestic violence, to help them to leave their partners and protect themselves and their children.
In a 63-57 vote, “legislators approved the measure granting 10 days of extra leave a year, separate from annual holiday or sick leave”, reports the BBC.
Introducing the scheme, which is the first in the developed world, Greens MP Jan Logie, a member of the ruling Labour-led coalition, said the leave would help victims to move homes or settle children into new schools.
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“This is a win for victims, a win for employers, and a win for society,” she said.
“This law is a world first and it will make a significant difference for people trying to escape domestic violence.”
New Zealand has the worst rate of family violence in the developed world, “a phenomenon that has been blamed on a range of factors, including high levels of alcohol and drug use as well as societal attitudes towards the status of women”, says The Daily Telegraph.
Authorities say one in three women will be subjected to physical or sexual violence from a partner at some point in their lives. Domestic violence is estimated to cost the country between NZ$4.1bn and $7bn a year (£2bn-3.5bn).
Logie said efforts to help victims often came too late, saying “we will not solve this problem by continuing to focus… on what happens after the police have been called".
“We wait until things get really bad or someone gets killed and then we wring our hands,” she said.
But the country's National Party objected to the law, saying it could negatively affect victims' job prospects.
The party’s justice spokesperson Mark Mitchell told NZ website Newshub that employers would “start to filter” applicants and consider “whether or not they want to hire someone that may present a risk around domestic violence”.
“Jan Logie’s Bill is not going to prevent or stop one domestic violence attack against a woman,” he said, adding that if the government supported the law they should fund it, rather than “pass the cost onto small and medium businesses”.
Domestic violence charity Shine, however, said domestic violence was already costing the country “in lost productivity and additional staff recruitment”, according to spokesperson Holly Carrington.
Dr Ang Jury, the chief executive of Women’s Refuge, said the bill was in no way a “magic bullet” and was not preventative in nature, but it was “a significant step in the right direction”.
She said: “We know women’s economic situation is pivotal to her choices that decides what she can and can’t do. If she can retain her job and retain the confidence of her employer, whilst still dealing with domestic issues, then that is great news.”
