Family violence factor in deaths

Patsy Henderson Watt

Tougher penalties for abusers who throttle their victims is recommended in a report that shows Northland has the second-highest rate of family-violence deaths in New Zealand.

Six family violence-related deaths occurred in Northland between 2009-2012 - a rate of 0.97 deaths per 100,000 people in the district during the period, the Family Violence Death Review Committee's report said this week.

Included in those deaths was 34-year-old mother of two Patricia "Wowo" McGrath, who was killed by her partner, Phillip Andre Mahanga. He was sentenced to three years in jail for manslaughter.

Another case involving the death of 21-year-old Ashlee Edwards, who was found dead beneath a Whangarei bridge in 2012, is still before the courts while it is decided if Jimmy Akuhata is fit to stand trial on a charge of murdering her.

The committee recommended several changes in the report, including establishing non-fatal strangulation as a separate crime, modifying the test for self-defence in homicides and introducing a partial defence for victims of family violence who were not acting in self-defence when they retaliated against their abusers.

Miriam Centre counselling service director Patsy Henderson-Watt - who gets up to 160 referrals a month for violence in Whangarei - said treating strangulation seriously as a separate crime could prevent the escalation of violence and possibly deaths.

She agreed that strangulation was one of the most intense forms of violence and was "scarily not uncommon" in Northland. It was a "red flag" for future serious abuse or fatality.

"It's so close to murder. If someone is 'strangling' someone, they are well down the track of violence and it's not just a minor thing.

"We immediately swing into action when we hear about it, but 90 per cent of the time they are too scared to leave."

Ms Henderson-Watt said she was not surprised Northland had such a high percentage of family-violence deaths given the poverty and unemployment in the region.

Northland police criminal investigations manager Inspector Kevin Burke said strangulation was a risk factor that could result in the escalation of violence, putting the victim at further risk and police treated it very seriously.

"We treat family-violence incidents with urgency and have established processes to deal with these incidents, particularly with high-risk families," Mr Burke said.

"However, family violence is not just a police issue. We need the community, partner agencies and non-government organisations to play a part in preventing violence to ensure families are healthy and safe."

He said Northland was a region with high social deprivation that placed added stress on families and there were multiple factors that contributed to family violence.

The report data showed that 139 people were killed in family violence-related homicides between 2009 and 2012. That was 47 per cent of all New Zealand homicides.

They included 63 adults killed by partners or ex-partners, 37 children who died from abuse or neglect and 26 adults killed by family members who were not their partners.

Justice Minister Judith Collins has seen the recommendations in the report. She said they would have to be considered through the parliamentary process before they could be adopted.