Stalking is set to become illegal and punishable by up to five years in prison, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has announced.
The Government revealed details of its proposed anti-stalking legislation today, saying the law would be introduced in Parliament before the end of the year.
“We’re going to criminalise stalking behaviours, which are of great concern to so many, particularly women in our community,” Goldsmith told 1News.
The stalking offence will have a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment, and will capture patterns of behaviour – specifically, three acts taking place within a 12-month period, he said.
The legislation will also provide a list of behaviours that may amount to stalking and harassment, including damaging reputation, recording, or tracking and following or loitering, as well as the use of technology.
Stalking is set to become illegal and punishable by up to five years in prison, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has announced. (Source: 1News)
Four other amendments will also be made to support the new offence:
- Allowing courts to make restraining orders and orders in relation to harmful digital communications, when sentencing for the new offence.
- Adding two new stalking-related aggravating factors at sentencing.
- Disqualifying the offender from holding a firearms licence.
- Clarifying that the definition of psychological violence in the Family Violence Act includes stalking.
The proposed new law follows much campaigning, including an open letter to Goldsmith and a petition signed by more than 20,000 people earlier this year.
It also follows the 2022 murder of AUT law student Farzana Yaqubi, who had made multiple police complaints about a stalker before she was killed. The Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) ultimately found the police’s response to Yaqubi’s stalking complaints was “inadequate”.
Goldsmith said while Yaqubi’s case alone wasn’t responsible for the upcoming change in the law, he did acknowledge its importance.
“There’s certainly been very strong calls from many thousands of young women, particularly [signing] petitions following that case.”
More work needed on new law – advocate
The proposed law would still need some refining during the select committee stage, says victims advocate Ruth Money.
“Like everything at this stage, the devil will be in the detail,” she said.
“We’ll need to encourage people at select committee to really share their lived experience so that the law is as tight as it needs to be.”
Money wants to avoid a situation where the victim must prove they were fearful or being harmed, and that the behaviour of the stalking is enough for a conviction.
“Because a reasonable person would feel fear if there is dog poo in their letterbox or they receive threatening emails or this person keeps following them or popping up at coincidental opportunities,” she said.
“What we don’t want to do is have the onus on the victim having to prove that they were harmed. We want to say that [a person] stalked, therefore [they] had the intent to stalk rather than the intent to harm.”
Money is also pushing for the threshold of stalking behaviour be dropped from the Government’s proposed three incidents in a 12-month period to two incidents. She said there is precedent for this, with cases of harassment and child neglect only requiring two instances.
“I’m uncomfortable with stalking being three [incidents] in 12 months,” she said.
“One, I get it, you can get a warning. Two, you [should be] out. Why do we need a third to show that behaviour? You’ve already been spoken to, likely, because of the first one. I think three is a stretch. It means that there are more people harmed to get to that third threshold.”
Goldsmith said the select committee process would debate this issue.
“Because it’s a broad definition of behaviours, you obviously don’t want to capture people who are doing things for legitimate purposes,” he said.
“So, the legislation seeks to clarify that, and give every opportunity for people to have a warning and say, ‘this is not appropriate, you’ve got to stop,’ but then ultimately to have a serious criminal offence if people continue to carry out these behaviours.”
Future-proofing the law
Money hopes the law is future-proofed to cover any new ways people may find to stalk others.
“We are wasting our time if it doesn’t future-proof,” she said.
“Stalkers, people who abuse … are always reinventing themselves, and they are always reinventing themselves as technology progresses.”
But Money said she is still “absolutely thrilled” to see stalking legislation being introduced in New Zealand.
“It will save people and it proves the Government’s listening. It’s what we need,” she said.
Money is also pleased to see stalking become an aggravating behaviour at sentencing.
“People need to acknowledge that it’s a terrifying thing to be a survivor of stalking and if someone is participating in stalking behaviour, that absolutely should be an aggravating factor when they are sentenced.”