CEDAW 2007

Comments To The UN CEDAW Monitoring Committee, January 2007

This Alternative Shadow Report to the UN CEDAW Monitoring Committee on New Zealand's progress in implementing the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women comes 25 years after New Zealand became a party to the Convention. In many ways it is heartening to look back over that time and reflect on how much has been achieved, but, as this report shows, there is still much to be done. In some cases we are still trying to make changes that our foremothers tried to set in place. Compared with many countries, women in New Zealand are fortunate in that discrimination is no longer codified in law but the far-reaching effects of social and cultural discrimination can still be seen.

In this report are contained the many areas where New Zealand women find discrimination still operates despite legal sanctions. Often this is economic; women still have difficulty in managing the conflicting demands of employment, family commitments and their need for leisure, and these are made worse by the effects of student debt and the on-going struggle for pay equity. A second important area is health where women find that, while there is no actual discrimination, there is a failure to recognise the health issues that arise from being women. The attrition of rural services is resulting in women's lives becoming increasingly difficult as they juggle the health, education, communication and transport needs of their families. Migrant women find that as well as bringing with them the discrimination from their previous country they are also recipients of discrimination in the new land. Maori and Pacific women continue to languish at the bottom of many socio-economic indicators.

The key concerns identified for each of the 16 Articles are outlined in the following statements.

Article 1: Definition of Discrimination

Discrimination in its various forms is being recognised and acted on.
NGOs are not aware of any complaints made under the Optional Protocol to the Convention.

Article 2: Elimination of Discrimination

Protection under law was seen generally to be adequate, but the challenge is to eliminate discrimination that has become entrenched through custom.
NGOs are concerned that national accounting systems focus on economic indicators rather than measuring things that assist society such as unpaid work.
There are issues with the invisibility of women in the prison system and that the male-oriented prison system does not cater for the needs of women, particularly in relation to children.
NGOs recommend that the Government consider adapting prison facilities to enable children to remain with their mothers.

Article 3: Development and Advancement of Women

The Action Plan for New Zealand Women in 2004 was a great step to improving the lives of New Zealand women, but it has not been well promoted.
The Government's decision to retain the Ministry of Women's Affairs is welcomed by NGOs.
The establishment of NZAID for international aid and development is another positive step, and New Zealand has been influential internationally in promoting human rights.
New Zealand ranks sixth overall for women's rights among the 57 countries surveyed by the World Economic Forum.
Migrant women experience discrimination and non-acceptance by the wider community. Discrimination can also come from within their own communities, based on repressive attitudes from their country of origin.
Women with disabilities meet several specific obstacles including access to credit, greater need for childcare but more difficulty in accessing it, and discrimination in employment.
The widening gender gap in employment is a major concern. Barriers to advancement include the burden of student loan debt, family responsibilities and invisible barriers to promotion.

Article 4: Positive Discrimination

There is no evidence to suggest that women are advancing into leadership positions as a result of positive discrimination.

Article 5: Social and Cultural Patterns

Gender stereotyping continues in the media and sexist jokes appear to becoming more common.
Substantial progress has been made in gender integration in the defence forces, but there is still room for improvement.
Migrant women experience in NZ oppressive practices brought from their homelands. More accessible and culturally sensitive information needs to be available to migrant and refugee communities.
Unacceptable levels of violence against women are still tolerated and domestic violence is the fifth leading cause of death from injury for New Zealand women.
Maori women are more likely than non-Maori women to experience physical abuse.

Article 6: Exploitation of Women

Some NGOs are critical of the 2003 Prostitution Law Reform Act on the grounds that it downgrades the status of women and reduces equality significantly; it enables prostitution rather than attempting to suppress it. There is still much debate on the implications of the Act.
The majority of NGOs see the Act as a step forward in that it decriminalises the provision of sexual services for money and removes the double standard whereby women were breaking the law but their male clients were not. It also gives sex workers the same protections as other workers.
NGOs are concerned about the continued exploitation of migrant women, particularly those from Asia and the Pacific.

Article 7: Political and Public Life

Women's representation in central government and on public boards is increasing gradually and becoming more widely accepted. In local government women's representation has been decreasing or is static.
The focus on a small group of women in key positions has created a perception that the battle for equality has been won.
NGOs welcomed the appointment of an Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner to the Human Rights Commission in 2003.
Women are still under-represented in governance and professional life, particularly in the directorships of public companies.
NGOs agree that more strategies are needed to increase the numbers of women in decision-making roles.

Article 8: International Representation and Participation

Representation by New Zealand women at international conferences has improved, and the Minister of Women's Affairs has been able to provide leadership in the delegation to the Convention on the Status of Women and its on-going role.
Steps have been taken to include NGO representatives on government delegations to United Nations events, and NGOs indicate that representation by women at international events has improved.
Information on opportunities to become involved in international representation should be distributed more widely and more women should be encouraged to take part.
Funding is a major barrier to international representation and Government should subsidise women's representation at the same level as men.

Article 9: Nationality.

No submissions were received.

Article 10: Education

There is continuing tension between the provisions of the 1989 Education Act which entitles primary and secondary students to free education and the need for schools to charge increasing levels of "voluntary" fees because schools cannot maintain their programmes without non-government funding.
NGOs are concerned that many inequities in New Zealand are perpetuated through young people leaving school with poor literacy and numeracy skills.
Secondary school retention rates have continued to improve, but urgent steps are needed to encourage young Maori and Pacific women to prepare for higher education and training.
School bullying is of great concern to NGOs and more programmes are offered now that aim at reducing violence.
Student loan debt is a major issue for women who, because of their lower average earnings and time out from paid work to care for children or other dependants, take much longer than men to repay their loans.

Article 11: Employment

Women's participation in the labour force has increased steadily but women workers still face many obstacles in relation to equity, fairness and opportunity.
Women continue to receive unequal pay for work of equal value, and continue to bear the bulk of the costs of bearing and raising children.
Many women, particularly those in casual, temporary or part-time work, remain in de-unionised sectors of the economy with no real access to collective bargaining.
Paid parental leave has been extended to 14 weeks and to self-employed people working more than 10 hours per week.
Disabled women are disproportionately affected by workplace discrimination and lesbian and bisexual women are frequently subjected to discrimination, as are migrant women.
Youth pay rates are also discriminatory and are seen to have a negative effect on the wages of low-paid women. There is concern about the financial insecurity and exploitation of female workers under 16 years old for whom there is no minimum wage protection.
Maintaining a good work-life balance continues to be a challenge for women in paid or self-employment, especially those caring for children or trying to further their education at the same time.
Women working in higher education and in science research continue to face barriers and injustices, and the declining status of the teaching profession at younger age levels is of concern.

Article 12: Health

Health inequalities persist especially among ethnic groups, for people with disabilities, and in rural areas.
NGOs welcomed the 2001 Sexual and Reproductive Health Strategy but are concerned that no specific funding has been allocated for its implementation and that sexual and reproductive health remains a low priority objective in the Primary Health Strategy.
Free breast cancer screening has been expanded to women aged 45-69.
Many of the health problems affecting women must be seen in the broader context of a range of socio-economic factors.
The sexual and reproductive health issues affecting especially Maori and Pacific women are of serious concern.
NGOs regard maternity services as satisfactory but with room for improvement. Rates of breastfeeding are high at birth but decline significantly over time.

Article 13: Economic and Social Life

NGOs recommend that statistics be disaggregated by gender and that gender analysis of government policies be more robust to improve the steps towards eliminating discrimination.
Partnered women are assumed to have access to their partner's income, despite their having no legal right to a share of the family income, and eligibility for benefits is based on this assumption.
NGOs want the government to put more resources into programmes to upgrade housing.
Older women find it hard to keep saving for retirement and are afraid to spend the little money they have on themselves. Many are reluctant to protect their property when they form a new relationship and this can cause hardship.

Article 14: Rural Women

Rural women have been adversely affected by the loss of essential services and this is aggravated by transport difficulties including the rising cost of petrol.
Many rural women experience difficulty in accessing health care services such as home help and maternity services.
The rural character of some areas is being affected by tourism, foreign land purchasers and urban people in search of a lifestyle but without commitment to the community.

Article 15: Legal

Most NGOs welcome recent social legislation as extending human rights to all citizens.
There is praise for the Property (Relationships) Act 2002 which gives protection to people in de facto relationships and recognition for non-financial contributions to a relationship.
Article 16: Marriage and Family.
Domestic violence continues to be widespread.
Student debt is having a negative effect on women's life choices and especially on whether or not to have a family.
The Families Commission is seen as an important addition to Government structures.