house of fun casino slots The year in money: inflation eased, optimism ticked upwardLehigh Valley boys basketball Dandy Dozen: The first power rankings of the season have familiar names at the top

Aotearoa has highest reported rate of family violence against women in the developed world, with between a half to a third of all women experiencing abuse in their lifetime, and experts worry that budget cuts in the family violence sector are going to make the fight against abuse a lot harder. Family violence numbers have remained stagnant for decades, even as evidence shows the vast majority are never reported. The fight for legal support Not long after their whirlwind romance, Christchurch woman Shannon Williams' new partner needed somewhere to live. Given he had been hanging out at her place a lot anyhow, he soon moved in with her and young son. She said things were good for less than a week. "I felt like I was walking on eggshells, having to hold myself to an unrealistic standard to avoid him getting angry. The anger wasn't always directed at me, but it was enough to make me feel quite uncomfortable in my own home." But things would get much worse, when a few drinks at home with friends turned into a violent rage. "Everything was good, we were all having a really good night. I don't know what happened, but he kicked off - he ended up quite violent, he started smashing up the house. "He caused about $20,000 of damage to my property." Police were called, and her ex-partner spent a night in custody, but apologetic and embarrassed, he eventually convinced her to give him another chance. Eventually he would be charged and convicted following another incident. As a solicitor, she had an advantage when applying for the protection order, which she had within 24 hours, but acknowledged getting legal support is an issue for many women. University of Auckland associate professor Carrie Leonetti calls this the privatisation of victim safety - placing the onus on the victim to protect themselves from revictimisation - which she notes violates New Zealand's obligations under several international human rights conventions. "The Convention against Torture and Inhumane Treatment, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the United Nations Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child - all of these international human rights conventions put obligations on state parties to protect victims from violence and not to make victims grab a torch and a pitchfork and protect themselves." The restraining orders people get under the Harassment Act in many other countries would be handled by the police, she said. "We still largely leave the job of protecting themselves to victims in New Zealand and they're already victims of domestic violence. The last thing they need is to have to get lawyers and go to court to get restraining orders, to get Protection Orders, to get child support, to get occupancy orders from the house." Leonetti said most countries treated those procedures as a police prosecution function, where they would facilitate securing occupancy of the house and getting a protection order. And while they did not arrange child support, they will enforce an order if a parent did not pay. "In New Zealand, we still largely have a self help regime." Instead of protecting victims from revictimisation, "we push it on to victims and make them do it through old clunky, expensive, inefficient civil procedures". Police changes Despite the stubborn statistics of shame, there are fears a recent policy shift by police could lead to less family violence incidents being attended, investigated or prosecuted. Earlier this year, Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said police attendance to family harm callouts had increased 80 percent in 10 years and was "not sustainable" , but that the proposed changes, which had been trailed for six months in 2023 , were under consideration. University of Auckland associate professor Carrie Leonetti said she had grave concerns about the impact of the changes. She said the problem stemmed from the decision - dating back several years - to include family violence under the more amorphous term of family harm, which conflated criminal and non-criminal offences. Police say they will still respond to crimes, making a decision based on the 111 call as to whether the harm is criminal family violence, non criminal forms of family violence - such as coercive controlling behaviour, financial and emotional abuse - or other issues such as mental health problems, substance use or people arguing. But Leonetti said she was "baffled" police believe they can accurately distinguish between family violence from non-family violent family harm, without showing up on the doorstep and reading between the lines. "If somebody makes a 111 call and the perpetrator is standing in the room, they are not at liberty to disclose everything they need to. Or if the neighbour calls, how would the police figure out talking to the next door neighbour whether they need to respond to that home or not?" In the absence of coding those things differently when the calls are taken and triaged, there is no data to know if the police position - that they are only avoiding non-criminal non-family violence forms of family harm - is true, she said. "There is evidence from around the world, including Aotearoa New Zealand, that police are getting called out to cases that involve crimes and family violence, and not treating them as such." Leonetti also warned that the non-response could make a victim's situation substantially worse, destroying trust in authorities and emboldening the perpetrator. "The thing that keeps me up at night is, very few people call the police for family violence. On average, intimate partner violence victims call the police after the seventh or eighth occurrence. "So this is a person who hasn't called, hasn't called, hasn't called, and if - when they finally call - don't get a good response, they'll never try again. "That we're missing those opportunities is a tragedy, and it's a tragedy of the creation of our own policy." She said it was particularly frustrating given Aotearoa actually had strong laws, but family violence remained "under-reported, under-prosecuted and under-identified". "New Zealand has some of the best family violence legislation on paper that I've seen, but some of the worst rates of family violence, and some of the worst systemic responses." Overseas models University of Auckland professor in social and community health Janet Fanslow said there were overseas models that had shown huge promise in dramatically lowering family violence rates. Much of what New Zealand has been doing in the past two decades has been about increasing recognition of violence, often targeted at the victims of family violence, encouraging them to leave the relationship and seek help. While that's an important message, Fanslow wanted to see more investment in evidence-based strategies. "There are evidence-based prevention strategies that have been used elsewhere in the world which have seen dramatic decreases in intimate partner violence - I'm talking a 50 percent decrease in four years." While she acknowledged the importance of New Zealand developing "home grown solutions", Fanslow said we could learn a lot from successful international models. "Some of the successful strategies seen overseas are more community based, involving both men and women, exploring power and the use of power in relationships. "It's a great way to flip the discussion so violence becomes seen as a manifestation of power, which can be used in ways that go over the top of other people to suppress them, or you can think about power not as a zero-sum game. "It's been a transformational strategy elsewhere, because it brings men on board into the conversation, and it gives everyone a positive thing to move to." She said other well-evaluated programmes included those working with men, especially when they become new fathers. "That's a great entry, because men are interested in being good fathers, in being good parents and good partners, but we need to have the conversation with people about what that looks like, and how do you negotiate and do things like conflict resolution in ways that aren't about getting your own way at the expense of other people." Fanslow said funding cuts to the sector were counterproductive, especially cuts to parenting programmes . She said there was strong evidence showing the programmes' ability to engage parents and benefit children, and their cost effectiveness. "By supporting people to develop safe, stable and nurturing relationships with their children and giving people the skills and resources for that, it has long term benefits for the kids, and for society. "It's across all of those domains we say we're interested in - we say we're interested in better educational outcomes, we say we're interested in less crime, we say we're interested in better health - actually our relationships, and the quality of those relationships, influence all of those domains." A 2014 economic estimate - which put the cost of family violence at $4-7 billion a year - is likely a significant underestimate given increased costs, and what researchers were now learning about the long term health impacts of abuse, she said. Shannon Williams said the help she and her son received from Barnados was invaluable. She found the group meetings for the women's safety programme were important for her journey. "Before then, I don't think I realised that some of the things I experienced were abuse. It was really empowering to just sit in a room with a group of other ladies who had a similar experience - that was really healing, just to know I'm not alone and I'm not crazy. "We tend to internalise it and think there's something wrong with us, especially when you have someone constantly degrading you and devaluing you, you start to think, this is me, I'm the one causing this anger - but you can start to step back and say I wasn't doing anything wrong, this is their problem to figure out. That was really empowering."A GIRL was found brutally strangled to death in woodland just two hours after she disappeared - more than 30 years ago. Stacey Queripel, seven, was reported missing by her mum from her home in the Ladybank area of Bracknell at 7pm on January 24, 1993. A police dog handler found her body at 9pm the same day in the woods near South Hill Park in the Berkshire town. Her cause of death was strangulation, a post-mortem examination concluded. An inquest later recorded Stacey's brutal death as unlawful killing . No-one has ever been charged over Stacey's murder despite fresh police appeals. Read More UK News Last year Thames Valley Police's Peter Beirne said: "I believe there are people who have information or suspicions about Stacey’s murder. "But for whatever reason they have yet to inform the police. The time has come to provide that information." Beirne added: "If you have any suspicions whatsoever, we want to hear from you. "My team will never stop investigating cold case murders and sexual offences. Most read in The Sun "We have secured convictions for 19 stranger rapes and six murders with ever advancing forensic technology. "We will lock up more offenders, and bring justice to other victims and their families. "We are determined to discover the truth about what happened to Stacey. "So I reiterate again that if anyone has any information or even a suspicion as to what happened, please contact us or Crimestoppers. "Get that burden off your shoulders and let us investigate any information that you have." If you can help detectives, call 101 or visit a police station quoting reference 650 (23/1). Alternatively, you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Thames Valley Police has been contacted for an update on the investigation.Phillies have no plans to start pitching prospect Andrew Painter in spring training following injury

Paul McCartney shares emotional reason why performing final Beatles track solo is so hardColleagues thought I was faking endometriosis pain

'Trapped in Nebraska' podcast episode chronicles comedian, sports commentator couple stuck in snowstorm

With Ontario’s deadline to implement accessibility standards a little over a month away, a disability rights activist is part of a group holding an online forum. A barrier-free Ontario was the purpose of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), unanimously passed by members of provincial parliament in 2005. With the province’s 20-year deadline for the implementation of accessibility standards looming on Jan. 1, 2025, AODA Alliance chair David Lepofsky will be part of the panel hosting the event from 2 to 4 p.m. today, and we will have the YouTube stream of the event of the public hearing. AODA Alliance will stage community public hearings. MPPs from the four Ontario political parties will receive deputations from people with disabilities in person and via video. Presenters will describe disability barriers they still face and the government’s role in the process. The event will stream live on the AODA Alliance YouTube channel at . Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our and . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google and apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our .

NoneCHARLESTOWN, R.I. – Bruce E. Losty, 89, of Charlestown, R.I., formerly of Cheshire, Conn. loving husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, passed away peacefully. Bruce was born in West Haven, Conn., son of the late Mary Jane Darragh and Edward William Losty of West Haven, Conn. He graduated from Hillhouse High. Bruce was predeceased by his wife Joan, eldest child Robert, and granddaughter Michelle. He is survived by his sister Elaine Quinn; and his children, Susan and Bill Sharkey of Charlestown, R.I., Kevin Losty, partner Lisa Hansen, of Warren, Vt., Elizabeth and Jeff Durkin, of Shrewsbury, Mass., Ann and Christopher Lento, of Kennebunkport, Maine, and Anne W. Losty, of Wallingford, Conn. He was blessed with 10 additional grandchildren, Katie Losty, Matthew, Michael (Annabella) and Nicholas (Allison) Sharkey, Kyle Losty, Jaime and Jack Durkin, Maggie, Collin, and Molly Lento; and great-grandson Henri Sharkey. Bruce was president/owner of Bruce E. Losty Office Systems for 38 years. He served as president of the Business Technology Association (formerly NOMDA) and remained an active member for 33 years. He was on the board of directors of Saint Mary’s Hospital, Waterbury, Conn., and United Way of Waterbury, Conn. He traveled the world, at first with his wife Joan, later with his grandchildren, forging many new friends and memories along the way, until he was 88. For the full obituary, service information and online condolences, please visit buckler-johnston.com.

Article content OTTAWA — The Israeli expert leading a civilian commission into sexual violence by Hamas is calling for global bodies to recognize “a new crime against humanity” involving violence targeted at families. Cochav Elkayam-Levy said the world should take a stance against the destruction of families as a specific, identifiable weapon of war, aimed at terrorizing one’s kin. She is proposing the crime be called “kinocide.” In an interview, she also said Canadians can demand Hamas be brought to justice while also seeking accountability when Israeli troops commit sexual violence against Palestinians, without drawing a false equivalence. “We have to see Canada’s leadership in addressing the lack of moral clarity of international institutions,” Elkayam-Levy said in an interview during a visit to Ottawa last month. Elkayam-Levy is an international law professor at Reichman University and a former Hebrew University researcher, who chairs Israel’s Civil Commission on Oct. 7 Crimes Against Women and Children. That non-governmental body originally set out to document patterns in sexualized violence by Hamas and its affiliates during the 2023 attack and against hostages it took into the Gaza Strip. The aim wasn’t to come up with a tally of assaults, but to instead document systemic factors in how women were raped, tortured and mutilated. The idea was to have an understanding that could help victims and their descendants cope with intergenerational trauma, and to create an archive for researchers and prosecutors to use for possible investigations. Elkayam-Levy’s team reviewed hours of footage featuring “very extreme forms of violence” from closed-circuit cameras and what militants themselves recorded. They started to notice six patterns of violence involving among the circumstances of more than 140 families. These include using victims’ social media to broadcast that person being tortured to their friends and family, including hostages and those killed. Another involved murdering parents in front of their children or vice versa, while another is the destruction of family homes. “We started understanding that there is something here, a unique form of violence,” she said. “The abuse of familial relations to intensify harm, to intensify suffering.” Elkayam-Levy said she developed the term with the help of experts, including Canadians like former attorney general Irwin Cotler. The rules undergirding the International Criminal Court only mention families in procedural contexts, but not as a factor in war crimes, she noted. “It’s a crime without a name,” she said, arguing that impedes victims’ healing. She said experts in past conflicts have agreed with her, saying kinocide should have been a factor in how the world understood and sought justice for atrocities on various continents, such as how Islamic State militants targeted Yazidi families from 2014 to 2017. “Justice begins with this recognition; healing begins with recognition,” she said. Elkayam-Levy noted “gender-based violence” existed for centuries before the United Nations officially recognized the term in 1992. RECOMMENDED VIDEO She’s also taken aim at “the silence of many international organizations, and the lack of moral clarity,” in calling out sexual violence by Hamas, which Ottawa deems a terrorist group. In particular, UN Women did not condemn Hamas’ sexual violence until nearly two months after that attack, and Elkayam-Levy argued the institution has stayed largely silent, setting a bad precedent for upholding global norms. “They have fuelled denial of the sexual atrocities,” she said, adding that a constant demand for physical evidence pervades social media “in a very antisemitic way.” Israeli police have said forensic evidence was not preserved in the chaos of the attack, and people believed to be victims of sexual assault were often killed and immediately buried. Acts of sexual violence were not part of a 43-minute video that Israel’s Foreign Ministry has screened for journalists, including The Canadian Press, which was sourced from security footage and videos filmed by militants during their October 2023 attack. In March, a UN envoy said there are “reasonable grounds” to believe Hamas committed rape and “sexualized torture” during the attack, “including rape and gang rape,” despite the group’s denials. That same month, released hostage Amit Soussana went public about her captors groping her and forcing “a sexual act” that she asked not be specified. As part of its avowed feminist foreign policy, Canada funds initiatives abroad to prevent sexual violence and support victims. Yet the Conservatives have lambasted the Liberals for not condemning Hamas’ sexual violence until five months after the attack. In March, Ottawa came under fire for pledging both $1 million for groups supporting Israeli victims of Hamas sexual violence and $1 million for Palestinian women facing “sexual and gender-based violence” from unspecified actors. Global Affairs did not say whether that referred to domestic abuse or sexual violence by Israeli officials, drawing a rebuke from a senior Israeli envoy. Human-rights groups have long accused Israeli officials of sexually assaulting Palestinian detainees in the West Bank. In July, those concerns escalated when Israeli soldiers were accused of perpetuating the filmed gang rape of a Palestinian prisoner from the Gaza Strip. Far-right Israeli cabinet ministers voiced support for mobs attempting to free soldiers under investigation. Elkayam-Levy said Canadians can call out the patterns of sexual violence by Hamas against Israelis, while still demanding the Israeli state investigate and prosecute its soldiers who undertake individuals acts of sexual violence. “The fact that (western leaders) are trying to make the right political decision, instead of the right moral decision, is creating confusion, is creating moral blur — instead of making space for all victims to be heard for what they have endured,” she said. To her, there is a “false parallel” being made between individual cases of sexual assault from soldiers who should be held to account, and a group using patterns of sexual violence as a weapon of war. Elkayam-Levy said people should uphold the principles of international law instead of what she deems to be weaponizing global institutions against Israel. She is aware that many have instead argued that Israel’s military campaign has broken international law and undermined the systems meant to uphold human rights. Elkayam-Levy has been critical of the Israeli government, arguing before the war that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sought anti-democratic reforms to the country’s judiciary. She has been critical of his war cabinet for lacking any women, and has highlighted extensive media reports that female military personnel had detected Hamas was planning a large attack only to be dismissed by male leaders. She said the world needs to condemn Hamas’ violence against families and try prosecuting those responsible. Otherwise, she fears combatants in other countries will take up its brutal tactics. Otherwise, “we are going to see an international system that will not last for long,” she said.Trump again calls to buy Greenland after eyeing Canada and the Panama CanalNo. 23 Alabama women beat Alabama State 83-33 at Emerald Coast Classic

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia Phillies have no plans to pitch prized prospect Andrew Painter in spring training games as he recovers from Tommy John surgery. The 21-year-old Painter hurt his elbow during spring training in 2023 and had surgery that July 25 with Los Angeles Dodgers head team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache. Painter was the 13th overall pick in the 2021 amateur draft and signed for a $3.9 million bonus. “He'll throw but not plan on pitching” in games, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Monday. “We're going to push the innings back.” Dombrowski said Painter will build up at some point in the minor leagues and could make his major league debut at some point in the summer. Story continues below video Painter made six starts and allowed four runs in the Arizona Fall League. He struck out 18 batters in 15 2/3 innings after he sat out each of the last two seasons. Painter sprinted through Philadelphia’s system in 2022, going 6-2 with a 1.48 ERA in 26 appearances spread across two Class A teams and Double-A Reading. AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLBCo-founder of UK engineering giant Renishaw Sir David McMurtry dies at 84 By JESSICA CLARK Updated: 21:43, 9 December 2024 e-mail View comments The billionaire co-founder of British engineering firm Renishaw has died. Sir David McMurtry, who set up the group in 1973, was 84. The Irish-born businessman, who lived in Gloucestershire, retired as executive chairman in June this year but stayed on the board as a non-executive director. Interim chairman Sir David Grant said yesterday: ‘David was a uniquely talented engineer and his curiosity and drive helped to create a globally respected engineering company. His legacy will live on through the culture of innovation he helped to create in Renishaw. The board’s deepest sympathies are with David’s wife and family.’ Talent: Sir David McMurtry (pictured) set up Renishaw in 1973. He retired as executive chairman in June this year but stayed on the board as a non-executive director RELATED ARTICLES Previous 1 Next BP spins off its windfarm business into joint venture with... Rothschild is making waves once again: Former playboy gets... Share this article Share HOW THIS IS MONEY CAN HELP How to choose the best (and cheapest) stocks and shares Isa and the right DIY investing account Renishaw supplies high-tech laser components used in drones and self-driving cars, as well as 3D printers that can make medical implants and false teeth. McMurtry, who was awarded a CBE for his contributions to British science and technology in 1994, invented more than 150 of the FTSE 250 company’s products. He was also on 47 patents at engineering giant Rolls-Royce, where he worked before helping to set up Renishaw with co-founder John Deer. The founders still own more than half of the company. McMurtry is survived by his wife and three children. DIY INVESTING PLATFORMS AJ Bell AJ Bell Easy investing and ready-made portfolios Learn More Learn More Hargreaves Lansdown Hargreaves Lansdown Free fund dealing and investment ideas Learn More Learn More interactive investor interactive investor Flat-fee investing from £4.99 per month Learn More Learn More Saxo Saxo Get £200 back in trading fees Learn More Learn More Trading 212 Trading 212 Free dealing and no account fee Learn More Learn More Affiliate links: If you take out a product This is Money may earn a commission. These deals are chosen by our editorial team, as we think they are worth highlighting. This does not affect our editorial independence. Compare the best investing account for you Share or comment on this article: Co-founder of UK engineering giant Renishaw Sir David McMurtry dies at 84 e-mail Add comment Some links in this article may be affiliate links. If you click on them we may earn a small commission. That helps us fund This Is Money, and keep it free to use. We do not write articles to promote products. We do not allow any commercial relationship to affect our editorial independence.