Definitions

• Harassment is legally defined according to the act as any pattern of behavior directed against an individual. This includes all forms of unwelcome touching, verbal abuse or offensive material directed against an individual. It must occur twice within a period of 12 months for it to be considered a "pattern."
  
  

Features

• The main feature of this act is that it permits the issuing of restraining orders in New Zealand. Once this pattern is proven, a restraining order is issued by the court. The evidence need only be a preponderance, that is, the probability that the actions actually occurred under given circumstances. This is not the burden of proof used in criminal cases. A minor can apply for protection in his own name. Frivolous claims are punished as "vexatious hearings" where the petitioner might be banned from making further claims in the future.
  
  

Evidence

• This law permits types of evidence to be introduced before the court that are not normally permitted, such as hearsay. The rules of proof and evidence are highly liberalized in harassment hearings versus other types of cases. The police are also empowered to release private information (such as a person's mental health records) pursuant to such claims for protection.
  
  

Function

• These writs of protection are meant to keep harassers away from their targets. These writs also apply to the "associates" of the harasser. For example, a writ of protection issued against a specific person also applies to that person's friends as well. The purpose of the act is to keep the acts from recurring, but it also states that encouragement of these harassing acts is also covered under the writ of protection.
  
  

Courts

• The court admits most kinds of evidence and then reaches a verdict. The court can vary the terms of the protective order at will, including its term and date of expiration. Both a defendant who is ruled a harasser and a victim who is rejected may appeal the decision to either the district or family court in their area.