New Zealand Acts

HARASSMENT ACT 1997 - SECT 6

6 Object

1 The object of this Act is to provide greater protection to victims of harassment by—

a) recognising that behaviour that may appear innocent or trivial when viewed in isolation may amount to harassment when viewed in context; and

b) ensuring that there is adequate legal protection for all victims of harassment.

2 This Act aims to achieve its object by—

a) making the most serious types of harassment criminal offences:

b) empowering the court to make orders to protect victims of harassment who are not covered by family violence legislation:

c) providing effective sanctions for breaches of the criminal and civil law relating to harassment.

3 Any court which, or any person who, exercises any power conferred by or under this Act must be guided in the exercise of that power by the object specified in subsection (1).

History: Section 6(2)(b): amended, on 1 July 2019, by section 259(1) of the Family Violence Act 2018 (2018 No 46).