The New Zealand government has passed a new legislation that grants paid leave to survivors of domestic violence. The landmark bill is aimed at helping people escape abusive situations, with up to ten days that’s separate from annual holiday or sick leave.

This is pretty revolutionary because New Zealand has one of the highest rates of domestic violence as a developed nation. Police are responding to an incident every four minutes, costing the country up to NZ$7 billion (R63 billion) every year.

Green MP Jan Logie introduced the new measure, stating that:

“Domestic violence doesn’t respect that split between work and life.”

He’s calling it the first step toward establishing a new precedent in the response to endemic abuse. *Endemic is just a fancier way of saying that something is specific to a certain area.

More from Logie:

“[It’s] about changing the cultural norms and saying ‘we all have a stake in this and it is not OK’.”

The new bill means people experiencing domestic violence don’t have to provide proof thereof, being entitled to the leave no matter what. They also have full right to pursue flexible working conditions and even switch working locations.

Holly Carrington, spokeswoman for a nonprofit called Shine, is also stoked:

“It sets a solid benchmark for what businesses are legally required to do.”

Man, New Zealand sounds like a cool place. Lord of the Rings, good rugby, politicians who care. I hope you’re listening, Cyril.

[source:time]