Family violence, financial stress and men's health are the focus of Pacific leaders working to combat social issues in New Zealand's capital, Wellington.
While Pasifika make up only about 5 percent of Wellington's population they account for 20 percent of all assault convictions.
According to police statistics, they are also 40 percent of assault victims.
Chair of Wellington Pacific Leaders' Forum, Samson Samasoni Photo: linkedin
Young Pacific males account for almost 70 percent of Pacific crime in the city.
The chair of the Wellington Pacific Leaders' Forum, Samson Samasoni, said the statistics were alarming.
"There was an understanding that violence is an issue that Pacific communities need to be able to address, but there wasn't a deep understanding of what was behind it, how much of it was going unreported," he said.