CAT/C/NZL/CO/6 that the five entities are staffed with an appropriate number of personnel. The State party should also support the mechanism in developing and maintaining a collective identity through, inter alia, joint visits and joint public reports, harmonized working methods, shared expertise and enhanced coordination. Independent Police Conduct Authority 10. The Committee is concerned about the mandate of the Independent Police Conduct Authority, which does not allow the institution to fully investigate and initiate the prosecution of perpetrators. The Committee is also concerned that the law leaves it up to the police to initiate investigations on itself, which raises questions about the independence of such investigations. The State party should ensure that the Independent Police Conduct Authority is equipped with a broader mandate and full independence in order to investigate promptly, effectively and impartially all reports of violence. In particular, such investigations should not be undertaken by or under the authority of the police or military, but by an independent body. Violence against women 11. While welcoming the measures adopted by the State party to prevent and combat violence against women (see paras. 5 and 6 (d) above), the Committee notes with concern reports on the persistence of violence against women and, particularly, its disproportionate occurrence against Maori women. The Committee is particularly concerned at information received that, while 90 per cent of cases of sexual violence remain unreported, statistics also show that the number of applications for safety orders have decreased since 2010, even though the number of family violence investigations have increased over the same period. Moreover, the Committee is concerned at the lack of proper funding for specialist sexual violence support services that reflect the diversity in the States party’s communities (arts. 2, 12-14 and 16). In the light of the Committee’s general comment No. 2 (2007) on the implementation of article 2 by States parties, the State party should redouble its efforts to prevent and combat all forms of violence against women throughout its territory by, inter alia: (a) Taking the measures necessary to encourage and facilitate the lodging of complaints by victims and to address effectively the barriers that may prevent women from reporting acts of violence against them, including by ensuring that education professionals, health-care providers and social workers are fully familiar with relevant legal provisions, are trained to recognize signs of violence against women and are capable of complying with their obligation to report cases; (b) Ensuring the effective enforcement of the existing legal framework by promptly, effectively and impartially investigating all reports of violence and prosecuting and punishing perpetrators in accordance with the gravity of their acts; (c) Strengthening public awareness-raising activities to combat violence against women and gender stereotypes; (d) Increasing its efforts to combat violence against indigenous women; (e) Guaranteeing in practice that all victims benefit from protection and have access to adequately funded medical and legal aid, psychosocial counselling and social support schemes; (f) Removing the cultural and financial barriers to accessing protection orders by removing or reducing the associated costs; 3