Violence counselling funding struggles
Aggressive men wanting to change their ways can face a steep financial hurdle to getting help.
Most of those who attend a Living Without Violence course at Friendship House in Manukau are mandated to by the courts.
Their costs are covered by contracts it has with several Government ministries but men who selfrefer to the programme have to stump up the fee, which is more than $1500.
House chief executive Neil Denney is calling on the Government to consider funding those men as part of its recently announced proposed reforms to family violence laws.
Justice Minister Amy Adams says the changes follow a review of the Domestic Violence Act.
‘‘We’re focused on better ways to keep victims safe and changing perpetrator behaviour to stop abuse and re-abuse.
‘‘This is about redesigning the way the entire system prevents and responds to family violence.’’
Denney says his staff see men who say they want to do the course but when they’re told of the cost they ‘‘turn around and walk out’’.
‘‘When you’re earning $15 an hour it can be tough [to pay for].
‘‘There should be a facility for these men to be able to do that and for non-governmental organisations to fund them.’’
Adams says the Government wants men to be able to self-refer to get the help they need.
The ministerial group on family and sexual violence is looking at all services the Government provides to perpetrators, she says.
‘‘We need to develop a system that connects people with the services tailored for their particular circumstances and we need to change behaviour much sooner.
‘‘Building that new system will take some time but it’s important to get it right.’’
The proposed changes to family violence laws include:
Helping people in need without them having to go to court
Ensuring all family violence is clearly identified and risk information is properly shared
Putting the safety of victims at the heart of bail decisions
Creating new offences of strangulation, coercion to marry, and assault on a family member
Improving access to protection orders and providing for the rights of children under an order
Making offending while on a protection order an aggravating factor in sentencing