A homegrown epidemic
Family violence is a massive problem in New Zealand. The so-called land of milk and honey has the worst rates of domestic abuse in the developed world, claiming 28 lives a year. Deena Coster reports on an issue which hits close to home, in more ways than one.
Literature on family violence makes for grim reading. The World Health Organisation identifies violence against women as a global public health problem that affects about a third of women worldwide, a staggering figure of more than one billion, and counting.
Where global data is available, only about 40 per cent of women who experience violence get help. The majority of those looked to other family and friends but very few sought assistance through formal channels, like police.
The most recent high profile case in Aotearoa is the murder of mother-of-two Chozyn Koroheke, who died after being shot on April 4, 2017. Last month, her partner Turiarangi Tai was found guilty of causing her death.
The case highlighted a pattern of violence suffered by Koroheke in the months leading up to her death and the so-called code of silence at play to try and cover up the crime.
In New Zealand, the number of family violence reports have increased every year since 2013 but what’s not so clear is whether the rise is down to more reporting of the problem, or more people experiencing it.
In 2016, police investigated 118,910 incidents, which is one call-out about every five minutes. While taxing on the thin blue line, family violence is also costing the country between $4-6 billion a year.
The enormity of the problem is not lost on other countries, including Australia. A Royal Commission into Family Violence in Victoria was set up in February 2015 following the murder of 11-year-old Luke Batty at the hands of his father. It resulted in 227 recommendations and a $2.6 billion funding commitment over four years.
In Aotearoa, which has the worst rates of family violence in the developed world, the government’s funding commitment to address the issue has been piecemeal at best.
Last year’s Family Violence Summit, cohosted by the previous National Government, listed a litany of needs in the sector.
This included a need for more understanding and education on the topic, a better system to deal with it and more money, including an injection for new services but also to ensure sustainability of cashflow for existing providers.
Green MP Jan Logie, the Parliamentary Undersecretary of Justice (sexual and domestic violence issues), admits family violence is ‘‘at epidemic levels’’.
From Logie’s perspective, there needs to be more of a focus on prevention. She says only about 1.5 per cent of government funding is currently spent in this area.
‘‘That’s not an area where a lot of work has been done,’’ she says. More support is also needed for victims and users of violence, ensuring that each get the help they need when they are asking for it.
However, Logie could not say how much new money, if any, would be announced in this year’s Budget to tackle the country’s family violence problem.
The Labour/NZ First coalition agreement outlines a funding increase for family violence networks, including Women’s Refuge and Shakti, but there is no inkling of how much money will be committed or when.
Logie says while government can, and should provide resources, how the community responds will also help.
As one of the main drivers in the country’s high rates of imprisonment, poor mental health outcomes and child abuse rates, it is in everybody’s interests to see improvements.
‘‘If we can get on top of it we are going to see so many positive results,’’ Logie says.
One group doing its bit to tackle family violence is the Taranaki Safe Families Trust.
It is one of 48 regional networks in New Zealand with a firm focus on trying to stamp out family violence.
Set up in 2008 by amalgamating three other groups, the trust has a Ministry of Social Development contract to coordinate the region’s service response to the problem.
It focuses on collaboration and strengthening connections between 26 services around Taranaki, as well as pooling resources if tackling bigger projects.
Founding member Mary Beaumont says the trust knew from the outset there was no quick fix. ‘‘We knew this issue was going to be long term. It was going to go on for a long time and would need significant work,’’ Beaumont says.
While it has to provide reports to the government, Beaumont says measuring the social impact of the work the trust does in the community is difficult.
Beaumont feels like in the last 10 years, the work the trust has done, including installing billboards emblazoned with ‘‘it’s not ok’’ around the Taranaki region, has raised the level of awareness of the issue and broken down the myth that ‘‘it doesn’t happen here’’.
The trust also works alongside businesses, schools and workplaces, to give advice on how to tackle the thorny issue. This includes providing information about recognising the signs, tools on how to respond and what help is available.
Beaumont says employers seeking guidance on what they can do has been one of the biggest shifts she has seen.
‘‘Ten years ago, that was unheard of,’’ she says.
But to make substantial headway, a significant investment in the sector, along with surety around funding for established providers, is desperately needed, Beaumont says.
‘‘This piecemeal approach is not going to deal with the problem.’’
Beaumont is unapologetic about trying to keep the issue in the public eye.
‘‘Yes, we do need to talk about it before we don’t anymore,’’ she says.
People are dying and family violence is coming at a ‘‘massive cost’’ to society, she says.
‘‘There is no nice way to wrap this up and make it more palatable,’’ she says.
‘‘It’s a nasty, nasty problem. It’s vicious.’’ Dr Ang Jury, chief executive of Women’s Refuge, says there is no way of knowing if the problem is getting better or worse, based on the numbers of reports received each year. She suspects population growth also plays a role.
‘‘I don’t think it’s getting worse but I don’t think it’s getting any better,’’ she says.
‘‘Demand is certainly not dropping for our services.’’
She’s frank about how it makes her feel. ‘‘It’s depressing.’’
Refuges don’t have any waiting lists so if women are in crisis they will get the service they need. It just sometimes comes down to staff giving up their time to do the work.
The service would like to do more but it’s constrained due to funding shortfalls. While a recent contract secured money for its services until 2020, Jury says the biggest issue is that there has been no increase to refuges’ baseline funding for 10 years.
‘‘It is funding for that everyday work that is suffering,’’ she says.
It means they struggle to offer competitive pay rates for skilled staff, so recruitment and retainment are issues.
Jury remains unsure what the Labour/NZ First Government has in mind to tackle family violence, as it was not specifically referenced in the election campaign.
‘‘They didn’t include family violence in that and I think that was a mistake.’’
She can understand to some extent why the general public might be weary of the issue. ‘‘We have been talking about this for a very long time and nothing seems to change,’’ Jury says.
But on the other hand, ignoring the problem won’t make it go away.
‘‘It’s going to keep being a fiscal and a social drag on Aotearoa.’’
❚ Need help? If you are in immediate danger, dial 111 and ask for police If you are worried about a child or young person call Oranga Tamariki/Ministry for Children on 0508 326 459. The toll-free Family Violence Information Line 0800 456 450 provides information and connects people to services.
‘‘If we can get on top of it we are going to see so many positive results.’’ MP Jan Logie