Intervention key to stopping abuse, says Dunne
Kristin Dunne said it was the interventions of her sister, parents and best friends that ‘‘potentially saved my life’’ from an abusive relationship.
Dunne shared her story of domestic violence at an event in Tauranga recently.
The co-founder and deputy chair of the Sophie Elliott Foundation, Dunne has sought to prevent violence against women, after being a victim at the hands of her then partner, broadcaster Tony Veitch.
‘‘People in an abusive relation- ship will often display low selfesteem. Then they get depressed, withdrawn and guarded, particularly when discussing their part- ner,’’ Dunne said. ’’There may be physical marks and bruises, which they try to hide and repeated injuries with multiples of excuses as to how they occurred. These are the symptoms my family recognised in me.’’
A police statement filed by Dunne, revealed a catalogue of abuse, including an incident in 2006, where Veitch kicked Dunne with enough force to fracture her back. In 2009, Veitch pleaded guilty to injuring Dunne.
Through the highly-publicised case, she met Lesley Elliott, the mother of Sophie Elliott, who was stabbed to death by her boyfriend Clayton Weatherston, in 2008.
The pair then realised there was a gap in the area of domestic violence prevention and, with a drive to see change begin, cofounded the foundation.
‘‘Unbeknownst to Sophie and her family, she was also in an abusive dating relationship. And as her incredibly brave mother has stood up and said, over 350 times since her murder, her death was preventable,’’ Dunne said.
‘‘In all the cases I have named, many people knew that something was wrong in the relationship. But they didn’t know that was abuse and they didn’t know what to do about it. It wasn’t their fault, they were never made aware, never educated. Who teaches you this stuff? I was also unaware. It was the interventions of my sister, of my parents, and my best friends, that potentially saved my life.’’
Dunne told the crowd of around 200 people, that she was blessed ‘‘to not be one of New Zealand’s statistics’’.
Abuse is like a spiderweb, spun meticulously and deliberately around you and snaring you before you realise, Dunne said.
Dunne was joined by celebrity chef Al Brown and co-founder of Heilala Vanilla, Jennifer Boggiss, at the Indulge Speaker Collective at the Baycourt Community & Arts Centre. - Fairfax NZ