‘Calm before the storm’ at Women’s Refuge
While fewer South Canterbury women than expected walked through the doors of Women’s Refuge during the festive season, it is merely the calm before the storm, its manager says.
‘‘The number of people seeking help at the refuge wasn’t that bad this season, which is good,’’ MidSouth Island Women’s Refuge and Family Safety Services manager Dawn Rangi-Smith said. ‘‘However, we expect ... in the next few weeks the numbers will grow.’’
For the region’s police dealing with family violence it has been business as usual during the Christmas and New Year period.
‘‘Family violence takes place constantly throughout the year,’’ South Canterbury family harm coordinator Senior Constable Paul Hampton, of Timaru, said.
In December police attended 115 family harm episodes, while there were 49 police safety orders issued in the Mid-South Canterbury police district over the same period.
Many issues triggered violence against weaker family members but alcohol definitely played a major role as it impaired decision making, Hampton said.
Preventive work and getting in early to stop the abuse of women and children before it started ranked among the key goals of the refuge for 2019, Rangi-Smith said.
‘‘In the new year we will be doing quite a bit of safety planning with women and children,’’ she said.
‘‘Working ahead of time is very important to ensure it [abuse] does not happen.’’ Drugs and alcohol were always contributing factors in cases that they had to deal with, she said. ‘‘We have had lots of women coming in and ringing us saying that it is not going well for them due to consumption of alcohol or drugs by their partners.’’
The number of people reporting psychological abuse had increased recently, Rangi-Smith said.
‘‘Psychological abuse can lead to physical abuse and that’s why we work on safety to stop it early.’’
Children, Rangi-Smith said, were the innocent, silent victims of abuse as they had to also put up with mistreatment if their mothers continued to live with an abusive spouse. ‘‘Women must realise that they don’t have to put up with it.
‘‘They do have the choice to move away from an abusive relationship for the sake of themselves and their kids.’’
The refuge had six children come in and move out during the holidays and a number of factors led them into that situation, Rangi-Smith said. ‘‘They have nowhere to go as some of their parents are not eligible for state housing and cannot afford a place to live. The refuge staff take them in and give them a safe, temporary place to live.’’
Hampton said the saddest part of having to deal with family-related incidents was that 60 per cent of them involved children.
‘‘It has an accumulative impact on children,’’ he said.
‘‘General exposure to confrontation, even the verbal kind will affect children adversely.’’
Rangi-Smith was full of praise for the supportive role the community plays in the refuge’s work, and contributions in terms of gifts and food during the festive season. ‘‘We are very fortunate in Timaru. People are inclined to look after other people and I cannot speak highly enough of the community groups that have assisted us.’’
The new year will also see the refuge expand its crisis sexual abuse service to historically and currently abused individuals, she said.
‘‘The service provides two harm crisis specialists and will be available 24/7 to families and individuals who require help.’’
People who require help should call in directly to the refuge office in Timaru or phone (03) 684-8280 or the crisis line on 0800 00 7750.