Hard mahi on harm to begin
A new strategy to address ‘‘two of our nation’s greatest shames’’ aims to eliminate family and sexual violence within a generation, by drawing on Mā ori knowledge to create widespread societal change.
Te Aorerekura, to be launched today, says it ‘‘rebalances’’ the country’s efforts towards prevention, creating accountability, and helping people heal
– instead of simply cleaning up afterwards.
Designed as a
‘‘whole of government plan’’ for the $2 billion-a-year sector, the strategy was built with input from the 10 ministries that make up the Joint Venture for Family Violence and Sexual Violence, as well as from the sector, survivors, perpetrators, communities and tangata whenua.
It comes after the strategy’s first draft – written during the last parliamentary term under the leadership of Green Party MP Jan Logie – was deemed ‘‘too Mā ori’’ by ministers and thrown out, causing heavy criticism from the auditorgeneral that the strategy process was taking too long and the joint agencies were not co-operating. Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson, who was made the minister for family and sexual violence, said the biggest challenge was creating a shared definition of violence, because everyone already agreed that better outcomes were needed. ‘‘Te Aorerekura acknowledges that the way we have been working to date has not brought peace and the ability for people to live free from violence,’’ said Davidson. ‘‘Prevention and healing need a far bigger focus than we have ever had. We’ve had research and reports and reports and reports, and the community have told us the same thing: We need to stop it happening in the first place.’’
Te Aorerekura frames family and sexual violence as the misuse of power by one person, to coerce, control, punish or get what they want at someone else’s expense. While anyone could use violence, it said, gender inequities –
such as the social acceptance of men’s dominance, entitlement, and physical and sexual aggression – meant that men were more likely to use violence than other groups.
Equally, while anyone could be a victim of violence, ‘‘socially accepted hierarchies’’ such as ableism, sexism, racism or homophobia meant violence was more likely to occur in some situations than in others.
The elderly, the disabled, the queer community, and ethnic minorities all suffered disproportionately, it said. But the most common targets of violence were women and children, particularly if they were Mā ori. Nearly 50 per cent of wā hine Mā ori experience partner abuse.
In acknowledgement of that, the strategy’s guiding principles were rooted deeply in principles from te ao Mā ori.
Perhaps most strongly, the strategy is focused on relationships and whakawhanaungatanga, including the relationship between Mā ori and the state but also relationships between providers and the community, all of which have suffered from what it called ‘‘low-trust, transactional commissioning services’’ in the past.
In all, the strategy has 40 action points. Some are new initiatives, such as strengthening wāhine Māori leadership, and others build on work under way, such as upskilling those who work in the courts about trauma.
Sector experts who were invited to give feedback on the strategy say that while it was sometimes vague or bureaucratic in terms of actions, the commitment
to working with tangata whenua was positive.
‘‘We are tired of waiting,’’ said Lisa Smith, the pū kenga whakarongo at the National Network of Family Violence Services. ‘‘We are tired of hobbling and cobbling together remedies to support our whānau ... Surviving is not good enough. We want people to have choices to live their best life. To fill their potential.’’
Women’s Refuge head Ang Jury said the plan was a good start, and now the real work would begin. ‘‘I very much hope they will focus on prevention,’’ she said.
‘‘I think education needs to go beyond healthy relationships to teach about empathy. It sounds soft and waffly but it’s hard to hurt someone when you feel empathy.’’
Jury was interested to see what the Opposition parties made of the strategy, she said, because 10 years ago, another previous plan was thrown out in a change of government, and she wouldn’t want that repeated.
‘‘It has to have cross-party support. We can’t afford to be forever reinventing the wheel, stopping and starting again.’’
The launch will be held at Te Papa this morning.