In December 2021 the government launched Te Aorerekura, a national strengths-based strategy and action plan to eliminate family violence and sexual violence. The Hon Marama Davidson, Minister for Prevention of Family Violence and Sexual Violence, shared her vision for a future where women and children in Aotearoa are no longer harmed late last year in Otautahi.

The minister was joined by a team of presenters including health professionals, advocates and programme coordinators working to achieve the same goals. The Hilda Lovell-Smith Suffrage event, coordinated by the National Council of Women of New Zealand (NCWNZ), Ōtautahi Branch attracted a capacity audience.

Achieving the ambitious goal of eliminating family violence and sexual violence by 2050 will take a concerted and combined effort by the many agencies and organisations involved. A 25-year national strategy and action plan, Te Aorerekura, sets a path to ensure:

“All people in Aotearoa New Zealand are thriving, their wellbeing is enhanced and sustained because they are safe and supported to live their lives free from family violence and sexual violence.”

At the NCWNZ event, the minister said, “The harsh reality is that while we get to that place, every day people are still being harmed.” For decades victims of family violence and sexual violence, their advocates and their whanau, have been calling for change to a system that has not been equipped to deal with the diverse individuals and communities impacted. A discordant, disconnected and adversarial approach to providing support for victims and survivors has hindered progress and contributed to a reluctance of victims to speak out for fear of the justice system causing further trauma. It is estimated that at least 80 percent of harm currently is unreported.

“We must get on with the work of countering those oppressors that are traumatising victims. Insensitive and inappropriate questioning, a court system that impacts children; we have not earned the trust and respect of the people we need to be helping, even when they ask for help,” Marama Davidson said. She referred to the adversarial approach typically taken to victims of family and sexual harm that calls for someone to lose. “We need to be building the capability of the workforce and treating people with respect, ensuring the needs of victims are at the centre of every response.”

Creating the first-ever cross-government strategy to eliminate violence has been a massive undertaking. It has involved hui and korero with thousands of people including ten government agencies, numerous specialist sectors, tangata whenua, survivors and their whanau, and communities representing a range of cultures and groups. The minister acknowledged that changing the scaffolding that drives the systemic abuse requires more than policy and government intervention and has adopted a Te Tokotoru model that represents the three interconnected dimensions of strengthening, healing and responding. Te Tokotoru emerged from work to identify the conditions that enable communities to be well. It is informed by the work of Māori and Pacific practitioners, researchers and providers around what matters and makes a difference to whānau.

Although the work ahead is overwhelming, having a minister overseeing multiple government agencies tasked with implementing the changes is a big step in the right direction. Last year more than 900 people registered to attend a hui to discuss the issues. This was an indication of the level of interest in “moving from darkness to light” on a topic that is hard to discuss and harder to tackle.

A family violence and sexual violence Tangata Whenua Advisory Group will provide independent advice and guidance to the minister, and the action plan will be reviewed every two years.

Violence protection and prevention strategies are all closely tied to ensuring everyone has access to the following:

1) Adequate income to look after them and their families

2) Affordable, stable and safe housing

3) A health system that provides adequate support for addictions and mental health issues.

The minister said although the complex issues span the social sector completely, failure to address the issues to date has largely been a result of not asking the right questions, not recording or collating data and not recognising and prioritising the family and community expertise of the people already involved in addressing family and sexual harm.

Additional presenters at the NCWNZ event included two student leaders from Christchurch Girls’ High School who discussed SASH, Students Against Sexual Harm, a campaign they have initiated to educate and unite students in efforts to reduce sexual harm. Young people can play a major role in encouraging discussion on what informed consent means and in raising awareness of channels for reporting incidents.

Dr Clare Healy, a health practitioner with expertise in caring for young people and adults who have experienced sexual assault, talked about her work to reduce stigma and prejudices in the health sector, including the need for better training for doctors. Many conditions presenting in family practice are impacted by family violence and sexual violence. “It is a driver of ill health, crime and failure in education,” Dr Healy said. Teaching clinicians and medical professionals how to recognise and address sexual harm and abuse with patients requires specialised training. “This is not taught or talked about at medical school.”

Rina Singh, from the Shakti Ethnic Women’s Support Group, discussed the need to inspire and drive intergenerational change and the time this will take. Maggy Tai Rakena from the support group ‘Start Healing’ opened her address by drawing attention to historical events and the lack of progress. “In 1893 the suffrage movement was a result of the harm alcohol was doing to women and children. We have not come a long way”.

Presenters identified a number of factors required, including:

Ø Tireless and brave advocacy and a concerted effort

Ø Increased capability in the workforce

Ø A commitment to placing the victim's needs at the centre of the response

Ø A te Māori lens on prevention and healing to stop harm

Ø Ongoing education and consultation

Ø Free-to-client access to specialist services

Ø An increased understanding of trauma-informed care

Ø A changed attitude to ‘normalising’ sexual violence and family violence

Ø Ongoing education for those working in the arena and those impacted

Ø Kindness and compassion

Ø Education around consent and systems for reporting harm

Ø Improved reporting systems and collaboration

Ø Establishing and promoting more support groups\

Successfully tackling sexual harm and family harm will be slow; and changes will be incremental. It will require effort, vision and change on a major scale. Even where the body is healed the damage to heart and head for those who have experienced the trauma is long term. Having a minister committed to the cause, and a collective strategy in place is a good place to start.