National strategies and Te Aorerekura

Family violence and sexual violence are significant issues experienced by countries worldwide. Many countries develop national and/or regional strategies aimed at reducing violence and its impacts. These strategies may include efforts to improve responses to violence as well as preventing violence from occurring in the first place. There have been a number of strategies developed in Aotearoa aimed at reducing family violence or sexual violence.

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Te Aorerekura

Te Aorerekura is the National Strategy that sets out a new collective path for government, tangata whenua, specialist sectors, and communities to eliminate family violence and sexual violence in Aotearoa New Zealand. It was launched in 2021 and is the first national strategy that includes both family violence and sexual violence.

The purpose of Te Aorerekura is to outline a framework to eliminate family violence and sexual violence, to drive coordinated government action and to build and support community action.

The Strategy document states "Te Aorerekura is a 25 year strategy because it will take a generation of sustained investment and focus to strengthen the protective factors and enable the social changes required in Aotearoa New Zealand."

Te Aorerekura is available in Te Reo Māori and other languages and accessible formats.

The moemoeā, or vision, for Te Aorerekura is:

“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.”

The Strategy is guided by five principles – the whanonga pono: equity and inclusion, aroha, tika and pono, kotahitanga and kaitiakitanga. It outlines six 'shifts' or changes that are needed to address the drivers of violence and work towards achieving the vision of the strategy:

1. strength-based wellbeing
2. mobilising communities
3. skilled, culturally competent and sustainable workforces
4. investment in primary prevention
5. safe, accessible, and integrated responses
6. increased capacity for healing.

The Strategy acknowledges the drivers of violence including that violence is about power, the gendered nature of violence, the compounding effects of colonisation, racism and sexism, and the differing experiences and needs of diverse people, families and whānau. It acknowledges that accountability is required from government and from people using violence while at the same time supporting people who use violence to change.

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Related Documents

Action plans

The implementation of Te Aorerekura is supported through a series of Action Plans which list activities underneath each action and include who is responsible for leading the activity and who is involved. These plans are refreshed periodically.

• The First Action Plan was launched alongside the Strategy and outlined 40 actions.
• The current Action Plan is Te Aorerekura Action Plan 2025 - 2030, Breaking the Cycle. It outlines 7 focus areas that will be delivered over a five year period.

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Outcomes and Measurement Framework

The Outcomes and Measurement Framework (OMF) defines national outcomes and the indicators that will be used to measure progress to implement the shifts in Te Aorerekura – the National Strategy to Eliminate Family Violence and Sexual Violence.

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Other Aotearoa strategies for family violence and sexual violence

While Te Aorerekura serves as the current national strategy for the elimination of family violence and sexual violence, there have been a number of other strategies developed over several decades.

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Family Violence

Te Rito: New Zealand family violence prevention strategy (2002)

This strategic policy statement was launched in 2002. It outlined how the government intended to successfully eliminate family violence over time in New Zealand. The vision of this strategy was "families/whanau living free from violence", and the goals, objectives and specific, interrelated areas of action for implementation are explained. The report arose from the Family Violence Focus Group, a group of government and non-government agencies working collaboratively, and it reinforced the government's family violence prevention plan of action released in September 2001.

This strategy outlined 18 specific Areas for Action to be implemented over a five year period, including prioritising Māori-based approaches; enhancing legal sanctions; improving consistency in law, policy and service delivery; reducing violence in Pacific communities; expanding stopping violence programme eligibility; developing a research and evaluation programme; improving service capacity, screening and risk assessment; developing standards and guidelines; improving access to services; and public education.

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Sexual Violence

Te Toiora Mata Tauherenga: Report of the Taskforce for Action on Sexual Violence: Incorporating the views of Te Ohaakii a Hine-National Network Ending Sexual Violence Together (2009)

This report completes the work of the Taskforce for Action on Sexual Violence (the Taskforce) with 71 recommendations to government to prevent and respond to sexual violence. In 2007, the Taskforce was asked to identify the actions required to better prevent and respond to sexual violence in Aotearoa New Zealand and where investment could be best made.

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Te Ao Māori strategies

Transforming whānau violence: a conceptual framework: an updated version of the report from the former Second Māori Taskforce on Whānau Violence (2004)

This report proposes a framework for addressing whānau/family violence based on Māori principles, and discusses how these concepts may be implemented in practice. Colonisation, with its assumption of cultural superiority, is identified as contributing to the incidence of violence amongst Māori families. The authors argue that models of practice should be designed by Māori, for Māori, and not dictated by government policy and legislation, or based upon Pākehā conceptual frameworks. Recommendations include a collective approach to violence intervention strategies involving all members of the whānau, and a plan of action for implementing programmes based upon Māori values and principles.

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Tū pono: te mana kaha o te whānau (2017)

This strategy, to build a stronger Māori response to end the impact of violence, has been created and designed by the whānau of Te Waipounamu for the whānau of Te Waipounamu. The document is underpinned by values immersed in te ao Māori which are woven intrinsically throughout the poutama model and Tū Pono: Te Mana Kaha o te Whānau tikanga. The poutama, pouhine is a traditional concept of Māori and it is a powerful metaphor adopted byTū Pono: Te Mana Kaha o te Whānau. Our whānau whakapapa to greatness – working hard, striving for excellence and achieving transformation. The words contained within the poutama are a koha from the whānau of Te Waipounamu.Tū Pono: Te Mana Kaha o te Whānau provides the foundation to apply a Māori approach to whakatika te tapu me te mana restoring the sacredness.