New reports on stopping-violence programmes

The state of government-funded community-based interventions for people who use family violence or sexual violence in Aotearoa New Zealand has been reviewed in a report released by the Centre for Family Violence and Sexual Violence Prevention. Government agencies including the Ministry of Social Development, Ministry of Justice, Department of Corrections, Oranga Tamariki, and the NZ Police undertook the review. Further findings are made in a report by the Backbone Collective, which examines victim-survivors’ experiences of, and insights about, abusers’ engagements in stopping violence programmes. The two reports highlight that:

• Stopping violence programmes must genuinely hold abusers to account long-term for the harm they cause, as defined by victim-survivors
• The safety of victim-survivors and their children are paramount in stopping-violence interventions
• Interventions must respond to both family violence and sexual violence appropriately
• Kaupapa Māori services are essential for safe, appropriate, and effective engagement and healing for Māori
• The specialist stopping-violence workforce needs ongoing support, training, funding, growth, and coordination

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Backbone Collective Report – Just Ticking the Box

In May 2026, the Backbone Collective released their report, Just ticking the box: victim-survivor insights into the uses and abuses of stopping-violence programmes in Aotearoa New Zealand. It aims to fill the existing knowledge gap in current evaluations of stopping violence programmes (SVPs) throughout Aotearoa. Existing SVP models largely use recidivism (as identified by the police or courts) and abuser self-reporting as measures of efficacy, despite the unreliable and potentially misleading nature of these measures.

Backbone Collective co-founder Deb Mackenzie told Stuff that the research revealed an uncomfortable paradox:

“Abusers were actually benefiting from being referred to these programmes far more than victim-survivors were benefiting in terms of their safety.”

Family violence researcher Dr Neville Robertson said that women-centred evaluations of stopping violence programmes were rare:

“And that is the gold standard, as far as I’m concerned.”

The report gathered anonymous online survey responses from 471 women and gender-diverse survivors (22% were Māori) throughout Aotearoa. 172 reported they had an abuser who attended an SVP (the “SVP cohort”). SVP cohort respondents were asked about their experiences of, and insights about, their abusers attending SVPs and the consequences. All respondents were asked about their ideas, hopes and suggestions for behaviour-change/stopping-violence activities.

Key statistics:

• Over 70% of the SVP cohort reported abuser behaviour deteriorated in at least one aspect, during the SVP or up to three months afterwards
• At least half the SVP cohort experienced worse violence and/or abuse overall from the abuser during the same period
• Only seven victim-survivors (4%) said that the abuser had sustained positive behaviour change across all their prior abuse types until at least one year after the SVP, and SVP was only one of many supportive factors the victim-survivor credited for behaviour change
• Only 20% of victim-survivors reported SVP providers attempted to contact them, and even fewer were offered safe, informed opportunities for any communication, interaction or information exchange with SVP providers, despite the potential value of such communication for both safety and accountability
• At least eight out of ten survey respondents felt they were unsafe during abuser SVP attendance and up to one year or more afterwards
• Six out of ten (61%) victim-survivors reported they would not recommend the programme the abuser attended to others because of perceived ineffectiveness, the ability of abusers to manipulate programmes and systems, and structural weaknesses in programme design (a further 27% did not know whether they would recommend the programme)
• In over 90% of cases where the survey respondent reported that the Family Court, criminal court, Oranga Tamariki or police considered the abuser to no longer be a danger, the victim-survivor found them to still be dangerous.

Victim-survivors envision a stopping-violence intervention system that:

• Prioritises the safety and autonomy of victim-survivors, including children;
• Genuinely holds abusers to account for the harm they cause
• Supports behaviour change on a long-term basis, with effective monitoring to ensure behaviour change is sustained and victim-survivors are safe
• Includes influencing societal attitudes to support non-violence and to no longer minimise or ignore violence and abuse towards women, trans and non-binary people and children.

Three particular themes identified across Māori survey responses:

• Accountability is important, including truth, change, consequences, and repair. Victim-survivors continuously spoke of receiving performative apologies without sustained behavioural change; they wanted genuine apology; and the need for reparations and other formal and informal consequences.
• Safety requires information sovereignty. Victim-survivors require control over what data is collected about them, who sees it, and when/if it’s shared. This must be a core safety practice, not a paperwork detail.
• The need to design programmes with tino rangatiratanga (self-determination), culture and context. Kaupapa Māori, marae-based delivery, and holistic models (e.g. Te Whare Tapa Whā) were repeatedly requested, alongside practical supports like transport, childcare, and financial relief.

Alongside the Backbone Collective’s online survey, Papakāinga Trust carried out wānanga and talanoa with Māori and Pacific women. Dr Daysha Tonumaipe’a, who led the Trust’s work (and is also an author for the Backbone Collective's report), said that their findings were similar and stopping violence programmes often offered “the illusion of compliance”.

“The general feeling and experience was they [programme participants] are just getting better at the language… The biggest message we’ve had is that accountability should be based on safety, and not completion of these programmes.”

A full report from the Papakāinga Trust is forthcoming – sign up to their mailing list here.

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Government – Strengthening the Stopping Violence System

The Ministry of Social Development, Ministry of Justice, Department of Corrections, Oranga Tamariki, and the NZ Police have undertaken a review of government-funded, community-based interventions for people who use family violence and/ or sexual violence in Aotearoa. Their subsequent report, Strengthening the Stopping Violence System, is part of the Stopping Violence focus area under Te Aorerekura. It provides analysis of the findings of the review and offers recommendations for government organisations to improve how we design, fund, commission, and support interventions for people who use violence.

The review was informed by:

• Relevant government agency information about in-scope interventions
• Targeted engagement with approximately 40 stakeholder groups from both government agencies and the community sector across family violence and sexual violence sector
• A feedback survey in which 121 participants responded to 23 questions
• Advice and feedback from the Stopping Violence Reference Group, comprised of non-government stakeholders
• The Backbone Collective Survey on victim/survivor experiences of stopping violence interventions
• Key findings from recent integrity monitoring by Corrections of a sample of NVPs
• Key literature and research on interventions for people using violence.

The report made findings about key success factors likely to increase intervention effectiveness. These findings were grouped across several areas – safe and effective interventions; system capability, alignment, and sustainability; and system issues and barriers. Some of those conclusions include:

• The safety of victim/survivors and children should be prioritised within any intervention for people who use violence
• Interventions must be responsive and appropriate to variations between sexual violence and family violence, including when these co-occur
• Kaupapa Māori approaches are essential for safe, appropriate, and effective engagement and healing for Māori, with improved access
• The specialist workforce must be trained, supported, sustainable, and growing
• Clearly defined, measurable outcomes must be put in place that can help determine the effectiveness of interventions over time
• System-level issues highlight the need for a more coordinated, consistent, and evidence-informed approach across government.

The report makes 5 recommendations:

1. Formalise a stopping violence leadership group
2. Agree a stopping violence work programme
3. Strengthen and grow kaupapa Māori services
4. Build workforce capacity and capability
5. Focus on prevention and early intervention

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Related research and resources

The role of men's behaviour change programs in addressing men's use of domestic, family and sexual violence: an evidence brief, ANROWS (2025)

This evidence brief provides a summary of the literature on men’s behaviour change programs (MBCPs) and contributes to building a shared understanding of their role in addressing domestic, family and sexual violence in Australia.

A Mana Tāne Echo of Hope: dispelling the illusion of whānau violence - Taitokerau Tāne Māori speak out, Amokura Family Violence Prevention Consortium (2009)

This research project explores how tāne Māori become and remain free of whanau violence and documents Māori men’s aspirations for whanau oranga. It includes a literature review, discussion of the interrelated components of Māori wellbeing, key thematic learnings, a summary of factors that maintain and generate violence in the home, and seven proposed facilitators of change.

Willing, capable and confident: men masculinities and the prevention of violence against women. Exploring the Man Box 2024, Respect Victoria (2024)

This report is part of The Man Box 2024 study, led in partnership by Jesuit Social Services and Respect Victoria, that examines the attitudes and behaviours of Australian men aged 18 to 45. It measures agreement with and experience of Man Box ‘rules’ – harmful stereotypes about what it means to be a man.

Effective practice in violence prevention education with boys and young men, Michael Flood (2024)

This report examines violence prevention education with boys and young men. Exploring how best to work with boys and young men in classrooms and other face-to-face settings, it identifies six standards for best practice in this work.