He pitopito kōrero
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News stories
White Ribbon
The Aotearoa New Zealand White Ribbon 2022 campaign brings together resources and advice for parents, especially dads, to communicate with their children about issues like consent, healthy masculinity and respectful relationships. Events are happening around the country.
The campaign has also released new free online resources focused on flip the script to change phrases that promote unhealthy stereotypes. The resources include posters, graphics and a toolkit to flip the script around the phrase 'boys will be boys.' The toolkit introduces the 2022 campaign saying:
"The stereotypes and ideas from the past that are causing harm in our communities need to go. One of the leading predictors of violence towards women, is the belief in the rigid rules of masculinity. That means the more we tell our boys to harden up, don't cry and act like a man, the more we are promoting the kind of attitudes that support violence."
And it goes on to say:
"Let's take this outdated support for rigid masculinity and flip it on its head, because there are awesome things that boys can be that need to be celebrated. Boys can be kind, caring, and trustworthy. They can be allies, ethical, generous, humble, compassionate, supportive, respectful, thoughtful, multi-dimensional, considerate, gentle, and vulnerable. Boys have the potential to grow into great men that will not remain silent about violence."
Previously developed resources from the campaign include the following toolboxes:
- Kids and Gender Toolbox - for parents to support children who challenge gender norms
- Being Men Toolbox - understand and challenge stereotypes about what it is to be a man, and support healthy masculinity
- Call-in Toolbox - create meaningful change.
Advocate and researcher Michael Flood talks about some of these issues in his article ‘Toxic masculinity’: what does it mean, where did it come from – and is the term useful or harmful?.
International Day to End Violence Against Women and the 16 days of activism
Shine is offering a free webinar that looks at what causes family violence and gives an introduction to an intersectional approach to family violence. The webinar is scheduled for 30 November 2022, as part of the 16 days of activism. Register your interest or see Shine's Facebook for more details.
The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is an international campaign. It starts every year on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs until 10 December, Human Rights Day. The campaign was started by activists at the inaugural Women’s Global Leadership Institute in 1991. The US-based Center for Women’s Global Leadership continues to coordinate the global 16 days of activism campaign. For 2022, the theme is continuing from last year, focused on ending femicide.
The United Nations Secretary-General’s UNiTE by 2030 to End Violence against Women campaign aligns with the 16 Days of Activism. The UNiTE campaign is a multi-year effort aimed at preventing and eliminating violence against women and girls around the world. The UNiTE campaign's theme for this year is “UNITE! Activism to end violence against women and girls”. See the UNiTE 16 days of activism concept note.
Related Aotearoa NZ events and resources
The Shifting the Line research group is organising a seminar by Dr Stephen Burrell on Engaging men and boys in preventing violence against women in times of crisis: Lessons from the UK. The seminar will take place in Auckland on 24 November 2022. It will explore these issues, and consider how to effectively work with men and boys to develop more caring, connected relationships with others and themselves, in order to prevent different forms of violence – from gender-based violence to environmental harm. Dr Stephen Burrell is an Assistant Professor (Research) in the Department of Sociology at Durham University in the UK. He is also a Deputy Director of Durham’s Centre for Research into Violence and Abuse (CRiVA). Stephen is currently conducting a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship about the links between masculinities, patriarchy, the climate crisis, and violence. Registration not required to attend.
Tom Johnson's paper, Bro Ora: revitalising tāne Māori wellbeing through an awa lens (2021), looks at tāne Māori and their wellbeing in the context of colonisation and the subsequent effects on tāne health and wellbeing. The paper also looks at the literature related to colonisation as a driving factor of the genderisation of tāne Māori and the impact on contemporary experiences of wellbeing for tāne Māori. It highlights existing gaps in research for tāne Māori wellness, and suggests using Iwi-specific methodologies to understand and capture the experiences of tāne Māori wellness. Watch a brief video of the author talking about the paper.
Researchers have used data from the Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) survey to see whether parents pass on gender attitudes and gender inequality to children. The researchers found that in most ways parents treat boy and girl children similarly in Aotearoa New Zealand, yet there were some differences. Those small differences could contribute to inequality between genders and children’s understanding of gender stereotypes, but the researchers conclude the small differences are not the main cause of gender inequality. They write in the report, Gendered parenting and the intergenerational transmission of gender stereotypes: evidence from the Growing Up in New Zealand survey (2022):
"Overall, the differences in parenting by the child’s sex are not large enough to explain the gender inequality between adults in Aotearoa New Zealand. We infer that external structural factors outside parents’ control likely play a primary role in perpetuating potentially harmful gender inequality. Parents alone cannot end the cycle of harmful gender inequalities, particularly since they are often pressured to parent within society’s gendered structural constrains."
Related international resources
The Working with Men and Boys for Social Justice Assessment Tool is a new tool developed to support leaders, designers and facilitators of programs for boys and men to evaluate the social and gender justice capacities of their program. The tool is based on research and practice in the areas of social justice, gender studies and the critical sociology of men and masculinities. The team developing and offering the tool includes Australian-based researchers Amanda Keddie, Michael Flood, Shelley Hewson-Munro, Maria Delaney, and Anna Halafoff. The team is hosting an online session on zoom to introduce the tool, how it can be used and what additional resources and work is available to support using the tool. The event is scheduled for 6 December 2022. Registration required.
Our Watch, based in Australia, published Men in focus practice guide: Addressing masculinities and working with men in the prevention of men’s violence against women (2022). The guide outlines the long-term, collective, and intersectional approach needed to dismantle and transform the norms, structures and practices that reinforce gender inequality and lead to men’s violence against women. It provides strategies to engage with men and boys about healthy masculinities. The guide builds on a review of evidence, Men in focus: unpacking masculinities and engaging men in the prevention of violence against women (2019). Our Watch has also published an online interactive Prevention toolkit for Australian local government (2022).
UNICEF shared a video highlighting global work addressing the intersection of gender transformative parenting programmes with violence against women and children. The video includes representatives talking about their work from the Prevention Collaborative, UNICEF and Equimundo (formerly Promundo).
Nurturing care and men's engagement (2022) is a thematic brief that summarises evidence about the benefits of men’s engagement in care on outcomes for women, children, and men. It has information about designing and adapting services to engage men in providing nurturing care. It also outlines practical actions for policymakers and programme designers across four environments: policies, services, communities and caregivers. Nurturing care is an initiative hosted by the World Health Organization, World Bank Group and UNICEF.
For more resources and research, search our library under the subject heading Engaging men and boys in violence prevention.
Related media
Projects pilot ways to help men talk about the tough stuff, RNZ, 11.01.2023
Overcoming ‘toxic masculinity’, Gisborne Herald, 14.12.2022
She Is Not Your Rehab - Documentary Release, Te Hiku Radio, 06.12.2022
Anti-violence campaign encourages healthy masculinity and relationships, PMN News, 28.11.2022
Gisborne community holds whānau days in first step to turn round violence, RNZ, 28.11.202
Supporting International Economic Harm Awareness Day, Shine media release, 25.11.2022
Free webinar to raise awareness about gender and family violence, Shine media release, 25.11.2022
Lesley Elliott leaves a legacy of caring, White Ribbon media release, 22.11.2022
Matt Brown interview on Pacific mornings, 531pi, 22.11.2022
White Ribbon Day in a week, RNZ, 18.11.2022
White Ribbon launches new resource to combat family violence, Stuff, 14.11.2022
Feeling lonely and the dangers of the internet, Classification Office Blog, 31.10.2022
Valuable New Tool For Workplaces To Assess Whether Domestic Violence Policies Are Best Practice, Press Release: Shine, 27.10.2022 (see the tool, Is your organisation DVFREE Ready?)
UN rapporteur call for inputs
*Update: The UN Special Rapporteur's final report, A/HRC/53/36: Custody, violence against women and violence against children, was published in April 2023.
The UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences has issued a call for inputs on custody cases, violence against women and violence against children.
The purpose is:
"To inform the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls’ report on the nexus between custody and guardianship cases, violence against women and violence against children, with a focus on the abuse of the concept of “parental alienation” and related or similar concepts."
The closing date to submit is 15 December 2022.
The goal of the report is:
"...to examine the ways in which family courts in different world regions refer to parental alienation, or similar concepts, in custody cases and how this may lead to double victimisation of victims of domestic violence [and] abuse. It also aims to document the many ways in which family courts ignore the history and existence of domestic and family violence and abuse in the context of custody cases, as well as their grave consequences on mothers and their children."
The UN special rapporteur is inviting states, national human rights institutions, civil society actors, international organisations, academics, and other stakeholders to provide information. This includes non-government organisations and advocates.
Submissions are limited to 2000 words. There are 9 specific areas that feedback is invited on:
"1. The different manifestations or specific types of domestic and intimate partner violence experienced by women and children, including the use of “parental alienation” and related concepts in child custody and access cases. Please also include a description of the different forms of violence that may be experienced by the mother and child as well as fundamental human rights violations, where relevant.
2. The factors behind the increased number of allegations of parental alienation cases in custody battles and/or disputes involving allegations of domestic violence and abuse against women, and its differentiated impact on specific groups of women and children.
3. The way in which different groups of women and children experience this phenomenon differently based on any intersecting elements such as age, sex, gender, race, ethnicity, legal residence, religious or political belief or other considerations and the factors that contribute to these situations.
4. The role that professionals play, including welfare workers, child protection services, guardian ad-litem, psychologists, psychiatrists, and how they are regulated in any way as expert witnesses.
5. The consequences of the disregard for the history of domestic violence and abuse and intimate partner violence or the penalising of such allegations in custody cases on the human rights of both the mother and the child, and the interrelationship between these rights.
6. The challenges in collecting disaggregated data on courts’ practices concerning custody cases, the areas/sectors for which data is particularly lacking and the reasons for such challenges.
7. The good practices, strategies adopted by different organs of the State or other non-State actors, at local, national, regional, or international level to improve the due consideration of domestic and family violence, including intimate partner violence against women and abuse of children in determining child custody, as well as in providing remedies and redress for victims/survivors.
8. Recommendations for preventing the inadequate consideration of a history of domestic violence and abuse and gender stereotyping in custody cases to restore the human rights of mothers and their children, as well as ensure that survivors/victims are effectively protected and assisted.
9. Any other issue of relevance that are vital for consideration but that may not have been mentioned in this call for inputs."
Feedback can be submitted by email to hrc-sr-vaw@un.org.
Update: The UN Special Rapporteur issued a Statement on domestic violence and custody rights delivered to the European Parliament, 24 January 2023 saying "My mandate and other regional and international human rights mechanisms have found the lack of attention to partner and child violence in custody arrangements to be a feature in a number of jurisdictions in the EU, but also worldwide, hence the reason I am dedicating my next report to the Human Rights Council in June 2023 on this very issue. The report will also outline a number of recommendations."
Update: The Backbone Collective has published their submission to the call for inputs, New Zealand Family Court’s response to violence against women and children A submission from The Backbone Collective to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women December 2022.
The Family Violence Death Review Committee has also published their submission Input for the report of the Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls on violence against women and children in custody cases (2022).
Background for the call for inputs
The call for inputs provides more detailed background, stating "...not enough attention is given to the interconnections between domestic violence and abuse and issues of child custody and parental relations."
It noted that a platform of independent expert mechanisms on the elimination of discrimination and violence against women issued a statement in 2019, Intimate partner violence against women is an essential factor in the determination of child custody. The statement raised concerns about patterns across jurisdictions globally that ignore women's experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV) in child custody cases. Since the statement was issued, the Special Rapporteur has received reports globally confirming these issues and further that mothers have been penalised for disclosing experiences of violence by law enforcement and/or the judiciary responsible for determining custody cases.
The Rapporteur highlights that family courts in several countries often dismiss a history of violence and abuse, as 'parental alienation.' She goes on to say:
"Although these concepts lack a universal clinical or scientific definition, emerging patterns across various jurisdictions of the world indicate courts worldwide are using the concept of “parental alienation” or similar concepts explicitly or are allowing for its instrumentalization. The vast majority of those accused of ‘alienating’ their child while alleging abuse are women. Consequently, many women victims of violence and abuse face double victimization as they are punished for alleging abuse, including by losing custody or at times being imprisoned. Children who are victims of violence and abuse by a parent (in many cases the father) often continue to be subjected to such violence and abuse, against themselves and/or the other parent (in most cases the mother) post-separation, through imposed contact with the abusive parent. These dynamics often allow parents to be intimidated, coerced or forced by their abusive ex-partners and pressured by the courts to withdraw their allegations of abuse or to agree to a specific custody arrangement. In many instances, when given the risk of losing contact with their children and the high impunity the violence committed by their partner, women end up withdrawing their allegations or not reporting at all. According to experts, in many cases, the perpetrators of violence have deliberately inflicted violence on their children as a continuation of the violence inflicted on their partner who is the parent of their children and therefore a continuation of the attempt and process of controlling the target (i.e. the mother)."
She further notes that the "regular and widespread dismissal of intimate partner violence history and incidents by family courts" can be a result of "harmful gender stereotypes and discriminatory gender bias among family law judges." And she further writes:
"A very powerful bias, shared by many welfare and judicial systems, is that the right of a father to maintain contact with his children should override any other consideration. This is often justified with reference to the “the best interest of the child”, so that it is argued that the child’s best interest is to maintain contact with their father under all circumstances, even if the father has been abusive towards the mother or the child."
The Rapporteur then details the international obligations under the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and calls for action from the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women.
More information
For more information on the intersection of IPV and child care and protection in Aotearoa New Zealand see:
- Six reasons why we cannot be effective with either intimate partner violence or child abuse and neglect unless we address both together (2017), a position statement from the Family Violence Death Review Committee, drawing on their 5th report
- The Backbone Collective's report on New Zealand’s Sixth Periodic report to United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child 93rd Session (2022)
- Reports from the Backbone Collective including: Report Two - Out of the frying pan and into the fire: women's experiences of the New Zealand Family Court (2017) and Report Five - Seen And Not Heard: Children In The Family Court - Force (2017)
- NZFVC Issues Paper 4, Policy and practice implications: Child maltreatment, intimate partner violence and parenting (2013)
- NZFVC Issues Paper 3, Understanding connections and relationships: Child maltreatment, intimate partner violence and parenting (2013)
For more information about parental alienation see
- The journal article ‘It’s Not OK’, but ‘It’ never happened: parental alienation accusations undermine children’s safety in the New Zealand Family Court (2020) by Deborah Mackenzie, Ruth Herbert and Neville Robertson.
- The journal article The affective burden of separated mothers in PA(S) inflected custody law systems : a New Zealand case study (2020) by Vivienne Elizabeth.
- Video and resources from our 2018 seminar "Parental alienation” and family courts: A conversation on research and practice
- The Newsroom article from Catriona MacLennan on Family Court using discredited US theory (2017).
For more research and reports, search our library for parental alienation or search our library using the quick topic searches care and protection or custody/contact/access.
Related news
Manatū Wāhine | Ministry for Women is inviting expressions of interest from individuals, academics, and/or representatives of non-government organisations (NGO) to be the NGO delegate on the official New Zealand Government delegation to the 67th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is the highest-level international forum on gender equality and women’s empowerment. CSW67 is being held from 6 to 17 March 2023 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The closing date to submit an expression of interest is 30 November 2022.
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has released the list of issues and questions prior to the NZ Government's submission of the ninth periodic report of New Zealand. The Government's response to these issues and questions will form the 9th periodic report on New Zealand's implementation of CEDAW. This report is due to be submitted by the Government in July 2023. For more information see the Ministry for Women's information on CEDAW reporting.
Related media
Family Court judge rules child should visit killer father behind bars, NZ Herald, 27.04.2023
Family Court failings laid bare in research series, University of Auckland media release, 22.11.2022
Petition calls to end practice of child uplifts in custody battles, One News, 06.11.2022
Abuse victim Mrs P a step closer to appealing 'excoriating' court decision, Stuff, 31.10.2022
Inquiry urged into ‘parental alienation’ court experts, The Guardian [UK], 19.06.2022
Complaining about a Family Court judge isn't safe - advocate, RNZ, 01.09.2022
'They can't win': How an old idea about women puts children in danger, Stuff, 20.03.2021
Waipareira challenges parental alienation uplift, Waatea News, 27.01.2021
Call for proposals for national family violence conference
The Aotearoa New Zealand National Family Violence Conference, Hiwa-i-te-rangi, is being organised by Te Kupenga Whakaoti Mahi Patunga | the National Network of Family Violence Services. The conference organisers are inviting proposals from individuals and organisations who want to present at the conference in 2023.
Proposals to present must be submitted by 2 December 2022.
Proposals are invited on all aspects of work relating to family violence and/or sexual violence. This could include a diversity of methods and approaches, including performances, showcases, panels, discussion groups, workshops and academic papers.
Creative practitioners, activists, academics and researchers are invited to submit proposals to present. The presentation opportunity is for concurrent sessions during the conference. Depending on the number of presentations, presenters will have between 20-60 minutes to present.
The conference will take place at Te Wharewaka o Poneke in Te Whanganui a Tara | Wellington on Thursday 23 March and Friday 24 March 2023.
The conference whakatauki is
Waiho rā kia tū takitahi ana ngā whetū o te rangi
Let it be one alone that stands among the other stars in the sky
The call for proposals explains:
"Just as Hiwa-i-te-rangi, a Matariki star holds our dreams and desires in the hope they will be realised, Te Aorerekura, Aotearoa/New Zealand’s first National Strategy for the Elimination of Family Violence and Sexual Violence holds that space where our dreams and desires, indeed, our expectations, may be realised for better, more effective, and just, family and sexual violence prevention and response systems.
Our conference whakatauki Waiho rā kia tū takitahi ana ngā whetū o te rangi, reminds us however of the importance of stepping up as leaders in the space. The realisation of our aspirations, and those of our communities, requires that we each work as leaders in our mahi, alongside other leaders (in government, in culture, in communities) to realise Te Aorerekura’s Moemoea that “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”.
While Hiwa-i-te-rangi invites us to dream, Te Aorerekura implores us to action."
Proposals need to include details about your topics, presenters and more. For more information see the call for proposals which has guidelines for submitting a proposal and examples of possible topics.
For questions, contact the conference organiser Howard Dawson at conference@nnsvs.org.nz.
For more information about the event, see the official conference website: www.familyviolenceconference.nz.
Update:
Find the webinar recording and transcript here.
NZFVC webinar
The NZ Family Violence Clearinghouse is hosting a webinar on the Rights and needs of migrant victim-survivors of family violence within immigration policies and practices on Monday, 28 November 2022 from 11:30am to 1:00pm.
Research and feedback from victim-survivors and advocates has shown that immigration policies and practices can create barriers for migrant victims of family violence when accessing help.
The webinar will look at:
- The current situation for migrant victim-survivors of family violence in Aotearoa New Zealand in relation to immigration policies
- Policies from other countries and Aotearoa New Zealand’s international obligations under the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
- What policy, practice and support changes are needed.
The webinar will feature 5 panellists including:
- Vasudha Gautam, the Client Care Coordinator of the Refugee and Immigration Legal Advice Service at Community Law Wellington and Hutt Valley, and a victim-survivor
- Silvana Erenchun Perez, the Strategic Manager of Shama Ethnic Women’s Trust
- Sarah Croskery-Hewitt lawyer and legal researcher, focused on access to justice issues facing survivors of family and sexual violence including research on the intersection of immigration law and family violence in Aotearoa New Zealand
- Dhilum Nightingale, community lawyer who works with migrant survivors of domestic violence with visa applications and appeals to the Immigration & Protection Tribunal
- Megan Williams, law reform advocate at Community Law Centres o Aotearoa, working in the areas of immigration and refugee law, social welfare and housing law, family violence and access to justice
See more information about the panellists and register to attend. A video recording of the webinar and transcript will be made available on our website.
Background and related news
Green Party MP Jan Logie has proposed a member’s bill, Protecting Migrant Victims of Family Violence Bill, to provide stronger protections for people in migrant communities who experience family violence. The bill aims to prioritise children’s needs, remove barriers to help-seeking for recent migrants, and recognise and remove opportunities for immigration law-related abuse and coercion as a dynamic of family violence. The draft bill is available online. In announcing the bill, Jan Logie said:
“Everyone has the right to a life free from violence, regardless of their immigration status. However for migrants coming to Aotearoa New Zealand with their partners, New Zealand’s current immigration settings can trap them in some very dangerous situations.
“Under the current rules, migrant victims of family violence in a relationship with a citizen or permanent resident have access to two special visa categories. They can either be granted a Family Violence Work Visa for six months or, in some specific circumstances, a Family Violence Resident Visa.
“However, the criteria for both is so narrow and the burden of proof so high that many survivors are not eligible, and are forced to remain in a violent relationship in order to stay in the country/with their children.
“Immigration Ministers past and present have known about this for years, particularly following the findings of a 2019 report by Immigration New Zealand - and yet nothing has been done to change it, including in the big immigration reset the Government announced a few months ago.
“My Bill would provide a long overdue pathway for migrants who are trapped in violent relationships. It will put the needs of children at the heart of the system and make it easier for migrant victims to apply for, and be issued with, a family violence visa."
The bill has not yet been pulled from the biscuit tin and does not yet have enough support to be introduced in Parliament without being selected through the ballot.
Te Mahere Whai Mahi Wāhine | the Women’s Employment Action Plan includes an action to "Review the immigration settings for migrants in New Zealand who experience family violence to ensure that appropriate support is available, including visa categories that are more commonly granted to women" by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), Manatū Wāhine | Ministry for Women, and the Ministry for Ethnic Communities.
Media outlet Newsroom reported that a review of partnership-based visa settings, including the Victims of Family Violence Work visa, is planned for 2023. Newsroom has also highlighted that changes coming in December 2022 to work visas for partners of temporary migrants could increase the risks for victims of family violence.
The parliamentary select Education and Workforce Committee completed an inquiry into migrant exploitation. In the final report from the inquiry, the Committee noted that feedback they heard from submitters included:
"Restricting work rights for partners of work visa holders may have negative outcomes. We heard repeatedly from submitters that migrants do not report exploitation because they fear deportation or other changes to their visa status. Similarly, some migrants may not report family violence because their immigration status is tied to an abusive partner. If partners of work visa holders cannot work, and are financially dependent on an abusive partner, they are even less likely to report abuse. They may also be incentivised to work illegally, which puts them at greater risk of exploitation." (page 25)
The Committee also stated "We believe that Victims of Family Violence visas should be available to all migrants who are experiencing abuse, not just those migrants who are the partner of a New Zealand citizen or residence class visa holder." The Committee made 3 related recommendations:
"We recommend that the Government closely monitor instances of family violence in migrant families and consider whether immigration settings should be changed to prevent violence.
We recommend that the Government prioritise work to make sure that migrant partners and families are suitably supported by the immigration system after situations of family violence.
We recommend that the Government consider the eligibility criteria for the Victims of Family Violence Visa to enable more migrants to access it. " (page 27)
A previous MBIE report identified "policy issues and INZ operational/processing issues" that present barriers to migrant victims obtaining family violence visas. Ethnic, migrant and former refugee communities identified these and other issues during the engagement to develop Te Aorerekura. Their feedback and recommendations are summarised in the community analysis paper Analysis: Ethnic, migrant and former refugee communities: engagement for Te Aorerekura.
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has previously raised concerns about the impacts of immigration settings on migrant victims of family violence in Aotearoa New Zealand. In their Concluding Observations on New Zealand's 8th periodic report (CEDAW/C/NZL/CO/8), the Committee highlighted: that migrant women with children might be "...returned to their country of origin, leaving their children behind with fathers, even in cases where there is known or reported abuse", that migrant women might remain in abusive relationships because their visa status was dependent on their partner and that women in these situations have barriers to access to justice including no access to legal aid. The Committee recommended the government:
"(a) Revise its immigration laws, with a view to facilitating access to permanent residency permits for mothers of children who hold New Zealand nationality;
(b) Ensure the availability of shelters for migrant women who are victims of violence, including domestic violence, and provide them with free legal and psychological counselling, rehabilitation and other support services;
(c) Create adequate conditions for women migrants to lodge complaints, including by ensuring that they are properly informed of their rights, and available remedies, including how to lodge complaints of violations of those rights, including in a language that they can understand."
For more information
For more information about violence against women from ethnic and migrant communities, see:
Intersections of immigration law and family violence: exploring barriers for ethnic migrant and refugee background women (2021), by Irene Ayallo
NZFVC Issues Paper Ethnic perspectives on family violence in Aotearoa New Zealand (2019) by Rachel Simon-Kumar
Episode 5: Shakti of the Breaking Silence documentary series, produced by Magnetic Pictures for Stuff with the support of NZ On Air and published on RNZ
For related research and information see the Migrants, Refugees and Asian peoples quick topic searches in our NZFVC library.
Related news
Adhikaar Aotearoa has published the report, Community is where the knowledge is: the Adhikaar report (2022), sharing findings from a community consultation about the unique experiences that LGBT+ South Asians face in Aotearoa New Zealand. The report shares the stories from the community and speaks to experiences through three themes: self and society, ethnic families and communities, and mainstream LGBT+ communities. Adhikaar Aotearoa is a Aotearoa-based charity that provides education, advocacy and support towards their vision of "An Aotearoa where LGBTQIA+ people of colour, particularly South Asians, can be themselves, free of fear and stigma, and explore their potential while challenging discrimination against them." Sandra Dickson from Takatāpui and Rainbow organisation Hohou Te Rongo Kahukura wrote A reflection on The Adhikaar Report.
Related media
Wood postpones partner work visa changes until Easter, Newsroom, 05.12.2022
Changes to partner work visas deferred to April 2023, Beehive media release, 05.12.2022
'Doubling administration': Experts warn over work rights for migrants' partners, RNZ, 29.11.2022
Racism and violence experienced by South Asian LGBTQIA+ New Zealanders, Stuff, 02.11.2022
Violence ignored in immigration changes, Newsroom, 31.08.2022
Man who held machete to wife's neck escapes deportation, Stuff, 31.08.2022
$1000 infringement fees just ‘loose change’ to exploitative employers, Newroom, 25.08.2022
New panel sees refugees advise on refugees, Newroom, 27.07.2022
Govt announcements
Social Sector Commissioning Action Plan launched
Minister for Social Development and Employment Carmel Sepuloni announced the launch of the Social Sector Commissioning Action Plan 2022-2028. A brief, executive summary for the action plan is also available.
The purpose of the Action Plan is "Transforming the way social supports and services are commissioned so that they best support people, families and whānau to live the lives they value." This change involves giving practical effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and moving towards a relational approach.
The plan outlines 9 main actions that will be implemented over 3 different phases from 2022-2028:
- Learn how a relational approach can be applied to commissioning
- Provide the social sector with guidance on how to work in a relational way
- Change the commissioning system’s rules and processes to enable the sector to work together to provide social services
- Support reform programmes to work smarter and in a joined-up way to implement relational approaches to commissioning
- Government agencies and Crown entities make operational changes to deliver the government-endorsed ‘commitments’ to commissioning practice (there are 15 commitments listed in the plan)
- Government agencies and Crown entities outline the actions and approach they will take to implement a relational approach to commissioning
- Create a stewardship group that represents people who are involved in or impacted by the social sector, so they guide, promote, and protect the transformation of the system
- Build a team that is responsible for implementing the 2022–2028 Social Sector Commissioning Action Plan
- Monitor and learn how social sector commissioning is impacting individuals, families and whānau
The plan also identifies that a Commissioning Hub will be set up, noting "The Social Sector Commissioning work programme will have a team, known as the Commissioning Hub, that will provide support and guidance, and will facilitate change to a relational approach to commissioning." In addition, the plan identifies that working groups and a stewardship group will be set up.
In announcing the plan, Minister Sepuloni said:
“For our social services, these changes mean they can be sustainable, less focused on paper work and competition for funding, and more focused on supporting their communities with more flexibility in responding to the unique and diverse needs of those accessing their services.
“And for government, it means we need to be transparent in how we commission and support social services, and work collaboratively to learn and grow in order to meet the needs of New Zealanders. It’s also about making sure our investment in the sector is going to the right people and places, as opposed to being tied up in administrative processes."
For more information see the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) information on Social Sector Commissioning Action Plan and reform and the related Social Sector Commissioning: Direction for Change cabinet papers. The Commissioning Hub was included in Budget 2022. Also see the related MSD Budget 2022 fact sheet on Social Sector Commissioning: Growing the Capability of the Social Sector.
Related news
The Auckland Co-design Lab and The Southern Initiative in collaboration with Te Puna Aonui (formerly the Joint Venture on Family Violence and Sexual Violence) published the report Activating an Ecology of Support: a Futures Visualisation Project to inform integrated community-led responses to family violence and sexual violence (2022). The report was "...developed to inform thinking and ongoing discussion about what integrated community-led responses, as a 'new approach to investment' in family violence and sexual violence, could look like."
Community Networks Aotearoa |Te Hapori Tuhononga o Aotearoa has started an initiative to improve experiences with banks for community organisations. The project is looking at how banks and changes to banking systems are affecting the work of community organisations. They have formed a collaborative working group with four of their member organisations and they are working with the Citizens Advice Bureau and FINZ (the Fundraising Institute of New Zealand). Currently they are seeking feedback on whether organisations or community members have experienced banking difficulties.
Update: Community Networks Aotearoa published the final report from this research in June 2023: Better Banking for All -Creating Ease of Banking for the Not-For-Profit Sector (2023).
Hui E! Community Aotearoa published a Community Funding White Paper | Pepa Mā mō te Whai Pūtea ā-Hapori (2022). The white paper sets out 6 recommendations for government and other funders. The paper reflects on the strengths of the community sector in response to long term funding challenges as well as challenges and impacts from COVID-19.
SociaLink published a brief on the Impact of inflation on community organisations and communities (2022). The brief includes findings from a survey of community organisations and a review of recent literature on inflation. SociaLink is the umbrella organisation for the Western Bay of Plenty social agencies. The report includes suggestions for government and other funders, as well as community organisations.
Pay equity settlement for community social workers
Update: On 24 November 2022, Minister for Women Jan Tinetti announced that the Government will extend pay equity to all community and iwi organisations who employ social workers and receive funding from the Crown. This is expected to benefit 4,600 social workers. Minister Tinetti said:
“It will also streamline the process by removing the requirement for providers to work through their own separate pay equity claim.
“This agreement from Government means that officials from the pay equity taskforce at Te Kawa Mataaho will immediately begin a significant piece of work to identify all the relevant providers in the sector and identify how many social workers they have that are covered by this extension.
“It follows work in October, when we announced a pay equity settlement for almost 500 social workers employed in five community and iwi organisations. They join the over 105,000 other working people who, since 2017, have now received a pay correction as a result of a pay equity claim.
“The extension is the first under the Framework for Oversight and Support of pay equity claims in the funded sector and will represent real and significant change for our valuable and hardworking community social workers.
“I encourage the community sector to engage with this upcoming piece of work as your voices will be critical in ensuring all providers and working people are captured to deliver pay equity for all."
For more information about next steps see the update from Te Kawa Mataaho | Public Service Commission. Also see the joint media release from PSA and SSPA.
Cabinet has agreed to a settlement for a pay equity claim related to 5 representative iwi and community social service organisations. The pay equity settlement and funding addresses pay undervaluation for community 'workers performing social work' at Barnardos, Christchurch Methodist Mission, Ngāpuhi Iwi Social Services, Stand Tū Māia and Wellington Sexual Abuse Help.
The claim was lodged in August 2019 by the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi (PSA) following the 2018 settlement of the Oranga Tamariki pay equity claim. PSA said the settlement would mean that almost 500 social workers across the 5 organisations would receive an average pay rise of 36%. PSA also said "It will go a long way to retaining social workers in this critical sector. We now call on the Government to extend this settlement to the rest of the NGO sector so more workers can be paid fairly."
Minister for Children Kelvin Davis said “This social work pay equity claim is an important first step towards addressing the significant gender pay gap for social workers and others who carry out substantially similar work.”
Social Service Providers Aotearoa (SSPA) has coordinated and represented the organisations since the claim was lodged. Brenda Pilott ONZM, SSPA’s Pay Equity Co-Ordinator, said:
"The PSA lodged this pay equity claim against the five employers over three years ago – so we are tremendously pleased that a settlement has finally been reached. We acknowledge the immense commitment, and the workload carried by the five representative employers, in particular their CEOs, and members of their teams who have contributed significant time and effort to work assessments and data/information gathering that have informed the claim. We also acknowledge the ongoing support of the wider SSPA membership, the open and cooperative process with the PSA, and with Oranga Tamariki as the lead funding agency."
The SSPA media release noted that a plan and process are underway to extend the benefits of the settlement to the wider sector and that Te Kawa Mataaho | the Public Service Commission is leading the work. The SSPA media release also noted that PSA has filed a separate claim covering other workers at social service agencies who are not covered under the current settlement which is specific to 'workers performing social work.'
SSPA Chief Executive Dr Claire Achmad said:
"...the ball can start rolling on that second claim now, with this first claim having reached settlement. We expect this to be another complex and time-consuming claim due to the wide range of social services roles potentially covered, and we will be working hard to achieve a good outcome. As with the social work claim, we would expect to see the representative claim extended to others in the social services sector. It is only right that those kaimahi walking alongside families and whānau are appropriately valued and paid for the hard and tireless work that they do every day, too.”
For more background information about the settled claim as well as future work in this area see the SSPA updates on pay equity including a summary of the settlement. You can also sign-up for the SSPA pay equity mailing list.
Related news
Kāhui Whakamana Tauwhiro | the Social Workers Registration Board published the report Demand for Social Workers: An insight into the number of vacant social work positions across Aotearoa (2022).
The Fair Pay Agreements Bill has passed Parliament and received Royal Assent. The legislation will provide a framework for collective bargaining for fair pay agreements across entire industries or occupations, rather than just between unions and particular employers. Media outlet The Spinoff provides an overview Fair Pay Agreements herald a new dawn for workers – but what exactly are they? article. The Beehive media release notes that more guidance for employees and employers will be available after 1 December when the Fair Pay Agreements system comes into effect. For more information see the Fair Pay Agreements information from the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment.
Update: Legislation to repeal the Fair Pay Agreements Act passed its third reading in December 2023. See the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment website for more information.
Between August 2021 and July 2022, the Human Rights Commission led a national inquiry into the Pacific Pay Gap to better understand why the pay gap exists and how it can be closed. The report, Voices of Pacific peoples: Eliminating pay gaps (2022), shares the findings and recommendations from the inquiry.
Related news
The Government has launched Te Korowai Whetū Social Cohesion strategic framework and community fund. The strategic framework outlines actions and outcomes to achieve a central vision of social cohesion in Aotearoa New Zealand. Resources are also available including information sheets, a summary of feedback, a baseline report and a measurement framework. Advocate Anjum Rahman has written article calling for the social cohesion framework to be applied to government first.
Minister for Diversity, Inclusion and Ethnic Communities, Priyanca Radhakrishnan said “It is important that we have a shared understanding of what social cohesion is and take actions we know can strengthen it." Minister Radhakrishnan also announced a $2 million community fund to support local and community-based social cohesion initiatives. Te Korowai Whetū Social Cohesion community fund is being administered by the Ministry of Social Development.
For more information see the cabinet papers related to strengthening social cohesion in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Related media
Care Workers Call For Fairness On Pay Equity Anniversary, Press Release: E Tū, Scoop, 18.04.2024
Government moves to support social workers workforce, Beehive media release, 10.05.2023
Pay equity deal to extend to community and iwi social workers - Minister, RNZ, 24.11.2022
Pay equity deal extended to all community social workers, One News, 24.11.2022
Recapturing a national sense of belonging, Newsroom, 10.11.2022
The 50th birthday of the Equal Pay Act is no cause for celebration, Newsroom, 19.10.2022
International resources on self-care and collective care
Dare to Care is a free self-paced online course designed for researchers, practitioners and others working to prevent and address violence against women and children. The course can be completed as an individual or as part of a group or with a support partner. The course was designed by the Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI). SVRI is an international network on research on violence against women and violence against children, based in South Africa.
The course has 4 modules based on a metaphor of the rain forest:
- Settling into the forest floor: How to prepare and create a safe and supportive space to complete the course
- Exploring the understory: Build a shared understanding of key concepts such as burnout, vicarious trauma and stress, including what stress means in your own context, how stress can be intersectional and what collective stress looks like
- Tending to the canopy: Explore the concept of collective care, what it offers that self-care practices cannot and analyse the factors that enable and undermine collective care in the contexts of your work
- Flourishing at the emergent layer: Develop a collective care growth plan and identify your own role in collective care and prepare to take action.
The online course includes short videos with transcripts, reflective practices for individuals or groups, and meditation. It comes with a downloadable Guide and Reflection Journal, as well as guidance on how to go through the course safely as an individual or group.
The course is part of the We Care Project from SVRI on Institutionalising Accessible Staff Wellness and Resilience Policies, Tools and Practices for the GBV [gender-based violence] Field. Additional resources from the project include:
- Video recordings of webinars on Decolonising Wellness and Self-Care and Leadership, self and collective care
- A case study on creating and maintaining a culture of self and collective care at an organisation that addresses violence
- A case study on promoting wellbeing through self and collective care for staff on a research project
- An Evidence Review that explores research into how wellness and care can be institutionalised in the violence against women field.
The SVRI work highlights the opportunities and responsibility for organisations to support the wellbeing of staff and volunteers, taking into account the wider factors that affect access to wellbeing. In the SVRI blog post From Me to We: reclaiming the need for collective care (2021), the authors write:
"We are not the first group to critique dominant approaches to self-care, resilience, and wellness – largely rooted in western paradigms – which place the burden of care and coping on individuals, often in their personal capacity. The individualised focus does not acknowledge that our work spaces and work cultures themselves may be contributing to our stress and trauma nor does it highlight the role that institutions and organisations must play in preventing burnout, and promoting and nurturing wellness, care, and kindness."
Making Cents International has published the guide How to embed self- and collective care within organizations addressing gender-based violence (2022). The guide is available in English, عربى , Français and Español. The guide outlines 3 pillars to guide organisations when implementing self- and collective care:
- Values, organisational culture, and leadership
- Policies and structures
- Contextualised practices.
For each pillar, it outlines what is involved, potential barriers, needed resources and practical suggestions. The guide highlights that:
"Putting self- and collective care into practice requires courage, intentionality, resources, and a willingness to imagine a different kind of organization. Funders can play a critical role in validating and supporting this process."
Womankind Worldwide, a UK-based global women's rights organisation, published Nurturing the beating heart of feminist movements: Lessons drawn from Womankind Worldwide’s Movement Strengthening Fund (2022). The report shares lessons from nine initiatives on how to strengthen feminist organising. The lessons address wellbeing, continuous learning, building a solid movement infrastructure, leadership strengthening and ensuring diversity and inclusion. The report has recommendations, including this recommendation for funders:
"Promote self and collective care: Feminist movements need funding to ensure their work does not fragment them and they have the ability to withstand processes of rusting and erosion. They need to engage with strategies focusing on holistic development with an emphasis on intellectual, psychological, physical and spiritual stimulation and wellbeing. All this emphasises the very real need to look after themselves, ‘time out’ to nurture and look at one’s sources of inspiration."
Another SVRI blog post explored Self-Care: What’s Power Got to do With It? (2022), writing:
"Many organisations have made efforts to support their staff during enormously challenging times and given thought to how to prioritise and encourage self-care both at and outside of work. However, this commitment to inclusive approaches to care is far from the norm, even within our field, and we wanted to reflect on whose voices are included and who has limited or no access to meaningful practices around self and collective care: how do power and privilege impact on concepts of and access to self and collective care within organisations?"
The article, Self-care for gender-based violence researchers – Beyond bubble baths and chocolate pralines (2022), explores relational and collaborative ways of self-care and caring for each other for gender-based violence researchers, especially when there is lack of institutional awareness and support.
The article, The better to break and bleed with: research, violence, and trauma (2021), is one researcher's reflections on experiencing emotion and trauma in social science research, in relation to studying violence, and explores "how a trauma-informed ethics of care, grounded in a collective process of seeking and finding guidance and support, might look."
Researchers who reviewed studies of interventions to address vicarious trauma for service providers working with traumatised clients found that most interventions were self-care based and often focused on general stress management rather than addressing the specific effects of vicarious trauma. While the interventions generally showed positive benefits, researchers call for interventions tailored to address vicarious trauma for different service settings and participant characteristics. For more information see the article A scoping review of vicarious trauma interventions for service providers working with people who have experienced traumatic events (2021).
See our related news stories below for additional resources related to wellbeing and collective care.
Update: Safe and Equal, based in Australia, has created resources to support wellbeing for people who work in primary prevention of family violence. The 'How We Thrive' Video Series (2023) includes 4 brief videos and tip sheets. These resources are designed to help managers and organisational leaders understand what prevention practitioners need to feel supported and valued in their organisations, as well as helping prevention practitioners to advocate for their own projects and wellbeing.
Update: The report How Can We Ground Ourselves in Care and Dance Our Revolution? (2023) explore actions to prioritise collective care to mitigate risks and promote the wellbeing and sustainability of feminist movements. It draws on interviews with 141 activists in 63 countries speaking on how they integrate care into their activism and work. In announcing their report, Urgent Action Funds consortium said:
"The report also calls on funders to provide more resources to fund collective care practices among feminist movements, directly providing recommendations, and next steps from activists on the frontlines. The perspectives shared in our report offer a unique and diverse understanding of collective care, highlighting the experiences of women, trans, and non-binary feminist activists who have been historically marginalized within social justice movements worldwide.
We’ve asked those who compiled the research to provide a deeper understanding of the importance of collective care in the feminist space."
Update: In the Collective Care and Kindness (2023, SE212) podcast, SVRI explores the concept of collective care - the practice of taking responsibility for the wellbeing of each other, as individuals and as a community. It looks at the dangers faced by women and children globally in the sphere of activism, and how collective care can support and heal those who are vulnerable to attacks. It also looks at the importance of integrating collective care into our organisations and what this can look like.
Update: UK-reseacher Malaka Shwaikh explores the limits of resilience by drawing on hundreds of interviews with global survivors of wars and violence in the article Beyond Expectations of Resilience: Towards a Language of Care (2023).
Related news
InsideOUT Kōaro and researchers from the University of Otago documented the development of a culture of care to support the wellbeing of Rainbow activists involved with InsideOUT Kōaro in the article Creating a culture of care to support rainbow activists’ well-being: an exemplar from Aotearoa | New Zealand (2022).
Housing First Auckland shared a video recording of a presentation on Maramataka - a deeper connection to te ao Māori to support self-care (2022) from Ayla Hoeta and Vikki ham. The presentation slides and a downloadable Maramataka Dial are also available.
Advocates and researchers have continued to document the impacts of the COVID pandemic on advocates and organisations working in gender-based violence. Some of the recent resources include:
- Video recording of the webinar on Helping from home: Domestic and family violence worker wellbeing during the ‘shadow pandemic (2022) from the Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre [Australia]
- The articles The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Staff in Violence Against Women Services (2022) and “There's no amount of tea in the world that is going to fix the patriarchy right now”: The gendered impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic for women in the gender-based violence sector (2022) share findings from interviews and focus groups with staff about their experiences during the pandemic in Canada
Find more research and resources related to COVID-19 and violence in our library under the quick topic search on COVID-19.
Related media
The Waikato kaimahi kapa haka competition is connecting to a tool for healing, NZ Herald, 27.10.2023
Mātauranga on app for mental health mindfulness, Waatea News, 11.10.2022
Changes to national mortality review committees
The Health Quality & Safety Commission (HQSC) announced significant changes to the mortality review committees following an independent review. HQSC announced that a single national mortality review committee would be established next year to carry out the national mortality review function.
It also stated that the current mortality review committees would continue for now as expert groups, under the oversight of the new single National Mortality Review Committee.
Currently, there are five mortality review committees:
- Family Violence Death Review Committee (FVDRC)
- Perioperative Mortality Review Committee
- Perinatal & Maternal Mortality Review Committee
- Suicide Mortality Review Committee
- Child & Youth Mortality Review Committee.
HQSC has provided initial details about the planned changes, noting:
- a single National Mortality Review Committee will be established
- current mortality review committee members will be invited to become 'subject matter and representative experts' within the overall national mortality review function (NMRF)
- all current secretariat staff will transition to form part of the NMRF business unit
- data will be brought together under the NMRF
- statutory powers under Schedule 5 of the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022 will be transferred from the committees to the National Mortality Review Committee
- the single National Mortality Review Committee will be able to focus on 'current and emerging priority areas, informed by an all-mortality prioritisation process.'
HQSC outlined next steps:
"An interim National Mortality Review Committee will be stood up in early 2023 to provide expertise in the development of these core frameworks and identify emerging areas of mortality review.
The NMRF will continue to uphold key functions and activities of the existing MRCs, with a dual focus on reporting key mortality trends as well as assessing and prioritising areas of greatest need.
The interim National Mortality Review Committee and the Commission will work closely with the existing MRCs to transition institutional knowledge, and to ensure current members are well positioned to continue to provide an important voice as subject matter and representative experts.
Mortality review workstreams across child and youth, perinatal and maternal, and suicide will continue in the 2023/24 financial year under the transformed NMRF. A national expert group will continue to provide oversight and advice on national trends in perioperative deaths. Family violence death review will remain in place for the long term." [emphasis added]
In the media release, HQSC board chair Dr Dale Bramley said
"All current committees will continue to exist until 30 June 2023, throughout the transition to the refreshed model, and members will be invited to become subject matter and representative experts within these priority workstreams of the National Mortality Review Committee. I can assure current committee members that their areas of focus will continue to be a priority throughout the transition."
Dr Bramley also said "One of the main reasons for the transformation is to address inequities in Māori mortality rates."
The changes are based on an independent review of the national mortality review function completed by Francis Health in April 2022.
The Final report: Review of the national mortality review function (March 2022) summarises the review findings and recommendations. The report highlighted "the vital importance and value of a mortality review function" but also highlighted areas to improve function and impact. Key areas of change included Te Tiriti compliance, expansion of scope, and increased attention on cross-sector engagement, among others.
Update: Two appendices from the final review report are available: Appendix A: Current state critical review and Appendix B: Literature review.
Further details are not yet available about what the changes will mean for the function, statutory powers, and committee members of the Family Violence Death Review Committee.
For questions about the independent review or the new National Mortality Review Function email: mrcsecretariat@hqsc.govt.nz.
Update: The changes to the national mortality review function came into effect on 1 July 2023. Details about the new National Mortality Review Committee, committee member bios, and subject matter experts are available on the Te Tāhū Hauora Health | Quality & Safety Commission website. Fiona Cram, current chair of the Family Violence Death Review Committee and Ngā Pou Arawhenua (Māori caucus of the current mortality review committees), is one of 8 members on the new National Committee. There are 5 initial workstreams for the new National Mortality Review Committee - this includes a Family violence death review workstream to build on the work of the previous Family Violence Death Review Committee.
Background on the Family Violence Death Review Committee
The Family Violence Death Review Committee (FVDRC) was established in 2008 as an interagency, multi-disciplinary committee to systematically review all family violence deaths, as an initiative launched by the Taskforce for Action on Violence within Families.
In 2010, the Health Quality & Safety Commission was set up as a Crown entity and took responsibility for national mortality review committees, including the FVDRC. The FVDRC became a statutory committee under Section 59E of the amended New Zealand Public Health and Disability Act in April 2011. Currently, the FVDRC reports to the Health Quality & Safety Commission Board, and through the Board, to the Associate Minister of Health.
The final report from the review of the national mortality review function highlighted that:
"The methodology and review model developed and applied by the current FVDRC provides a benchmark for taking a holistic and whole of system approach. This model takes a life course approach and allows an intensive and multi sectoral review which yields insights with broad applicability and relevance."
The report also highlighted that "the FVDRC is the only MRC [mortality review committee] which has been able to build a critical mass of Māori expertise."
See the article, Getting the Story Right: Reflecting on an Indigenous Rubric to Guide the Interpretation of Mortality Data, for information about how the FVDRC addresses tikanga-based principles in their reviews and reports.
The FVDRC's seventh report, A duty to care | Me manaaki te tangata, has more information about the FVDRC and how the committee functions.
Update: Also see the recently published article Te Pou: An Indigenous Framework to Evaluate the Inclusion of Family Voice in Family Violence Homicide Reviews (2022). The article evaluates the inclusion of family and whānau voice in the indepth review process of the Family Violence Death Review Committee in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Also see the HQSC website for information on the Family Violence Death Review Committee.
National Fijian Wellbeing Plan launched
Pasefika Proud announced the launch of Lalawa Ni Tiko Vinaka: the National Fijian Wellbeing Plan 2022 - 2025 (2022). In the introduction to Lalawa Ni Tiko Vinaka, it explains that
"...Lalawa, means having a sense of direction to realise community goals and working together as a collective to embrace the challenge and work towards that end. It succinctly speaks to the Plan and its content as providing a roadmap for Fijians in Aotearoa to realise and achieve their wellbeing aspirations. To this end, Lalawa outlines:
• Background information about Fijians in Aotearoa
• The context for developing Lalawa
• The underlying vision, mission, values and principles of Lalawa
• Wellbeing priorities, with the targeted outcomes and the actions to achieve them, and the indicators
• A governance arrangement for connecting with government and for national coordination
• A risk assessment to account for future challenges impacting the wellbeing aspirations of Fijians
• Monitoring and evaluation
• Information about Fijian community services."
Fijian Community groups from around the country in partnership with the Ministry of Social Development began meeting in June 2021 to talanoa about wellbeing and the priorities for Fijian communities in Aotearoa New Zealand. The Plan outlines five priorities:
- "Embrace and be confident in our cultural identity and language
- Develop and build a community of financially stable Fijian people
- Strengthen social connections between our Fijian communities and individuals in the community
- Improve and enhance mental health and the overall health of our Fijian people
- Encourage our Fijian people to further enhance their knowledge, learning and development for greater future outcomes."
The Pasefika Proud announcement launching the Plan noted that the next step would be the appointment of a Trust from the working groups to oversee the implementation of the plan.
Lalawa Ni Tiko Vinaka: the Fijian National Wellbeing Plan is one of the national wellbeing plans for ethnic specific Pacific groups being developed as part of the Pasefika Proud work programme set out in the Pasefika Proud Pathways for Change Framework launched in 2019. Learn more about this work programme from Pasefika Proud on achieving wellbeing.
Training on Addressing Family Violence through Pacific Cultural Frameworks
Pasefika Proud and the Pathways for Change framework are underpinned by Nga Vaka o Kāiga Tapu. Nga Vaka o Kāiga Tapu is a community developed, community owned and community mandated conceptual framework for addressing family violence in eight Pacific communities in Aotearoa New Zealand. It is informed by, and aligned with, 8 ethnic specific conceptual frameworks to prevent and address family violence. Nga Vaka o Kāiga informs the ethnic-specific training on Addressing Family Violence through Pacific Cultural Frameworks. Sessions for this training are open for registration.
In August of this year, Cause Collective announced an online programme for family violence practitioners who work with Pacific families. Programme Lead, Akesa Filimoehala-Burling said developing the programme was about responding to the need to offer online training and meet the needs of participants. She also said “This is a one-off Introductory training programme that practitioners must complete before choosing to participate in one or more of the ethnic specific one-day face to face workshops.”
To learn more, listen to radio interviews on 531pi with Akesa Filimoehala-Burling and Cultural Lead Nga Vaka o Kāiga Tapu Faámatuainu Tino Pereira. For future plans related to the training see the latest update from Pasefika Proud on Championing Change in Our Communities.
All-of-Government Pacific Wellbeing Strategy
Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio announced the launch of the Pacific Wellbeing Strategy | Weaving of All-of-Government | Progressing Lalanga Fou.
The strategy identifies 4 key priorities to guide how the Government will work with Pacific communities towards reducing social and economic disadvantages and improving Pacific wellbeing. The 4 priorities from the Lalanga Fou strategy are:
- "Pacific values and principles – Lalaga Potu: that form the foundations of the Strategy.
- Partnership and governance – Fale Fono: to strengthen system leadership and establish genuine partnerships with Pacific communities to support Pacific wellbeing.
- Performance and improvement – Vaka Moana: to measure and monitor the impact of investment in Pacific communities through the All-of-Government Pacific Wellbeing Outcomes Framework that includes a set of Pacific wellbeing indicators and measures.
- Capability – Te Kupega: to build and strengthen cultural capability and engagement approaches across government."
The Pacific Wellbeing Strategy progresses the aspirations of Pacific peoples captured in the Lalanga Fou report published in 2018. This report set out the shared vision and goals for Pacific peoples in Aotearoa.
A number of related resources are available from the Ministry for Pacific Peoples. This includes tools to support inclusion and engagement with Pacific Peoples including:
- Kapasa - The Pacific Policy Analysis Tool (2021) and Kapasa eLearning Module for policy managers, advisors and analysts in government agencies to incorporate the perspectives of Pacific peoples in the wider policy development process. The framework sets out ways to include information about Pacific peoples, take account of Pacific peoples values and diversity, and ensure effective consultation with Pacific peoples in the policy development process.
- Yavu - Foundations of Pacific engagement tool (2022) and Yavu eLearning Module Yavu to support anyone who works in local and central government, and the private sector to engage with Pacific communities. Yavu can be used to support a range of initiatives, policies and decision-making where Pacific people will be affected directly or indirectly.
In announcing the strategy, Minister Sio said “This values-based approach recognises Pacific communities as the owners of their cultures, identities and languages, the cornerstone of Pacific Wellbeing, and that they must lead in decisions that affect their lives.”
Related news
Pacific Languages Strategy launched
Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio announced the Pacific Languages Strategy 2022-2032 in September 2022. When announcing the Strategy, Minister Sio said:
“The cornerstone of our Pacific cultures, identities and place in Aotearoa, New Zealand are our Pacific languages. They are at the heart of our wellbeing.”
He also said:
“This Strategy demonstrates the Government’s commitment to reverse the declining use of Pacific languages in Aotearoa New Zealand, and ensures Pacific languages thrive and prosper for the sake of future generations’ wellbeing.”
The Strategy will be implemented through a Pacific Languages Government Action Plan and ethnic-specific Community Language Action Plans, currently being developed. The Leo Moana o Aotearoa project is also being launched alongside the Pacific Languages Strategy. The project is a comprehensive survey of Pacific language use and attitudes across all regions, ages, and ethnic groups in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Report from Pacific Pay Gap Inquiry
Between August 2021 and July 2022, the Human Rights Commission led a national inquiry into the Pacific Pay Gap to better understand why the pay gap exists and how it can be closed. The inquiry engaged with approximately 1,200 Pacific workers. The inquiry also engaged with key employers, self–employed, unions, non-government organisations, and other community groups. The report, Voices of Pacific peoples: Eliminating pay gaps (2022), shares the findings and recommendations from the inquiry. In the preface to the report, Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner Saunoamaali’i Karanina Sumeo said:
"The Inquiry has exposed legislative and policy gaps, business leadership invisibility and systemic indifference to pay inequity based on ethnicity that has perpetuated inequality, unfairness, discrimination and hardship in the lives of Pacific peoples.
"The protection and realisation of basic human rights for Pacific peoples will lead to overall benefits for all New Zealanders."
For more information see the related media below.
Related media
The 50th birthday of the Equal Pay Act is no cause for celebration, Newsroom, 19.10.2022
‘My dad went on strike 20 years ago – but we’re still protesting pay gaps’, Newsroom, 18.10.2022
Loss of Vagahau Niue a real concern, Beehive media release, 16.10.2022
Melanesians in Aotearoa — a minority within a minority, E-Tangata, 15.10.2022
Report reveals vast inequality for Pasifika workers, RNZ, 12.10.2022
Vosa Vakaviti sustains generations of Fijians, Beehive media release, 02.10.2022
Pasifika leaders on a mission to normalise talanoa about sexual health, Tagata Pasifika, 19.08.2022
Legislative updates
Oranga Tamariki is looking at changes to the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 and the Residential Care Regulations 1996. These changes will be contained in an amendment Bill called the Oranga Tamariki (Residential Care and Other Matters) Amendment Bill. Oranga Tamariki has published a series of issues papers outlining potential changes. Feedback is being invited on these issues in October, with the first closing date of 14 October 2022.
The Oranga Tamariki Amendment Bill would amend the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 by partially repealing the subsequent-child provisions, repealing a redundant information-sharing provision, and amending technical errors and ambiguities. The Final Report of the Social Services and Community Committee was published in June 2022, recommending the bill be passed.
The Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System Bill and the Children and Young People’s Commission Bill both received Royal Assent in August 2022. Minister for Social Development and Employment Carmel Sepuloni said “We’re retaining a Chief Children’s Commissioner, we’ve strengthened the independence of the monitor, and we’ve reduced the review period to three years instead of five." The legislation shifts the responsibility for monitoring Oranga Tamariki to the Independent Children’s Monitor, which will come under the Education Review Office and the Ombudsman, both government agencies.
Advocates, state care survivors, community groups and organisations, and academic experts have criticised this approach and raised concerns that independence of the monitoring and the failure to wait for the Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry to be completed. We highlight some of responses below
- Children’s Commissioner Judge Frances Eivers was interviewed by Te Ao Māori news, E-Tangata printed an excerpt from evidence given by the Office of the Children's Commissioner to the Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry, also see Commissioner Eivers media release Lost opportunity, but a clear mandate remains
- Chief executive Tracie Shipton of VOYCE – Whakarongo Mai, the national advocacy organisation for young people in care, was interviewed by RNZ, Voyce - Whakarongo Mai previously outlined the reasons they oppose the bill and published a media release Oranga Tamariki Oversight Bill Must Go
- Dr Fleur Te Aho (Ngāti Mutunga) and Claire Mason, legal researchers from the Aotearoa New Zealand Centre for Indigenous Peoples and the Law, highlighted in the University of Auckland media release Time to hit pause on flawed Oranga Tamariki Bill, referring to their recently published brief Time to taihoa: the need to pause on the Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System and Children and Young People’s Commission Bill and give effect to te Tiriti o Waitangi and Indigenous rights (July 2022)
- David King and Jonathan Boston, academics in public policy, published the report Improving a system when young lives are at stake: A Public Policy Analysis of the Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System and Children and Young People’s Commission Bill (July 2022); see the related media release New Report Says Oranga Tamariki Oversight Bill Risks A ‘Vicious Cycle’ Of Increasing Harm To Children And Young People and listen to an interview with RNZ in Government urged to pause Oranga Tamariki bill
- Marama Davidson, Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence interviewed by Waatea News in the article Oranga Tamariki oversight watered down says Davidson.
Update: VOYCE – Whakarongo Mai has published an additional statement saying "VOYCE supports the oversight legislation being updated to include the recommendations of the Royal Commission’s final report due next year. The legislation also needs to align with the Oranga Tamariki Action Plan, to ensure young people don’t fall through any further systemic gaps."
See further responses and commentary to the legislation in the related media below. The Independent Children's Monitor has provided updates on the expansion of their monitoring role on their website and in previous newsletters. Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier has also outlined how his office will respond to the increased monitoring responsibility.
New reports
The Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier has publicly released the final report from his investigation into the death of Malachi Subecz at the request of his cousin and uncle. In releasing the report, the Chief Ombudsman said Oranga Tamariki failed to take the ‘‘bare minimum’’ action over safety concerns about Malachi Subecz and described Oranga Tamariki’s response as a "litany of failures.” In relation to this case, Oranga Tamariki is reviewing its practice and Dame Karen Poutasi is conducting an independent review looking at the roles and responsibilities of the different agencies involved in Malachi’s care.
Care to Custody: Incarceration Rates Research Report (2022) published by the Abuse in Care - Royal Commission of Inquiry looked at interagency records of more than 30,000 children and young people over five decades. The data shows that between 1950-1999, one out of every three children and young people placed in residential care by the State went on to serve a prison sentence later in life. For Māori children and young people who had been in State residential care over that time, up to 42% went on to receive a prison sentence later in life. The report was tabled during the Inquiry’s State Institutional Response public hearing. See related media below for updates from the State Institutional Response public hearing.
Oranga Tamariki published their annual Safety of Children in Care (2022) report drawing on data from July 2020 to July 2021. The data shows an increase in the number of children experiencing harm while in care.
The Independent Children's Monitor published Experiences of Care in Aotearoa: Agency Compliance with the National Care Standards and Related Matters Regulations – Reporting period 1 July 2020 – 30 June 2021. Media outlet Newsroom highlighted key points from the report in the article Children’s monitor hits milestone in scrutiny of Oranga Tamariki.
How we fail children who offend and what to do about it: ‘A breakdown across the whole system’ – Research and recommendations (2022) was written by Professor Ian Lambie, Dr Jerome Reil, Judge Andrew Becroft and Dr Ruth Allen. This report summarises findings from research that looked at risk and protective factors for children (under age 14 years) who offend in order to improve early identification and intervention. Also see the brief summary of the report.
Oranga Tamariki commissioned six reports drawing on data from the Adolescent Health Research Group’s Youth19 Rangatahi Smart Survey. The reports highlight key findings for young people involved with Oranga Tamariki and number of areas including: Takatāpui and rainbow young people, Identity and cultural connectedness, Housing and home life, Mental and physical health and healthcare access, Community and contexts and Youth Voices. A video recording is available from a webinar featuring researchers from the Adolescent Health Research Group presenting the findings from these reports.
Several agencies and non-government organisations have publicly released their alternative reports to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child on Aotearoa New Zealand's progress on children's rights. This includes reports from the Children's Alliance, the Children's Commissioner, and the Backbone Collective.
New resources
Te Korimako Legal Education is a Māori initiative to educate and support whānau who come to the attention of Oranga Tamariki and the Family Court. Te Korimako's website has information and videos for whānau to understand how the law relates to tamariki and whānau. It covers the following areas of law Oranga Tamariki Act 1989, Family Violence Act 2018, Care of Children Act 2004, Property (Relationships) Act 1976 and other matters including wills, succession of Māori Land, surrogacy, whāngai and adoption.
The Ministry of Justice has published new resources to help parents, guardians and whānau understand the Family Court and the options available to them when making decisions about the care of their children and tamariki after a separation or change in family situation. This includes brief information sheets on making parenting arrangements, going through the Family Court to work out parenting arrangements, what to expect at Family Court, responding to a notice of application, lawyers working with children, legal advice and support, stopping a child being taken overseas and a parenting Plan Workbook.
The prevention project at the University of Otago | Te Whare Wānanga o Otāgo is a project to understand the contexts, resources, and relationships that contribute to the prevention of baby removal in the Aotearoa New Zealand. The project is led by Emily Keddell (Associate Professor, University of Otago, Pākehā), Kerri Cleaver (Lecturer, Social Work, Canterbury University, Kāi Tahu, Waitaha, Kāti Mamoe) and Luke Fitzmaurice (University of Otago, Victoria University Wellington, Te Aupōuri), with the collaboration of the NGO and social service forum. The prevention project website lists education materials to assist with educating about the range of practices, policies and systems that can reduce the outcome of baby removal. These materials might be helpful to those lecturing in formal academic settings, as well as those running trainings or professional development for social or community workers.
Oranga Tamariki has produced resources to support workers to safely and appropriately share information across the child welfare and protection sector.
Related media
Media related to reports
Children's Minister under fire over Malachi Subecz, RNZ, 20.10.2022
Government under pressure for Malachi Subecz failures, the economy, NZ Herald, 19.10.2022
Official reviewing OT involved in failure to investigate Lake Alice, Newsroom, 13.10.2022
Children's Commissioner responds to Oranga Tamariki Ombudsman report, RNZ, 06.10.2022
Children's Minister admits Oranga Tamariki failed Malachi Subecz, RNZ, 06.10.2022
Oranga Tamariki 'systemically broken' - Lady Tureiti Moxon, RNZ, 06.10.2022
Ombudsman finds 'litany of failures' in OT treatment of Malachi Subecz case, Stuff, 05.10.2022
Ombudsman criticises Oranga Tamariki in wake of Malachi Subecz's death, RNZ, 05.10.2022
State care pipeling to prison no longer, Waatea News, 30.08.2022
We must break this cycle from care into custody, Newsroom, 30.08.2022
Nearly half of Māori rangatahi in state care have gone to prison, RNZ, 24.08.2022
Almost 500 children, teens in Oranga Tamariki care harmed during 2020-21, RNZ, 29.03.2022
Media related to legislation updates
A structure of impunity, Newsroom, 26.09.2022
The Misery-Go-Round, North & South, 09.2022
Labour passes Oranga Tamariki reforms despite opposition from other parties, RNZ, 24.08.2022
Govt ‘bulldozing’ Oranga Tamariki Bill through, Newsroom, 21.08.2022
Commission role critical for children’s voices, Waatea News, 20.06.2022
Independence of Oranga Tamariki monitor questioned, Waatea News, 17.06.2022
How is less accountability going to make Oranga Tamariki better?, The Spinoff, 16.06.2022
The fate of our most vulnerable kids rests on backbenchers’ shoulders, Newsroom, 10.06.2022
Media related to Abuse in Care - Royal Commission of Inquiry’s State Institutional Response public hearing
The quarter million: Part 1, The Spinoff, 06.09.2022
Abuse in Care inquiry: An insight into govt agency roles, RNZ, 24.08.2022
Paora Crawford Moyle | Advocate for Taamariki and Whanau in State Care, Waatea News, 19.08.2022
Other media related to Oranga Tamariki
Why did Oranga Tamariki let boy go back to parents who nearly killed him?, Stuff, 19.10.2022
Social workers fearful of man but allowed him to move in with mum, children, RNZ, 18.10.2022
Striking Oranga Tamariki staff say soaring vacancies an 'elephant in the room', Stuff, 05.10.2022
Treasury rips into Oranga Tamariki for loose fiscal controls, RNZ, 16.09.2022
Oranga Tamariki community-led partnership launched in Kaitāia, Te Ao Māori News, 17.08.2022
Breaking Bad Practice, Newsroom, 24.07.2022
State sent uplift kids to where ‘sex harm’ man lives, Newsroom, 16.05.2022
Building whānau advocacy, Opinion: Emily Keddell, Reimagining Social Work in Aotearoa, 27.04.2022
Youth organisations pull out of $2.4m Oranga Tamariki campaign, RNZ, 06.04.2022
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