The government has launched campaign to help young people navigate break-ups with the long-term aim of preventing family violence, believed to be the first of its kind.
Love Better is a programme run by the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) with support from Youthline, and offers a text, phone or email contact with advice specifically for young people going through a relationship breakup.
Funded by $6.4 million over three years through previously announced allocations, although just a fraction of that was going towards Youthline directly.
The campaign followed 2022 research by Kantar which found 62 percent of people aged 16 to 24 had been through a break-up, with 72 percent of reporting harm or having done harm.
Youthline chief executive Shae Ronald said relationship issues were one of the top reasons young people contacted the helpline, and the initiative and the research behind it was groundbreaking. Read more