In fact, it's a relatively small percentage of families.

More damage is done to children by these families than by the state.

Regarding the killing of children - and there is one every five weeks in New Zealand - the vast majority occur in the home and the perpetrators are family members.

And when these murders occur, too often there are examples of the family protecting the offender from prosecution, leaving justice for our most vulnerable horribly wanting.

And, of course, for each of the young kids brutalised to death in the home, there are scores who survive the horror of their environments and subsequently go on to endure highly dysfunctional and criminal lives.

Indeed, one of the great tragedies of state care is that it was very often protecting children who had already endured an abusive start to life, but on too many occasions the state just heaped more misery upon them. The cruelty of that is unforgivable.

Understanding, though, the role of highly dysfunctional families is consequential.

If, for example, we were to fix all the problems with, say, Oranga Tamariki uplifts and they were made to be the highest functioning organisation possible, we would still be left with horrors occurring to children in family homes.

Yet if we were to fix families and rid them of abuse, we would have no need for Oranga Tamariki uplifts.

Given that, fixing the actions and activities of the state are tremendously important, but the saviour of the country's vulnerable children is more fundamentally situated in private homes.

Solve that and we solve the lot. Read more

Dr Jarrod Gilbert is the director of Independent Research Solutions and a sociologist at the University of Canterbury.

Advocacy groups worked together to create the new qualification which will provide important skills to those working with Pacific families.

Its importance is in no doubt: in New Zealand. Pacific children are 2.5 times more likely than other children to be physically punished.

In addition, family violence is a particular concern. Here in New Zealand, Pacific families are 44 percent more likely than others to experience physical or psychological violence.

Countering family violence

Training for the new qualification begins this October.

From then, frontline services, health and social workers will be able to complete the specialised family violence training to gain a Level 6 micro credential.

The new training programme includes cultural frameworks from eight Pacific nations including Samoa, Niue, Tonga and Fiji.

The Cause Collective (a community organisation that aims to create the conditions for communities to thrive) will deliver the training in partnership with Pacific community groups.

The New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) has granted the course historic accreditation.

Nga Vaka o Kaiga Tapu cultural lead Fa'amatuainu Tino Pereira (back row 4th from left, with facilitators from several Pacific communities) is pleased the course has been accredited.

He says the NZQA accreditation shows the mainstream recognises the important role Pacific communities play in providing solutions that come from their own communities.

"As Pasefika wisdom shows, ‘E fofo e le alamea le alamea' - the toxic fish has its own antidote" Fa'amatuainu says.

"This reflects a victory for Pacific communities who developed the Nga Vaka framework in response to addressing family violence more than 10 years ago."

Fa'amatuainu stresses the importance of high-quality training for practitioners, employers and communities.

"It ensures that practitioners are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to engage effectively with Pacific families while adhering to national standards for education and training."

Source

• PMN

They're on a mission to educate, inform and equip parish communities to address the problem.

They put together a pilot programme, ‘Shining A Light', and ran it between March and July last year in the Sale diocese.

Critical to this programme was Sr Nicole Rotaru, a Mercy Sister, social worker and counsellor (pictured at one of the workshops).

She has many years' experience of working with victims and survivors of family and domestic violence, including children.

Rotaru hosted workshops to examine how the church can address domestic and family violence for its Catholic members. People often shared their own experiences of abuse, she says.

"A number of women felt safe to come and say 'I've experienced domestic and family violence', or 'my daughter has', or 'my friend has' and asked 'what can I do?'"

The results of the work has attracted support from Victorian Minister for Prevention of Family Violence, Ms Vicki Ward MP.

Last Friday she and Bishop Greg Bennet of the Sale Diocese released a report praising the ‘Shining A Light' programme.

Report findings

The full title of the programme is "Shining A Light: A collaborative project working to build capacity for a whole-of-Church response to domestic and family violence".

The report outlines the findings of the programme, saying 127 people (89 women and 38 men) participated in workshops which focused on recognising the signs of domestic and family violence.

Participants included Church clergy, parish staff, members of religious congregations, diocesan safeguarding staff, amd other organisation volunteers and staff including those from across local social service agencies, schools and healthcare.

The report says the sessions improved participants' understanding, how to recognise the signs of domestic and family violence and the impacts on women and children.

They also learned to be more confident in starting a ‘careful conversation'; and to be aware of domestic and family violence resources in the local community and beyond.

MP Vicki Ward said ‘This is a conversation that has to happen across communities, and the work that you have done with your 127 participants and your conversations is really important, because those conversations will ripple out and will lead to other conversations.

‘We know that up to 50% of people ... still think that it happens "somewhere else", that it "doesn't happen" in their community ... schools or in their churches. And it does.

"So, to continue to have those conversations, to plant those seeds of openness ... a safe community is a strong community."

Bishop Greg Bennet agrees.

"It is a matter of pastoral care that we create within our parish communities pools of safety where people will find the courage to speak to clergy and pastoral leaders, and that our parishes will be well equipped ... [to ensure people] are safe."

Recommendations

The report's recommendations include:

• Emphasising the importance of providing ongoing support for workshop participants
• Securing resources for further work
• Suggesting follow up workshops be rolled out across every diocese in Australia
• Proposing developing communities of practice and broader organisational training initiatives
• Developing collaborative partnerships with social service organisations and ongoing training for personnel

Source

• ABC News
• Catholic Social Services Victoria

Those who have been hurt or broken in life often respond by striking out and hurting or harming the people who are near them.

• Many abusers are victims of abuse.
• Many bullies are victims of bullying.
• These pain patterns get passed on generation after generation.

Elisha is Jeered

… Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some boys came out of the town and jeered at him. "Get out of here, baldy!" they shouted. "Get out of here, baldy!. He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys. And he went on to Mount Carmel and from there returned to Samaria. (2 Kings 2:23-25)

The passage from Scripture above forces us to evaluate everything we know about God, and what we know about God will influence everything we know about being human: sin, Satan, grace, mercy, salvation, heaven, hell, and redemption.

If there is any passage in Scripture that will challenge our consistent understanding of God it is 2 Kings 2.

Here we have the prophet Elisha at the beginning of his ministry.

His mentor, Elijah, has just ascended into heaven in a fiery chariot, but before he ascends, Elijah grants Elisha a double portion of his spirit.

Israel has newly appointed Elisha as Elijah's successor.

On his journey to Bethel, Elisha performs a miracle, then he is suddenly ambushed by a group of boys who hurl humiliating insults at him. Before the boys could humiliate him any further, Elisha cursed them in the name of the Lord. And on that day, two bears killed 42 of the boys.

Then the prophet, without hesitation, continued his journey.

Elisha's choice to express himself violently is not a coincidence.

In 1 Kings:19, Elisha first meets Elijah and becomes enamoured of him.

Elijah went up to [Elisha] and threw his cloak around him. Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah.

"Let me kiss my father and mother goodbye," he said, "and then I will come with you." "Go back," Elijah replied. "What have I done to you?" So Elisha left him and went back. [Elisha] took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment and gave the cooked food to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his servant. (1 Kings 19:20-21)

It is my interpretation that someone had to teach the young man Elisha how to be mercilessly violent.

Further examination shows that Elisha was born into an environment where indoctrination into a tradition of violence was typical.

So the prophet was a product of his social location, a culture where people automatically tolerated men who acted out in a feral manner, especially if the victims were women and children.

The ancient world normally expects such behaviour from men.

Sadly, these men were never exposed to other options in their lives.

It is reasonable to conclude that you cannot expect someone to give you something they have never received nor to act in a manner they have never witnessed.

Elisha felt disrespected and reacted in the way other men in his social location would have reacted.

He was born into patriarchy, which explains his instinct for feeling disrespected.

Unfortunately, patriarchy has not gone anywhere since antiquity.

Patriarchy as a system does not allow men to express the full range of their emotions, and as a result, men have conditioned themselves to bottle up their feelings.

Often men express themselves either through silence, violence, or indulging in vices and these forms of expression are socially acceptable today.

These false walls of insulation are meant to protect us from hearing "you're soft," "man up" and "men don't cry."

This defence mechanism is experienced when we screw the top onto our bottled-up hurt, and life begins shaking us.

Before we know it, when we finally open up, we explode.

Consequently, those around us receive the residue from what was in us the entire time.

I believe the tragic first passage of scripture serves as a prophetic message to us that there are consequences when we do not do the necessary heart work.

Hurt people hurt people. That's how pain patterns get passed on, generation after generation after generation.

Break the chain today.

Meet anger with sympathy, contempt with compassion, cruelty with kindness.

Greet grimaces with smiles.

Forgive and forget about finding fault.

Love is the weapon of the future. (Tweet from Yehuda Berg, August 22, 2013).

At this moment, when our own pride, image, or feelings come under attack, we have a choice: we can retaliate like the world or, we can look up for help. Prepare Love Praise (R) Ministries NFP.

From Jeremiah's message to the house of David to Paul in his letter to the Romans, the scriptures are replete with instructions for nonviolence.

This is what the Lord says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place. (Jeremiah 22:3)

Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. I

f possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord."

To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head."

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:17-21)

In a real sense, we are lovers and fighters.

As God's beloved, we fight for our integrity, character and purpose in this world.

Some people, who don't walk in the daily reality of God's love, fight for other things.

Some people are fighting to get approval from others.

Some are fighting for positions of influence, power and control.

Others are fighting to overcome the fear that would otherwise paralyse them.

When we enter the reality of being beloved by God, however, we begin to recognize God's weapon of choice - the power of love.

We must begin by loving ourselves as God loves us, and in turn we begin to love others as God loves them.

Jesus referred to this as the second great commandment: "You shall love your neighbour as yourself." (Matthew 22:39).

We cannot love our neighbours without loving ourselves first.

God loves us so much that He made a way for us to be transformed and empowered by His love. No matter the situation the circumstances, we find that God's love empowers us to choose nonviolence.

The ultimate expression of God's love for us is Christ Jesus.

Hurt people hurt people but for the power of love!

• Aaron T. Hill, Sr is Director of Inclusion and Diversity, Marist School, Atlanta, Georgia.
• First published in Today's Marists, 2023 Vol. 7, Issue 3.

The 55-year-old Blenheim woman approached her daughter who had been standing at the front of the church, stood in front of her then took her infant son and passed the baby to someone else.

Sowman then slapped the victim across the face with an open palm which led to the pair having a physical tussle, with the 55-year-old pulling the victim's hair and scratching her arms, face and neck. Read more

The hidden pandemic's the one Matt and Sarah Brown, founders of global anti-violence movement She Is Not Your Rehab, have spent years working to put an end to.

They have inspired a new generation of men - including many from Pacific communities to break free from the cycle of abuse by teaching them to heal from their pain.

Now they're collaborating with government agencies, including Police, Corrections and the Battered Womens' Trust, who make up the Canterbury Integrated Safety Response Team.

The Browns say it's time we New Zealanders collectively own our family violence problem.

"None of us are immune to family harm, no matter what your background is. It happens in every neighbourhood," they say.

"There's probably someone on your street who is experiencing family harm.

"I want people to know this is very real. The reason why we call it the hidden pandemic is because we don't talk about it often."

One in three women experience family harm in New Zealand. Every four minutes police receive a family harm call.

Canterbury Police district senior constable Mark Boddy says the figures in his region are reflected throughout the country. Almost half all calls are family violence related.

"There have been 12,760 family violence reports this past year," he says.

As it's estimated only 25 percent of incidents are reported, it's likely that there's one incident of family violence every minute in New Zealand.

These shocking statistics are a reality for Battered Women's Trust chief executive Lois Herbert.

She has 20 years experience in the sector and is a survivor of domestic violence.

"I was raised in a good home with a loving family. I was educated, I was white and I was working.

"I kept this violence secret for tens of years. I didn't leave my marriage until I thought my sons were at risk and then I went."

A letter from Christchurch resident Carol Penfold about how to raise greater awareness around family violence has gone viral on social media.

"What would happen if Ashley and Jacinda got up and talked about those statistics. Would we pull together as a nation?" she wonders.

The problem is presented as a brown problem, a poor problem. Penfold says it's it's not about colour - it's "everybody's problem.."

Corrections spokesperson Barletta Butler says over 75 percent of the prison population had convictions for violence. Many are also victims of violence.

"The starting point for putting things right is when parents - especially parents and grandfathers - model and talk with their sons and daughters about respectful, non-violent behaviour in their relationships."

She said it was time New Zealanders understood domestic violence is an issue that goes beyond race and class.

Everyone must do their bit in reducing family harm, she says.

Where to get help:

• Women's Refuge 24/7: 0800 733 843
• It's Not OK: 0800 456 450
• Shine: 0508 744 633
• Victim Support: 0800 650 654
• HELP: Call 24/7, Auckland 09 623 1700; Wellington: 04 801 6655
• The National Network of Family Violence Services NZ has information on specialist family violence agencies.

Source

• RNZ
• Image: Newsroom

Free barbecue food was provided to members of the public, and served by the Rapid Relief Team, in a tent outside Mitre 10 Mega on Friday.

Te Rito Collaboration co-ordinator Michelle Thew said some people at the barbecue wanted to make donations to Women's Refuge, while others opened up about their experience of the impact of family harm on them, and wanted to support others. Read more

Some say they paid for the property while their spouse abused them and paid for little or nothing.

One woman said her ex-husband was laughing all the way to the bank.

She described the legal process as an abomination.

"He refused to contribute, but now he's using the court as his weapon of choice to force me to pay property division of 50-50," she said.

"They have set the ceiling so high and because domestic violence is so common in New Zealand, my circumstances, even though I'm badly injured - that doesn't constitute 'extraordinary circumstances repugnant to justice.'"

The way the law works at the moment, the woman says she's going to have to "pay twice over".

She says she "already paid during the relationship, but the way the court analyses everything I wasn't allowed to submit evidence of all of that violence and all that financial violence, because I should have sorted it out during the marriage".

"But how can you sort it out during the marriage when you're begging for your life at machete point?"

Her former husband would receive more than $400,000 if she loses an appeal against the ruling.

She would also be liable for his legal aid fees, as she represented herself because she could not afford a lawyer while paying her mortgage.

"I can't raise a loan to pay for the house a second time, because I'm not earning enough now so that this is another level of domestic violence for m"e.

"I'm going to have to pay him out and the house will have to be sold to get the money to pay him out."

A recent Law Commission report recommended the government consider the relevance of family violence to the division of property in the context of its wider response to family violence.

This would enable a court to decide if there were extraordinary circumstances that make 50-50 sharing 'repugnant to justice'. Indicators of this could include a partner's gross misconduct - when that misconduct had significantly affected the extent or value of relationship property.

Divorce lawyer Jeremy Sutton says this focus still views family violence's impact through a financial lens.

"The law is there's a no-fault principle that underpins the Property Relationships Act so there is no difference to a settlement whether there's been domestic violence or not," he says.

Sutton says the Property Relationships Act is "social legislation and people say it should reflect the increasing awareness of the damage of family violence and be consistent with other government initiatives to curtail violent behaviour."

Source

• NZ Herald
• Image: University of Canterbury

In a well known example, William Rutherford Waddell found great inequalities and deprivation in the St. Andrew's parish of Dunedin during an economic downturn in the 1880s.

He was determined the church should make a difference in society.

He denounced the "sin of cheapness" in an 1888 sermon and criticised conditions of women textile workers who worked long hours in poor conditions for less than a living wage.

Following a campaign covered in the Otago Daily Times, in 1889 Waddell helped to establish the Tailoresses Union, which was New Zealand's first female trade union.

In the recently published report Making a Difference, (PDF), Richard Davis shares the results of his research into how faith-based organisations (FBOs) can contribute on today's social issues and effectively engage with national and local government in our own times.

Davis asks how FBOs can be a positive voice in social policy debates, and whether the government takes churches seriously in these discussions.

He also explores how FBOs might build better relationships with the policy community, and how they might assemble the information, data and research capacity needed to support evidence-based and robust contributions to political debates.

As Davis notes, there is a perception that churches are no longer central in public life, and no longer have an influence on social issues.

In the words of one commentator: "The church at the moment is relatively ineffective. She has a wide extension and a certain pervading influence but her action is not changing history at depth nor is she meeting the challenges of our time with the energy and speed necessary to save humanity from catastrophe.

Her potential is greater than that of any other institution or school of thought or way of life known to man - and yet so little happens."

Many might read the above and see it as a fair summary of the issues FBOs are facing today.

Yet, as Davis notes, this passage from Ormond Burton is not dated 2019 but 1970. How churches and FBOs can best adapt to their place in society is not a new question.

In the report, Davis sheds light on how FBOs seek to navigate and overcome the obstacles they face.

In practice, FBOs such as the Salvation Army, World Vision, Caritas, Tearfund, Presbyterian Support, Christian World Service and many others make a huge contribution to social wellbeing in New Zealand and overseas.

They find widespread support in wider society for their relief and service work. Yet, discussion of policy issues by FBOs and churches is a much more sensitive matter, even when the policy issues have a direct bearing on social welfare.

If FBOs and churches are to contribute effectively to social change, and not just provide social support, they must find ways to address policy makers on political matters.

Making a Difference: Faith-Based Organisations Contributing to Social Change in Aotearoa was originally commissioned from Otago's Centre for Theology and Public Issues by the Bishop's Action Foundation (BAF), to offer insights into how BAF can work most effectively.

The wisdom and experience shared by the interviewees has been used to shape and guide BAF strategy in its ongoing work for local communities in Taranaki.

With the launch of the University of Otago's new master's degree on "Faith-Based Leadership and Management" this year, this report is now published as an open-access resource for Otago students and the general public. It is available for reading or download from the Otago University Research Archive.

The interviews for the report were completed in 2013, and there have been important changes in Aotearoa New Zealand and around the globe over the years 2013-19.

On the global agenda there is a new awareness of the global challenges raised by climate change and migration.

At a national level, child poverty, housing, and family violence are all receiving more public attention. Jacinda Ardern became Prime Minister, following the election of September 2017, and a new coalition government became part of the political landscape.

Yet, despite these important changes, there is much in the report that remains as relevant now as it did then.

Davis does not provide simple answers, but his work will stimulate a deeper discussion on how FBOs can confront the challenges they face and contribute to the common good.

• Prof David Tombs is the Howard Paterson Chair of Theology and Public Issues at Otago University Centre for Theology and Public Issues.

First published in the ODT. Reproduced with permission.

He echoed comments made earlier by Justice Minister Andrew Little, who said Destiny had never actually made a formal application to partner with the Government to work in prisons.

"There have been no formal applications made to deliver the Man-Up or Legacy programmes in prison."

Tamaki wanted Destiny Church's Man-Up programme - an initiative focused on tackling family violence, depression, obesity, addiction and suicide - to be brought into prisons.

Last week Tamaki and 2000 others - including patched gang members - and presented a petition at Parliament urging the Government to allow the church to work within prisons.

"For all of my efforts to try and get into prison, they [the Government] shut us down," Tamaki told those gathered.

The Destiny Church says the Department of Corrections is breaching the Treaty of Waitangi by refusing to let it into prisons.

But Little said he wanted to talk with Tamaki about the programme and what he and the Government could do together.

Davis said in his statement that any community group or organisation wanting to offer a programme in prison is welcome to make a formal application in writing.

He said any organisation that wanted to help safely reduce the prison population should focus on preventing people from going to prison in the first place.

He said until there are no more drugs being baked, until there is no more domestic violence, and when people with addiction services are supported, there will be a need for churches in every community to "work their magic."

"No one needs my blessing to do that work."

Source

• nzherald.co.nz
• tvnz.co.nz
• newshub.co.nz
• Image: newshub.co.nz

As we age, we become the accumulation of a life's worth of wisdom and experience.

Unfortunately, the price of that wisdom is too often an increased vulnerability by other means.

Elder abuse is, in many ways, the hidden face of the domestic violence discussion Australia has been rightfully having for many years now.

Whereas we often think about it in terms of intimate partner violence, intergenerational violence and exploitation is something we are only now beginning to consider in similar terms.

Friday is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, and perhaps there is a simple, pertinent question to put forward: are you aware that, as best we can tell, 167,000 people face some form of elder abuse each year in Australia?

I say "as best we can tell" because the data is hardly comprehensive, in no small part because of almost certain underreporting.

An older person having problems with their family may be afraid to seek help or report it, or not know where to go for help, or perhaps even not think to seek help in the first place.

Since leaving the Human Rights Commission and joining Justice Connect, I have encountered story after story of older Australians dealing with abuse in its many forms.

I've heard of women like Margot, a 73-year-old woman with schizophrenia.

She arranged for her son to return home to care for her, only for him to become verbally abusive, ridiculing and demeaning her in public.

She was unwilling to have her son removed from the home despite this, as it meant potentially making her son and grandchildren homeless.

I heard of a woman I'll call Maya, who came to Australia to spend her twilight years with her daughter. The daughter almost immediately took possession of Maya's valuables and bank account details, with which she bought herself a new car.

Under the pretext of taking her mother out for a "spin" the daughter then unceremoniously left Maya on a bench out the front of an aged care facility.

They haven't spoken since.

These stories of abuse and exploitation go beyond more widely understood, and catalogued, tales of physical violence.

Elder abuse is a complicated issue which sits at the nexus of ageing, poverty and mental health, and it requires serious, sophisticated solutions that are sensitive to the needs of the older person.

Healthcare workers are there to meet the physical and emotional needs of older people.

But that cannot be not the whole solution.

How are these dedicated nurses, physiotherapists and social workers to deal with questions of power of attorney, property or patients being pressured to change their wills? Continue reading

• Image: Daily Caring

The Daughters of Mary Immaculate Sisters (FMI) Sisters are setting up the safe house because of a local family violence problem..

They're working in partnership with the Archdiocese of Rabaul and non-governmental groups (NGOs)

The safe house will give sanctuary to women and children who have experienced family or sexual violence.

Survivors will in addition be able to access services such as healthcare, police and legal aid.

Islands Petroleum, one of the project's main supporters, has donated $NZ4,200 to help the safe house.

The Archdiocese of Rabaul provided land.

Donors have supplied shipping containers, which will form the basic safe house.

The FMI sisters are training as fulltime staff.

NGOs concerned with family welfare will refer survivors.

FMI congregation leader Sister Wilhelmina Sundu says the founder of FMI set up the women congregation, because he found that women's status in Papua New Guinea culture was very low.

Mission to lift women's status

Sundu says the FMI congregation wants to raise the dignity of women in Papua New Guinea (PNG) society.

Sundu says with the support from the archbishop, Volunteers Service Abroad and the NGOs the planning is finally almost done.

The FMI sisters see the safe house as a practical way of exercising their mission, to help people in trouble.

She says the church had a part to play in combating gender-based violence.

Sundu says the main cause for sexual and family abuse against women and children is often because of the culture of men wanting more power.

She says there are some bad aspects of traditional culture that need to end, such as men having power over women and children.

Source:

• The National
• Image credit: Daily Telegraph

He said village councils and the churches have to be brought into the act and an enquiry would help expose weaknesses in the system.

Toma was speaking at a major gathering for Commonwealth Women's Affairs Ministers in Apia.

"We need to do this to address the impact of things on present victims, we need also to address the high tolerance of violence generally in Samoa, in Samoan life, that seems to roll on and on from generation to generation.

The Ombudsman says the enquiry's scope and focus will be worked out soon so it can start early next year.

The enquiry will involve public hearings around the country.

Toma said there is a need to be mindful of not putting survivors of violence in any more danger if they decide to come forward and tell us their stories.

Last year Samoa's Council of Churches worked with UNESCO and UN Women on a brochure detailing 16 ways to end violence against women, using biblical text.

The recently launched report on the state of human rights in Samoa revealed 46 percent of women, from ages of 15 to 49, have experienced some form of gender based violence.

This includes physical, mental and verbal abuse.

The Commonwealth Secretary General Patricia Scotland has warned the world's development goals won't be achieved unless there's attention to violence against women and girls.

In her keynote address at a Commonwealth gathering of women leaders in Apia she said eradicating the scourge should be a focus for action.

Source

• radionz.co.nz
• radionz.co.nz
• Image: radionz.co.nz

Eighty per cent of incidents go unreported — so what we know of domestic violence in our community is barely the tip of the iceberg.

More than 12,000 Kiwis have repeatedly breached court orders to stay away from their victims, and one person has been convicted for doing so 14 times. Continue reading

She is Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Women, Youth, Children and Family Affairs.

Sigimanu was speaking at the opening of World Vision's three day Channels of Hope for Gender, Church Partnership Conference in Honiara.

Around 50 people from Honiara and the provinces representing churches, government ministries, non-government organisations, communities and stakeholders attended the Conference.

In the solomon Islands:

• 38% of women report their first sexual experience as having been forced
• 63% of men believe it is acceptable to hit women in certain circumstances
• 2 out of 3 women have experienced violence from an intimate partner
• The program has been implemented in over 59 countries.It aims to strengthen partnership between churches, partners and stakeholders in an effort to curb family violence.

World Vision's Channels of Hope program brings together and engages faith leaders around biblical texts that affirm the equality of women and men, the need to treat each other with respect, and to act to eliminate gender violence.

The program then equips them and members of their congregations to be activists for gender equality and against gender violence. In so doing, these faith leaders are becoming powerful agents of positive change in their communities.

The program also works with existing support services by providing links for survivors of violence, building capacity to address issues of substance abuse and conflict, and supports church and community leaders to refer survivors to services.

With over 90% of Solomon Islanders identifying as Christian, faith-based responses have been identified as particularly well-placed to tackle negative gender attitudes.

In this context, faith leaders are among the most influential members of the community.

As such they can have a significant effect on social attitudes.

Source

• solomontodaypost.wordpress.com
• worldvision.com.au
• Image: screen shot worldvision.com.au

In 2015, police around New Zealand attended about 105,000 family violence callouts.

If each of those incidents was represented by a person, that's getting close to the population of Tauranga.

It is estimated that 80 per cent of incidents go unreported — so what we know of family violence in our community is barely the tip of the iceberg. Continue reading

Gwen Ratu, who represents the office of the Police Commissioner, told a media conference on the Family Protection Act that culture and church have valued roles in the implementation processes of the Act.

"Our culture is something we grow up with, we would sympathise with victims so we will tend to always look after the victim, their children not necessarily in their family unit but in the extended family.

"The churches have certainly played their part as well in providing safety and counselling for the victims."

Meanwhile the Director of Community Policing Unit Mr. Solomon Sisimia is thankful that ‘church and culture' continue to play significant roles in the RSIPF community awareness effort.

On 8 April The Solomon Islands officially launched its Family Protection Act 2014 which is aimed at curbing domestic violence in the country.

A Family Health and Safety Study in 2008 showed that 64 percent of women and girls in Solomon Islands suffer from domestic violence.

The Director of the Women's Development Division in the Solomon Islands Ministry of Women, Youth, Children & Family Affairs says the new act addresses various loopholes in existing legislation including definitions for different forms of abuse.

Speaking at the formal launching of the Act on Friday in Honiara, Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare said the State and its partner institutions can only help victims of family violence if cases are reported to relevant authorities.

Sogavare said for far too long, Solomon Islanders have tolerated, excused and justified domestic violence which means that for a lot of people, accepting violence in the family is entrenched in them - resulting in violent crimes going unpunished and perpetrators walking free.

Source

• radionz.co.nz
• pmpresssecretariat.com
• www.sibconline.com.sb
• Image: pmpresssecretariat.com

Church general secretary, Reverend Dr Epineri Vakadewavosa, made the call in light of the latest figures revealed by the Fiji Women's Crisis Centre (FWCC) showing 756 cases of domestic violence from January to July.

"Ever since the church began, it has always stood against violence, everyone is treated equally, respect is very important and this is based from the Bible," Dr Vakadewavosa said.

Dr Vakadewavosa said the church could even conduct training and workshops so families and individuals are protected and church ministers and leaders play a vital role in doing so.

FWCC co-ordinator Shamima Ali attributed the rise in emotional/verbal abuse to more and more women recognising and getting to understand better what they are about.

"More and more women are recognising emotional abuse," she said.

"The more women get a sense of what they should expect, the more they understand what is happening to them that they don't like and they will report them.
"What we found out was that in a lot of cases where there is physical and emotional abuse, there is also emotional and verbal abuse."

Emotional/ verbal abuse according to the FWCC includes swearing, denying a woman the right to make any decision, denying her the right to pursue a career, denying her the right to decide how many children she can have and many other related cases.

Ms Ali said all these things cause a lot of emotional trauma for women.

"The contributing factors to domestic violence are things like alcohol — not the fact that he's drunk but because of the money spent, jealousy also triggers this kind of violent behaviour, affairs particularly in the part of the men and financial or work stress.

21 new communities are currently in the process of becoming champions for violence free communities in Fiji.

Minister of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation Rosy Akbar said the training program will help these communities become well equipped with skills to effectively address issues concerning domestic violence, child abuse and gender inequality.

Akbar highlighted the Zero Tolerance Violence Free Communities program has been established to strengthen networks with the local and rural communities in terms of eliminating violence against women and children.

Source

• fijtimes.com
• fijitimes.com
• fijivillage.com
• Image: emu.edu