Men Step Up to End Family Violence

Nearly 80 men from across the country met in Rotorua to lead a men’s response to ending family violence in New Zealand.

The hui was at Taheke Marae in Rotorua and attracted men from Kaitaia to Invercargill, including a group from Greymouth who travelled for 19 hours to be part of the hui.

The hui – A Call to Men, Be the Change – was an opportunity for men to share their experiences and ideas about family violence and how to engage men in a solution focussed approach, one of the organisers, Tim Marshall, said.

Motivation for the hui came from the concern that while in most cases men are portrayed as dominating the negative statistics around family violence, there are very few men leading a national response to the issue, Mr Marshall said.

“What we saw over the weekend was 80 men showing leadership at all levels, from individual and family to organisational and community.

“We were inspired by the presentations and personal stories shared and the motivation to be part of a movement of change.”

“It was great to hear different perspectives on the issues and ways forward.”

The men who attended made a commitment to share their experience with their own groups and communities and to stay engaged as a network to further the cause.

NZ has very high rates of family violence with one in three women experiencing violence from a partner in their lifetime. The majority of perpetrators are men.

The hui was funded by the It’s not OK Campaign and organised by Tim Marshall, White Ribbon Ambassador and coordinator of the Tauawhi Men’s Centre in Gisborne and Pete Porter, whanau worker for Ngati Rangi Trust in Ohakune.

It is hoped another hui will be held in 2015 to build the men’s network.