Police are investigating more incidents of family violence than ever before
June 29, 2017
Clearly, too much family violence is still happening. “To have such a high level of family violence is shamefully embarrassing for a country that values a ‘fair go.’ We’re better than this New Zealand” says Cam Ronald, Chair of the White Ribbon Committee.
Police investigated 8,000 more incidents in 2016 than the previous year, which is partly because more people are reporting family violence. “This is a good thing, as it shows more people no longer see family violence as private, and more victims are confident in reporting it as they know the community wants it to stop”, says Cam Ronald. “White Ribbon’s violence prevention campaign is helping reduce peoples’ tolerance of violence. There’s much more we can and need to do, to get to a place where the actual occurrence of family violence reduces”.
White Ribbon is part of a movement to prevent violence from occurring in the first place. This involves changing the social attitudes that give men the idea that using violence is normal, acceptable or the way to solve problems.
White Ribbon does this by promoting the respectful behaviour men can use instead of violence. This involves treating women as equal and being flexible about what men can do.
“The reality is that most violence is committed by men,” says Mr Ronald, “so we need all men to become part of the change. Our ‘Respectful Relationships’ campaign gives men the tools to live respectful lives, which gives them and their families happier and healthier lives”.
“The ‘Respectful Relationships’ campaign also equips fathers to be positive role models and develop their sons’ respectful behaviour towards women”.
White Ribbon has new messages, tool boxes and information for men, available in November.
https://nzfvc.org.nz/news/nzfvc-data-summaries-2017-family-violence-reports-reach-record-high
You must be logged in to post a comment.