Judge Ajit Swaran Singh, White Ribbon Ambassador, advocates for zero tolerance of family violence on Apna TV

August 23, 2020 by robmccann

Auckland District Court Judge Ajit Swaran Singh recently featured in a programme focused on family violence for Hindi television channel Apna TV. Judge Singh has been a vocal champion of violence prevention for many years and is one of White Ribbon’s longest standing Ambassadors.

It is so important for ethnic communities in New Zealand to hear anti-violence messages from community leaders in their own languages. We are extremely grateful to Judge Singh and Apna TV for highlighting the issue. The interview is predominantly in Hindi, but the White Ribbon message is also in English and begins at 12:20 on the recording.

Born and raised in Fiji, Judge Singh completed his legal qualifications (LLB & LLM Honours) at Victoria University in Wellington. He also graduated with Doctor in Civil Laws (DCL) from the Institute of Comparative Laws, McGill University based in Montreal, Canada. He was admitted as a Barrister and Solicitor at the High Courts of Fiji, New Zealand and Australia.

Judge Singh became the first Fiji-born Indian to be appointed to the District Court Bench in New Zealand. He was sworn in as a Judge in Manukau, Auckland, on Diwali Day, 4 November 2002. Since 2012, Judge Singh presides at the Auckland District Court.

Judge Singh is the recipient of numerous national and international awards for his outstanding achievements in the field of public service, including Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award presented by the President of India and Kiwi Indian Hall of Fame Award presented by Sir John Key (NZ Prime Minister at the time). He regularly speaks at the EthnicA Conferences and community forums on cultural issues concerning family violence/child abuse/mental health/bullying in schools and racially motivated crimes, particularly as such issues affect the immigrant & refugee communities.

For many years Judge Singh has been involved with community education on family violence issues, particularly for recent refugee and migrant groups, youth and senior citizens. Judge Singh’s long-term commitment to violence prevention and spreading the White Ribbon kaupapa is truly inspirational. If you would like to nominate someone in your community to become a White Ribbon Ambassador please click here.