News | White Ribbon New Zealand

One Billion Rising 2013

February 18, 2013 by whiteribbonnz

On V-Day’s 15th Anniversary, 14 February 2013 (Valentine’s Day), the organisers invited ONE BILLION women and those who love them to walk out, dance, rise up and demand an end to the violence. It is hoped the collective strength, numbers, and solidarity across borders can bring about change.

History: In 1994, a play called The Vagina Monologues, written by playwright and activist Eve Ensler, broke new ground, offering the world a piece of art like nothing it had seen before. Based on dozens of interviews Ensler conducted with women, the play addressed women’s sexuality and the social stigma surrounding rape and abuse, creating a new conversation about and with women. The Vagina Monologues ran Off-Broadway for five years in New York and then toured the United States. After every performance, Ensler found women waiting to share their own stories of survival, leading her to see that The Vagina Monologues could be more than a moving work of art on violence; she divined that the performances could be a mechanism for moving people to act to end violence.

Wellington event at Frank Kitts Park

On Valentine’s Day, 1998, Eve, with a group of women in New York City, established V-Day. Set up as a 501(c)(3) and originally staffed by volunteers, the organisation’s seed money came from a star-studded, sold out benefit performance at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York, a show that raised $250,000 in a single evening.

V-Day’s mission is simple. It demands that violence against women and girls must end. To do this, once a year, in February, March, and April, Eve allows groups around the world to produce a performance of the play, as well as other works created by V-Day, and use the proceeds for local individual projects and programmes that work to end violence against women and girls, often shelters and rape crisis centers. What began as one event in New York City in 1998 today includes over 5,800 V-Day events annually.

Performance is just the beginning. V-Day stages large-scale benefits and produces innovative gatherings, films and campaigns to educate and change social attitudes towards violence against women.

In New Zealand a number of large events were held in Auckland, Wellington and Levin with smaller events around the country in venues such as Dave’s Backyard in Invercargill.

Auckland held their event at Whenua Rangatira Takaparawhau Bastion Point organised by the Wise Women Collective.
Wellington had Zumba Latina, Pasifika Aerobics and special CubanFusion Infusion at Frank Kitts Park. The event was organised by Te Rito Wellington Family Violence Network and the Wellington City Council.
Levin held a march down the main street and was organised by HALT
Nelson held an event on the Church Steps at the top of Trafalgar St. Check out the video from Nelson below.

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Filed under News Tagged with One Billion Rising

The Rolling Haka – Upper Hutt

February 16, 2013 by whiteribbonnz

In 2011 a member of the community had a terrific idea. They put together a rolling haka to welcome and support the White Ribbon Riders as they moved through Upper Hutt. Wellington weather, for non-locals, was gale force winds and rain, which made the event one for only the hardy. And yet some brave lads from Silverstream, St Pats Heretaunga, Maidstone and St Joseph’s, still turned out.

Schools lined the road to support the White Ribbon Riders

12 schools lined the road welcoming the riders

2012 saw a return to normal weather patterns with the Wellington sun, resuming its traditional position in the sky, so with better weather the scene was set for a record turnout with some 12 schools participating. It was a great event that saw schools coming together to loudly support the kaupapa. Mat Davis, the Rolling Haka organiser from Orongomai Marae Social Services, explains.

“Firstly I would like to congratulate everyone for supporting the White Ribbon Campaign. The riders were amazed to see our community stand up in such numbers and challenge violence towards women through our schools and youth.

The event was filmed by TV One News, Oosh Media (local media company), Stuff and Māori TV with NZ Herald photographers and local media on hand to record the hundreds of youngsters lending their voices to the anit-violence campaign.

A huge mihi to all the school co-ordintators who had the biggest job of getting their schools there. Kaylene (Pinhaven), Davida (Silverstream), Joanne (St Brendon’s), Trevor (Hibs), Jackie (Upper Hutt College), Gillian (Trentham), Viv (Maidstone), Peter (Upper Hutt Primary), Elsie and Briony (St Joseph’s) Shirley (Ferguson Intermediate), Cole from Vibe (Jacket Boys) and all the Principals and other supporters and those such as Salvation Army Training College who spontaneously joined in.

The riders asked me to also pass on their thanks, they were simply blown away by your support. One rider said he was almost driven to tears when he saw our little ones out there supporting their week long ride.

Let’s hope we can make this an annual event”.

Mat Davis

Orongomai Marae Social Services

Additional Rolling Haka media coverage:

NZ Herald video with Trevor Lawerence – Hutt International Boys’ School

Te Karere – Māori News cover the Rolling Haka

One News Website with coverage of the Rolling Haka

Filed under News Tagged with Rolling Haka, White Ribbon Campaign, White Ribbon Ride

Kawerau March – Sat 09 Feb 2013

January 30, 2013 by whiteribbonnz

Te Orohi Paul

In late December 2012 my sister and I attended the funeral for our nephew who was murder by his uncle. Our nephew was 23 years old. We both said that we were tired of attending funerals for our whānau who have died from violence. We should have a community-wide March – no more violence in Kawerau.

Poster designed by the White Ribbon Campaign Team

We called a public meeting through Facebook and a small group attended. Their stories were similar – people in our beautiful community were hiding in their homes to frightened to come out. Families used to be able to go work, come home have a meal and then go for a walk. But now, since so many have been harassed, they don’t go for walks anymore. You have to run in groups to keep safe.
The elderly are assaulted in their homes with no provocation. We’d all had enough. We wanted to tell the bullies we would not tolerate violence anymore. Bullies, go get yourselves sorted out or leave this town. No more violence. We divided the community into four quadrants and called them north, south, east and west. These quadrants were given team leaders who were tasked with the delivery of flyers and to lead their March from four schools as starting points. We agreed that those should be the four schools of Kawerau which are Kawerau Putauaki School, Kawerau South School, Tarawera High and Te Whata Tau O Putauaki.

I called the Families Commission for help and they gave us the White Ribbon Campaign team. We needed help. We had the vision, we needed advice, guidance and direction. We needed their inspiration, and most importantly we needed their resources or at the very least access to their resources, namely the White Ribbon Riders and toolkits.

The community marches

We had just under four weeks to get this message across this community – we also needed the community organisations, businesses and the Kawerau District Council to assist us. All were forthcoming and without hesitation we got council reserve at no charge, staging for guest speakers at no cost, thanks to ISS Kawerau; we got power from Hire Quip through a donated generator and cones; we got 4x3mx600mm banners with Stop Violence Against Women, Stop Violence Against Children, Stop Violence Against Families, Stop Violence Against Elderly donated by Law Signs Whakatane; we got water donated from Otakiri Water, Living Waters and Bream Bay Community Trust; the schools sent flyers home with their children; Te Whata Tau O Putauaki gave us their white ribbon and Ripene Ma Banners, EastBay Reap and Family Works staff painted by hand all our banners and Kawerau Youth came together to help paint banners. The churches of Kawerau who were becoming invisible because of the high levels of violence, all stood up and attended the march. It was for the kaupapa.

White Ribbon Riders

The White Ribbon Riders led our march from the four corners of Kawerau and the walkers had chants and slogans that were their vocal messages. They all met up and walked into the park together. It was amazing. Mayor Campbell and I watched them from the stage.

Our guest speakers were White Ribbon Ambassadors and riders; David White, Mark Longley, Phil Paikea, Takurua Tawera, Aaron Morrison along with Sue Rudman and local boy Kyle Mercer. Our ambassadors had the crowd in tears, with their provocative stories and asking the crowd to change. Don’t wait until it’s too late, change now, do something now, speak up now. Phil Paikea got all the men in the crowd to stand and go to the front. He asked them to put their hands up for change; to make a commitment to protect our women and children; for unity so that the land could be healed from violence. It was great.

Mayor Malcolm Campbell came along for the whole day and has now committed to adding this kaupapa to his Council Taskforce and will be inviting some from our team to participate in building strategies to influence change in our community, quadrant by quadrant.

That’s success in my eyes. Influencing change, and the Kawerau District Council now has this kaupapa on their agenda.

Naku noa

Te Orohi Paul

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STOP VIOLENCE IN KAWERAU

The march to end violence was held on Saturday 09 February 2013 at 10:00am organised by the Kawerau Community. There were four starting points: Kawerau Putauaki Normal School, Kawerau South School, Tarawera High School, Te Whata Tau O Putauaki and the marchers joined together at the Reserve at the Kawerau Skate Park. Guest speakers included David White, Mark Longley, Takurua Tawera, Phil Pakea and Kyle Mercer. White Ribbon Riders were organised by Te Ahi Kikoha.

Communities Working Together: Tuwharetoa ki Kawerau HESS, Kawerau POLICE, Kawerau Schools, Kawerau District Council, Manna Support Services, Kawerau Enterprise Agency, Kawerau Churches with support from The Families Commission.

Video – White Ribbon Riders

Video – White Ribbon Riders get ready

Video – future White Ribbon Riders

Filed under News Tagged with Kawerau March, White Ribbon, White Ribbon Riders

One Billion Rising

January 29, 2013 by whiteribbonnz

ONE BILLION RISING

STRIKE | DANCE | RISE

Join V-Day and One Billion Rising today and SAY NO to violence against women and girls.

One in three woman on the planet will be raped or beaten in her lifetime.

One billion women violated is an atrocity.

ONE BILLION WOMEN DANCING IS A REVOLUTION.

On V-Day’s 15th Anniversary, Feb-14-2013, we are inviting one billion women and those who love them to WALK OUT, DANCE, RISE UP and DEMAND an end to this violence.

ONE BILLION RISING will move the earth, activating women and men across every country.

V-Day wants the worlds to see our collective strengths, our numbers, our solidarity across borders.

Join V-Day and ONE BILLION RISING today and SAY NO to violence against women and girls.

What does ONE BILLION looks like? On February 14th, 2013, it will look like a REVOLUTION.

There are a number of events throughout the country.

Auckland: Maranga Ake Aotearoa | Rising to prevent violence to women and whānau, Takaparawhau Bastion Point via Michael Savage Memorial Park, 19 Hapimana Street, Auckland, aorising@gmail.com
Wellington: One Billion Rising, Frank Kitts Park, Jervois Quay, Wellington, 12:00pm One Billing Rising Wellington on Facebook
Nelson: One Billion Rising, Church Steps, Top of Trafalgar St, Nelson, One Billion Rising V-Day Nelson
Levin: A March down the Main Street in Levin… ending with a Fantastic Concert and Sausage Sizzle. Meet @ Te Takere Car Park 2:15pm, coordinator@halt.org.nz

Filed under News Tagged with violence against women, women

2012 in review (created by WordPress)

January 22, 2013 by whiteribbonnz

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

19,000 people fit into the new Barclays Center to see Jay-Z perform. This blog was viewed about 89,000 times in 2012. If it were a concert at the Barclays Center, it would take about 5 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

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Wishing you a violence free holiday

December 19, 2012 by whiteribbonnz

The White Ribbon Campaign Team wish you all a happy and violence free Christmas.

Unfortunately for many families the festive season can be a time of stress and violence. This stress can be reduced if families take the time to communicate and talk about expectations. And if you know violence is occurring, start a conversation or call the family violence helplines.

Thank you to all those who have participated in the campaign this year. With record numbers of events, web hits and participation, we’re confident that the non-violence message is reaching more people than ever.

Have a great holiday and we look forward to your participation next year.

Rob McCann

White Ribbon Campaign Manager

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White Ribbon Video ‘Wish you were here’

December 5, 2012 by whiteribbonnz

Brooke (11), Alana (12) and Shannyn (13) sing on Wish you Here

Three intermediate students at Avalon Intermediate found a unique way to express their support for a friend who was the victim of family violence – they wrote a song which has become the official anthem for the White Ribbon Campaign.

Brooke (11), Alana (12) and Shannyn (13) were deeply upset when it they found out that one of their friends had been affected by family violence and was moving away from Wellington as a result. They weren’t sure what they could do to show their friend how much they cared and would miss her. So, to say goodbye, they wrote the song “Wish you were here” as the result.

The girls began writing the song as a show of support for their friend. But whilst working on it they began to better understand the significant scale of family violence issue throughout New Zealand.

“The song was created from the hearts of three young teenagers, who couldn’t understand why this was happening to families nor why people didn’t stand up against it,” says Brooke’s mother Kim. “As the next generation of New Zealanders, they hope that when people listen to their song, they will understand the pain that family violence causes and lend their support to the White Ribbon campaign. The girls are encouraging people to find a better way to recognise and support someone in need.”

Paul Curry, Families Commission, Chief Executive, heard the girls perform “Wish you were here” at Taita College. “I was deeply moved by the song’s powerful and heartfelt messages, and the love and commitment the girls were showing towards their friend” said Mr Curry.

“So I arranged for the girls and their families to meet with an old friend of mine, entertainer Frankie Stevens. Frankie was as moved and impressed as I was, and approached the girls about making a professional recording, facilitated by prominent Wellington musician Nick Granville.”

The girls launched the song at Avalon Intermediate as part of the White Ribbon Campaign on 19 November.

White Ribbon Campaign Manager, Rob McCann says: “The White Ribbon Campaign celebrates the power of this song to connect with young people. Research has shown that children who witness violence are badly impacted and the effects of this can be long lasting[1].”

“We want to use this song as an anthem for the Campaign – another powerful way to connect with people and reinforce the White Ribbon message that violence against women – whether physical or psychological – is not acceptable. We’re extremely proud of Brooke, Alana and Shannyn and the passion and commitment they’ve shown towards ending family violence, as well as supporting their friend. I hope New Zealand will listen to the song and feel inspired.”

[1] ‘Children’s perceptions of violence: the nature, extent and impact of their experiences’, Carroll-Lind, Janis ; Chapman, James ; Raskauskas, Juliana, Social Policy Journal of New Zealand, 2011, 37: 1-13

Filed under News Tagged with White Ribbon, WHite Ribbon Video, Wish you were here

Kristen Dunne-Powell supports White Ribbon

December 5, 2012 by whiteribbonnz

Kristen and David White on the White Ribbon Ride 2012

Kirstin Dunne-Powell was one of many people who volunteered their time to help White Ribbon get the messages of non-violence out. Kristen took part in sections of the White Ribbon Ride and also agreed to an interview with The New Zealand Women’s Weekly. You can read that story here. The pictures below show the interview taking place while in makeup and then photo-shoot which took place on the beach.

New Zealand Women’s Weekly, click to read the online article

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Filed under News Tagged with Kristen Dunne-Powell, White Ribbon

It doesn’t take a punch to hurt

December 4, 2012 by whiteribbonnz

Sophie Elliott

When Sophie was first assaulted by the man who eventually killed her, their relationship had been over for some time. In a way I wish he had hit her earlier because she would have been out of there so fast. Of that I have no doubt and consequently Sophie would be alive today.

I’ve travelled all over New Zealand these past two years giving my presentation in schools and at community meetings. My talk is entitled “Sophie’s Story – What WE missed,” because it’s what I missed as well. I talk about Sophie’s five-month on again/off again relationship with Clayton Weatherston. I do this because I don’t want to see other people in the position I’m in. In Sophie’s case there was no physical violence until near the end. It was all psychological and that, I believe, is something we as a society have not adequately dealt with. Sophie was an intelligent woman and I like to think I’m reasonably astute. So how did it happen without us becoming alert to the signs?

Women tell me that bruises, black eyes and broken bones heal. It’s what gets inside their heads that is harder to deal with. And I’ve seen it first-hand. I watched Sophie, a remarkably confident young woman become an emotional girl lacking in self-esteem only weeks after she started dating Weatherston. I believe his behaviour, rather than warning her off, confused her. She would say, ‘he’s doing my head in,’ and I used to reply, ‘he’s doing mine in too,’ because I couldn’t rationalise it. I’d not struck this before so how could I, or Sophie for that matter, recognise this as classic abuse.

How can this happen? How can we recognise the signs? From what I’ve discovered as I campaign to help young people become aware of what I missed I have learned one thing. That the non-violent aspect of relationship abuse is insidious and can easily lead to more serious repercussions.

I would implore young women in a dating situation to look for answers if they feel a relationship doesn’t feel right. Talk with friends or more especially an older person you can confide in. There is plenty of information available on the internet including the Sophie Elliott Foundation. So what are some of the signs of non-physical abuse that I missed in Sophie’s relationship? Humiliation by name calling is the most obvious. Fat, ugly, stupid, slut, are the common ones and almost every abuse website contains those same words. Sophie wasn’t fat and, even though I might be biased, she wasn’t ugly and she certainly wasn’t stupid. But the sad thing was Sophie believed him. She would often say, ‘if I lost a bit of weight he’d like me more.’ That seems incredible to me now. Why should a person change because their partner wants them to? What’s wrong with being attracted to someone as they are? No need to change! Also there is often constant criticism and hurtful put-downs that quickly erode self-esteem and self-worth.

Alienation is soul destroying. The abuser will exert control by alienating the partner from friends and family and makes decisions on where you go and who you go with. Hand-in-hand with that is communication, texting in particular. It seems that abusers are insane texters. They want to know where you are, who you are with, what you are wearing, where you are going. Control over your life is a classic sign and it can be suffocating.

Possessiveness is easier to detect. The abuser will often accuse the other of cheating on them, determining what friends you can have and tell you how to think, dress and act. A woman (or man for that matter) shouldn’t be treated like property. If the other partner makes all the decisions then controls who you see, alarm bells should begin to ring.

Threats are common, usually along the lines of if you don’t do something they will either leave you or commit suicide. If they threaten to harm you however, or more particularly, if they threaten to kill, then take it seriously – very seriously.

My advice is never accept intimidation where a partner screams and yells insults or abuse. Don’t accept being talked down to. When possessions, especially ones important to you are smashed, it’s not physical violence as such, but it’s frightening and intimidating. It’s not acceptable.

I believe any decent, healthy relationship should contain a good dose of respect for one another..

I am a firm believer in the White Ribbon campaign. It’s all about guys supporting guys. From a woman’s point of view, when I think about the level of violence in our society, I wonder why? Why the selfishness? Why the anger? I say to men – think about life. We only get one shot at it and there are too many good things out there for everyone. The good life is there for us all to enjoy and it doesn’t cost anything. If things are beyond you, get help to make your life better. The alternative just brings misery on those you supposedly love.

Convicted Murderer Clayton Weatherston

Take Clayton Weatherston as an example. What did he get out of killing Sophie? Nothing – except untold grief for his family and mine. What does he get? – a life now totally ruined. He’s behind bars – what joy is there in that? Was getting rid of Sophie worth it?.My message to men is simple. I say support each other and don’t stand by and let violence pervade our families. If you are being abusive to your girlfriend or partner take time out to think about what you are doing. Ask yourself, ‘does it make me happy to hurt the ones I care about, or would I feel better treating them with love and respect.’

To women I often use a quote from Michelle Obama when she spoke at a girls’ school in Oxford, England:

‘Reach for partners that make you better. Do not bring people into your life that weigh you down. Trust your instincts: good relationships feel good, they feel right. They don’t hurt – they’re not painful.’

Lesley Elliott

Click here to visit the Sophie Elliott Foundation

Lesley Elliott at the launch of the Sophie Elliott Foundation

Filed under News Tagged with Sophie Elliott, White Ribbon Campaign

White Ribbon Ride 2012

December 4, 2012 by whiteribbonnz

2012 White Ribbon Ride Poster

The White Ribbon Ride in 2012 visited some 80 communities with 96 events throughout New Zealand. Next year we will document the ride in detail, but check out these pictorial accounts. For more information about the ride click here.