Changing the system
This is the fifth article in a 7-part series about one of the most significant contributions to eliminating family violence in Aotearoa New Zealand in the last decade.
In the mid-2010s, prior to the creation of the role of Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence and Sexual Violence, Minister Amy Adams and Minister Anne Tolley committed to improving the systemic response to family violence They led the Ministerial Group on Family Violence and Sexual Violence and launched an ambitious cross-government work programme.
Their work was instrumental to the development of Te Aorerekura, NZ’s National Strategy on family violence. And so was this Fifth Report from the FVDRC, published in February 2016, which also looked to provide direction for significantly reducing family violence through the development of a far more integrated response.
At the time it was called “the most ambitious report of the Family Violence Death Review Committee to date” in part because it demanded new perspectives and new actions if Aotearoa New Zealand is to prevent family violence.
“Agencies, organisations and practitioners working together to provide safe, high-quality and appropriate support and services to people who need them,” the report suggested, should put people at the centre of the system and put their needs first. “If we are to meet the needs of those we seek to help, we must start by understanding their needs – and understanding them well.”
The Fifth Report’s findings contributed to the cross-government work programme of that Ministerial Group. Sometimes it’s rewarding to think back at what was accomplished only a half dozen years ago to see how far we have come today.
