Family violence expert report reinforces Govt’s work programme

An independent committee’s latest report on reducing family violence has highlighted that Government efforts are on the right track, say Justice Minister Amy Adams and Social Development Minister Anne Tolley.

The Family Violence Death Review Committee, which conducts independent reviews on family violence related deaths, has today released its fifth report. The report recommendations largely endorse the work of the Ministerial Group on Family and Sexual Violence.

The report acknowledges that many of the problems are being addressed by the ambitious work programme of the Ministerial Group, which is developing a whole of government strategy to prevent and reduce family violence.

“Tackling and reducing family violence is a key priority for the Government, but we don’t have all the answers,” the Ministers say.

“Insights provided by the committee play a vital role in helping reduce the devastating impact on victims across New Zealand, and we warmly welcome their expertise.”

The report states there needs to be more focus on changing the behaviour of perpetrators, better information sharing between agencies, and more cohesion and integrated approaches from Government.

Ms Adams reiterated the Government’s ongoing commitment to transforming the way New Zealand thinks about and deals with family violence.

“We need to change the way we deal with family violence. This also means being prepared to try new approaches,” says Ms Adams.

“The report identifies that our family violence system is one formed from default rather design and highlights the opportunity that transformational change presents.

“The committee’s report reflects that while we do face considerable challenges, the Government has charted the right course.”

Mrs Tolley said the report strengthens the case for an integrated approach across Government.

“No one single action is going to solve this. It requires wholesale change over a number of years and we are determined to reduce and prevent family violence,” says Mrs Tolley.

“We’ve been taking a close look at the $1.4 billion the Government spends each year on family violence and found that we need to improve, and that while good work was being done there is fragmentation and duplication of some services.”

The Ministerial Group whole-of-government work programme aims to stop family violence from occurring in the first place, reducing the harm it causes, and breaking the cycle of re-victimisation and re-offending. 

The report can be found at http://www.hqsc.govt.nz/our-programmes/mrc/fvdrc