Kia ora koutou

Welcome to your newsletter with news about the Ministry of Social Development’s work to better support people experiencing family violence and sexual violence. We also like sharing relevant news from sector colleagues. Thank you for all your efforts looking after whānau who need support in your communities.

You’ll find information in this update about:

• A new website for people who use violence
• A new ‘Check it out’ relationship tool
• Evaluating Whānau Resilience
• Whānau Resilience kaimahi focus on mauri ora
• Supporting older people
• Te Puna Aonui — our new name
• Enjoy our first Te Aorerekura conference

A new website for people who use violence

The MSD family violence team are working on improved and new digital tools to support people who are experiencing family violence.
We’ve told you about current work improving the family violence Are You OK website in earlier newsletters — and there’s an  update on a new relationship tool below.

We also want to let you know about a new website that we’re developing for people who use violence, to encourage and support them to access support to make change.

Helping us to get it right

Our researchers have been working with people who’ve acknowledged their behaviours have scared their partners and with people who’ve been on stopping violence programmes. We want to know how the new site can best work for them. This has included looking at the designs (colours, photographs, fonts etc) and also the types of information, content and support that they would like or expect to find on the new website.

And as clients may access the new website before reaching out to providers, we’re also working with providers to make sure we get the content and imagery right.

We’ve held a series of online and in-person hui with groups of providers who hold users of violence contracts (from 1 to 12 July). There’ve been five hui in Lower Hutt, Napier, Christchurch, Hamilton and online, with a variety of FV providers. These have included community centres, non-violence programmes and Women’s Refuges that deliver stopping violence services.

The hui started off with a briefing about MSD’s digital work programme before considering:

• Website design options (the ‘look and feel’)
• The content to be included
• Content structure
• The language and tone to use
• Stories from real people

We’re expecting to celebrate the new website going live later this year — we’ll keep you updated.

A new ‘Check it out’ relationship tool

In June our MSD family violence team released a new tool for people to check if they are being treated safely in their relationship.

Called ‘Check it out’, the tool asks users a series of questions about behaviours in their relationship and then provides information, identifying types of abuse they may be experiencing and offering support services.

The new tool has replaced the ‘Relationship Quiz’ which was on the Are You Ok website. While it was well-used and the most visited page on the website, it needed updating. The tool now includes questions and examples of behaviours that are unique to those with a broad range of identities.

We worked with a range of family violence specialists to develop the ‘Check it Out’ tool, including from Māori, Pasefika, rainbow, disabled peoples and ethnic communities.

Some content in the tool came from the 1 in 3 Be Free App, which was developed by the Inner City Women’s Group (ICWG) in partnership with Omnispex for heterosexual women to screen their relationships for violence and abuse. The ICWG have generously donated their intellectual property from their app to help develop this tool.

Evaluating Whānau Resilience

Whānau Resilience is an initiative that aims to create strong, resilient communities where whānau are supported to live violence free and to eliminate violence for the next generation. People experiencing and using violence often need help at different times in their lives, so Whānau Resilience offers long-term support when people need it.

Whānaunau Resilience is bringing changes to how we work with providers and has included a new procurement process for providers, longer term contracts and a shift from a nationally designed and delivered model to a regionally designed and delivered one. At the heart of this process is the embedding of whānau voice.

In early 2021, MSD contracted AIKO Consultants Limited and Kaipuke Consultants Limited to complete an independent, kaupapa Māori evaluation of the procurement and design phases of Whānau Resilience. The purpose of this evaluation was to understand how well the procurement and design processes were developed and implemented, and how these were experienced.

The evaluation found most stakeholders consider MSD was innovative with its approach and should continue in this direction. The findings also identified a number of opportunities for us to learn from.

Findings reflect the experiences of those interviewed in three regions only and are not necessarily representative of experiences nationally. To compliment this evaluation, MSD is going to survey Whānau Resilience providers across all 12 regions.

The full report is available to read on the MSD website.

Whānau Resilience kaimahi focus on mauri ora

Wellington Whānau Resilience providers recently completed their transition and implementation phase with a two-day kaimahi mauri ora or wellbeing retreat.

Kaimahi from eleven Wellington-based Whānau Resilience providers explored and experienced different indigenous healing modalities together. This was a great opportunity for kaimahi to focus on their own mauri ora and to connect across their region as they came together from Masterton, Porirua, Wellington and Lower Hutt.

To continually awhi and maanaki whānau who have experienced trauma and family violence can be challenging mahi and tolling on the wairua. Kaimahi do this and more everyday in the Whānau Resilience space for our community.

We wanted to offer kaimahi the space for replenishment,  healing, and growth. An opportunity to ‘fill their cup’ so they can keep giving in a more sustained way,” says Kathleen Filo, Whānau Resilience Pouwhakataki for Te Whanganui-a-Tara.

“The group explored how in order to heal effectively we need to first feel safe, grounded, have a sense of belonging, and have our own basic needs meet. By broadening the scope and awareness of what’s available, we wanted to inspire kaimahi by offering simple wellbeing/healing tools to add to their kete.”

Kathleen says the feedback has been positive with quite a few inspired by the retreat experience and intending to integrate the learning into their mahi and their own lives. Highlights of the time together included:

• Taonga pūoro (Māori sound healing)
• Wild kai and rongoā hikoi (mana motuhake and connecting to te taiao or the environment)
• Te pū āio - mindful movement and meditation
• Breathing techniques for calming the nervous system (mind and body)
• Eating wholefood and plant food for a clearer, lighter tinana and hinengaro (physical, mental and emotional wellbeing)
• Incorporating the matauranga of the maramataka
• Myofascial release techniques to release stress, trauma and tension in the tinana

Most of the modalities shared on this retreat are practices that have little to no cost, bestow natural benefits, are simple and powerful. Most importantly they can be shared with the whānau kaimahi are supporting on their journey to long-term healing.

Supporting older people

MSD is continuing to support older people though our family violence work programme.

EARS providers share practice insights

MSD has been hosting regular online drop-in sessions for Elder Abuse Response Services (EARS) providers. These sessions allow EARS providers to share insights with each other, provide a platform for peer support and strengthen the relationship between EARS providers and MSD.

MSD provides updates to the sector and EARS managers and kaimahi share their experiences and case studies. This kōrero sparks discussions on opportunities to improve and strengthen services and how MSD can support.

We’ve held 10 sessions so far – five were general sessions and the other five focused on these topics: cultural capability, high intensity cases, working with families (including mediation), and consent processes. We’ve had around 14 attendees at the sessions, with a peak of 27 attending the session on high intensity cases.

EARS managers and kaimahi alike have given us positive feedback about the sessions. They’ve described them as extremely helpful, supportive and a vital way of working together to improve and strengthen the sector.

The sessions occur on the last Wednesday of every month over Zoom. We invite all EARS managers and kaimahi to attend. If you want an invite link to the sessions, please email Victoria.tabat001@msd.govt.nz.

Elder Abuse Prevention Fund — successful projects

Eleven projects will share in $250,000 as part of the Elder Abuse Prevention Fund.

The fund will help deliver projects that focus on the violence prevention needs within the older population, particularly diverse communities. We received 33 applications and were delighted with both the interest and range of applications we received.

Priority has been given to projects and initiatives that:

• Show collaboration with other organisations and community groups
• Include diverse communities within the older population (65+) including Māori, Pacific, ethnic, rainbow, and disabled communities.

WHO releases new report on elder abuse

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently published 'Tackling abuse of older people: five priorities for the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing 2021–2030.' The new resource, released as part of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, outlines key priorities to prevent and respond to abuse of older people and contribute to improving health, well-being, and dignity. The five priorities reflected in the new resource are:

• Combat ageism as it is a major reason why the abuse of older people receives so little attention.
• Generate more and better data to raise awareness of the problem.
• Develop and scale up cost-effective solutions to stop abuse of older people.
• Make an investment case focusing on how addressing the problem is money well spent.
• Raise funds as more resources are needed to tackle the problem.

You can read the full report here

Te Puna Aonui — our new name

From 1 July we’re celebrating a new name and tohu (brand or symbol) for the Joint Venture for the Elimination of Family Violence and Sexual Violence.

MSD is an integral part of Te Puna Aonui, which brings MSD and nine other government agencies together to align whole-of-government strategy, policy and investment to eliminate family violence and sexual violence.

About Te Puna Aonui and our tohu

We are named after the star, Aonui. Aonui is a pathway of enlightenment, creating the markers on the journey from te kore (darkness) ki te ao marama (into the light).

Whānau and communities are at the centre (the koru), surrounded by the light that comes as we move into the light. The light is generated through collaboration, innovation and learning to deliver responses that heal and strengthen families, whānau, and communities. He korowai manaaki wraps around the system.

Enjoy our first Te Aorerekura conference

On 27-28 July, Te Puna Aonui is hosting the inaugural hui for Te Aorerekura – the National Strategy to Eliminate Family Violence and Sexual Violence. The conference theme is ‘Accountability and Transparency’.

The online hui will bring government, tangata whenua, communities and the family violence and sexual violence specialist sectors together to share and learn about how we're working together to deliver the National Strategy.

We want to wish everyone who will be attending a worthwhile and enjoyable event!

For more information and to register, please visit the registration page for Te Aorerekura online hui.