Thursday 18th April, 2013

Family Violence research backed by Women’s Refuge

An issues paper released by the New Zealand Family Violence Clearinghouse yesterday (April 17th) highlights something Women’s Refuge has known for more that three decades.

Refuge supports it’s recommendations that there is a need for greater recognition of:
• The links between child maltreatment and intimate partner violence
• The detrimental effects of children’s exposure to intimate partner violence
• The disruption to mother-child relationships due to intimate partner violence
• The poor fathering that can accompany perpetration of intimate partner violence
“This Paper clearly shows the strong correlation between Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) and child maltreatment,” says Women’s Refuge Chief Executive Heather Henare. “Society constantly overlooks the strong protective factor of a child’s mother in IPV situations and the significant damage IPV causes children who witness it. This oversight means adequate supports and resources around a mother to keep her and her children safe are not put into place. Refuge staff see the devastating consequences of these omissions in the lives of women and children every day.”

Ms Henare says the White Paper on Vulnerable children seems to have missed this link. “In our submissions to the Green Paper we clearly outlined the important link between IPV and outcomes for children and the need to have wrap around supports for the non abusive parent. I hope it is not too late for this gap to be addressed by the White paper as currently, it is one of it’s greatest weaknesses.”

Ms Henare also noted the dangers inherent in a perpetrator of IPV, usually the father, getting custody rights over his children. "I hope this paper will be considered by Parliament with regard to the Family Court Reforms, especially around the proposal to amend the ‘Bristol Clauses’.”

Women’s Refuge is New Zealand ’s leading agency in providing services to victims of domestic violence and receives a crisis call every six minutes. It works with 25,000 women and children on average every year.

ENDS

The paper can be accessed from http://www.nzfvc.org.nz/

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