Police Victims Shining A Light On Violence - TRIGGER WARNING
Five police officers have taken a unique stand to
publicly share their own
experiences of being
victims of violence on White Ribbon Day.
Today (25
November) is the international day against violence towards
women.
The day acknowledges men who promote
healthy, respectful relationships
and
consent.
White Ribbon Ambassador and
Commissioner of Police Andrew Coster says some
of
our police staff are doing more than wearing a
white ribbon today.
“Five of our people have chosen
to share publicly their own deeply
personal
experiences as victims of violence. Like
everyone who does this, it’s an
incredibly brave
move.
"Another group of police staff from Eastern
District have come forward
anonymously to shine a
light also, and I commend both groups for their
very
public declarations,” Commissioner Coster
says.
“Police officers are not immune from these
types of experiences. We are
part of the wider
community and unfortunately that means some of our
people
will be victims of violence.
“But
hopefully by sharing their experiences, they will make it
easier for
victims of similar violence to come
forward and seek help.”
In New Zealand, most
violence by men against women takes place in the
home
– with an average of 14 women a year killed
by their partners or
ex-partners.
Each year
there are more than 3,500 convictions recorded against men
for
assaults on women and one in five women will
experience sexual assault or
sexual interference at
some point in their lives.
*Genevieve, a Senior
Sergeant talks about a violent boyfriend and how
he
forced her to have an abortion. *Charlotte, a
Sergeant, describes how she was
strangled and had
her arm shattered by her abuser before leaving
the
relationship and pressing charges. Transgender
Constable, Gwydion, describes
how he was raped by a
friend.
Forensic Officer *Felicity recalls a life like
the movie Once were Warriors
and how she received
beatings from her abuser and one day thought she
would
die.
Detective Jaimie Leigh spent time
in Cholmondeley Respite Care Home for
children when
her parents separated, and she endured psychological harm
from
an angry and abusive father. At that time,
Jaimie didn’t know her dad had
suffered
historical sexual abuse as a pupil at boarding school when
he was a
boy.
All these staff have been the
victims of gender-based violence and share
their
experiences and journey out of their violent relationships
to a better
life and how their lives changed after
joining Police. You can read their
stories, in
their words, here [1].
Eastern Police District has
empowered some of their staff to come forward
and
share their childhood experiences of growing up
in violent homes. Their
voices have been altered
to protect them and their families’ identities,
as
they wish to share their experiences
anonymously. You can listen to their
stories, here
[2].
“Family violence is one of our country’s
biggest problems. The Joint
Venture to Eliminate
Family Violence Sexual Violence, of which Police are
a
part, signals our intent to eliminate this
problem in Aotearoa New
Zealand,” Commissioner
Coster says.
This work includes Police hosting
integrated safety response (ISR) teams
in
Canterbury and Waikato. They take a
whole-of-whānau approach that
prioritises the
needs of the whānau. The teams have dedicated staff,
access
to specialist services and an intensive case
management approach to
collectively working with
high-risk families.
In other parts of the country,
Police partner with iwi and community
organisations
within Whāngaia Ngā Pā Harakeke (WNPH), a
concept
underpinned by collaboration and taking
collective responsibility for
the
community.
A common feature of this work
is providing dedicated Police constabulary
staff
who work with kaiāwhina/kaipupuri (social
workers/advocates) and
partner agencies to support
families and whānau at risk of harm, putting
their
voice at the centre of everything.
“Both these
initiatives have had a significant impact on reducing harm
and
we can be proud of the work to date, while
acknowledging there is still more
to do,” says
Commissioner Coster.
In the 2021 campaign, White
Ribbon aims to link together resources
and
information to help show the diversity of the
issues at stake and to offer
ways to effect
change. White Ribbon Organisation is already
promoting
healthy ideals within their Respectful
Relationships framework [3].
[1] https://www.police.govt.nz/news/ten-one-magazine/police-victims-shine-light-violence
[2]
https://player.vimeo.com/external/648797954.hd.mp4?s=1318e2789a25225328216bc9513159344368e8e8&profile_id=174&download=1
[3]
https://whiteribbon.org.nz/