On Sunday July 17, Kiwis across the country cosied up for the Women’s Refuge Great Night In, and in doing so gifted an incredible 14,628 Safe Nights to protect women and children at risk of domestic violence.

Generous Kiwis across Aotearoa got ready for the country’s first Great Night In by ordering up the epic deals offered by Hell Pizza, Whittaker’s Chocolate, Garage Project, The Warehouse, Ceres Organics, AS Colour, Dermalogica, Delivereasy and Neon. Contact Energy came to the party by matching 5,000 Safe Nights donations and ThreeNow ran ad-free Great Night In favourites.

And wow, what a night. Thank you Aotearoa!

Kiwis backed the campaign in droves, buying up the Great Night In offers within days. The Great Night In’s generous partners added even more offers to keep up with demand.

All those who supported the Great Night In also gifted Safe Nights for women and children in need around Aotearoa. Each Safe Night keeps someone safe from family violence and gives them access to a safe bed, hot meals, security, and advice.

Miranda Harcourt, the face of the Safe Night initiative, says New Zealand’s response to the Great Night In was classic Kiwi. “New Zealanders are so generous - and they really dug deep to support the Great Night In. They also showed how much they just love to be with family, cosying down to eat pizza and chocolate, and watch the telly!

“My family had a wonderful night, and I love that so many Kiwis joined us. Everyone who had a Great Night In supported a Safe Night, making a real difference to women and children in need across Aotearoa. Thank you!”

Dr Ang Jury, Chief Executive of Women’s Refuge, is delighted that so many got involved in the Great Night In, and wants them to know what their gift really means.

“It’s heartwarming that generous Kiwis made their Great Night, a Safe Night. It’s a stark reality that some whānau in Aotearoa can’t stay at home and need our services. We hope everyone who thoughtfully selected a bundle knows their donation is going towards Women’s Refuge supporting women and children building lives free from family violence. A huge thank you also to the partners who were behind the Great Night In too.”

Notes:

The Great Night In follows last year’s Safe-Night-a-thon, supported by Miranda Harcourt, her daughter Thomasin McKenzie and other extraordinary New Zealanders such as singer Benee, fashion legend Karen Walker, Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson, Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield and sporting glamour couple Beauden Barrett and Hannah Barrett.

The Safe-night-a-thon raised nearly 13,000 Safe Nights for women and children in need, and the Great Night In aimed to surpass that. With 14,628 Safe Nights raised, it did. Thank you to all those who participated in and supported this campaign.

Family violence statistics:

• Every night more than 200 women and children are too afraid to stay at home.
• Referrals to Women’s Refuge doubled from 24,000 to just under 50,000 between 2016 and 2021.
• NZ Police were called out to more than 155,000 family harm incidents this past year, up from 133,022 in 2018.
• Police are called to a family violence incident every 4 minutes. It is estimated that 70% of family violence incidents in New Zealand are not reported.
• Women’s Refuge answered nearly 30,000 crisis line calls last year.

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