Hon Priyanca Radhakrishnan

Associate Minister of Social Development and Employment

Hon Marama Davidson
Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence and Sexual Violence

Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment Priyanca Radhakrishnan has today launched the Love Better campaign in a world-leading approach to family harm prevention.

Love Better will initially support young people through their experience of break-ups, developing positive and life-long attitudes to dealing with hurt.

“Over 1,200 young kiwis told us they need support to deal with early experiences of love and hurt, and break-ups were identified as a common challenge,” Priyanca Radhakrishnan said.

“We know that break-ups hurt. We want to support our young people to deal with the hurt and know that there is a way through without harming themselves or others.

“By supporting young people through these formative experiences, we can positively impact how they approach future relationships.

“Love Better, which asks young people to ‘own the feels,’ is a primary prevention campaign that features young people sharing real stories to help their peers who may be going through similar experiences.

“This is an authentic way to inspire others to build their own strength, self-worth, and resilience.

“This approach hasn’t been trialled by any government around the world. New Zealand has shameful statistics of family and sexual violence and we need innovative approaches to break the cycle,” Priyanca Radhakrishnan said.

Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence and Sexual Violence Marama Davidson welcomed the innovative new campaign as a positive way of getting rangatahi talking about the tough emotions of relationships and break-ups.

“The launch of Love Better continues the government’s delivery on Te Aorerekura – New Zealand’s first ever National Strategy to Eliminate Family Violence and Sexual Violence.

“Since the launch of Te Aorerekura and our initial Action Plan in December 2021, all 40 actions are underway. We have cross-agency support and Ministers taking collective action to identify opportunities for minimising harm, improving the safety of responses and strengthening violence prevention and intervention.

“This campaign sits alongside work already underway to support young people with healthy boundaries and attitudes to relationships, including the refresh of the school curriculum.”

Notes:

• The Love Better campaign is being supported by Youthline. Young people who need support can:
  • Text lovebetter to 234, email lovebetter@youthline.co.nz, or phone their main support line on 0800 376 633
• 2022 Kantar research on young kiwi’s experiences with relationships highlighted:
  • Nearly eight in ten (79%) 16-24 year olds have been in an established or short term relationship
  • Around six in ten (62% of all young people) have been through a break up, and a majority (72%) of them have experienced or perpetrated harmful impacts.
  • Young people lack confidence in knowing how to deal with harm in relationships and break ups. Most young people (55%) are not confident or only ‘somewhat confident’ they could end a relationship without harm
  • Despite these negative experiences, half of young people see break ups as opportunities for learning or change, a normal part of life, and having the potential to result in good things.
• $6.4 million over three years has been allocated to this campaign through prior funding announcements.
• A downloadable clip that gives a flavour of the campaign is available for use here

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