[Full media kit: Sophie_Elliott_Foundation_Media_Kit.pdf]

News Release
06/10/10

A new charity in the memory of Sophie Elliott aims to prevent violence against women

Lesley Elliott today launched the Sophie Elliott Foundation for young women in an effort to prevent girls from suffering violence and death in dating relationships.

Lesley is the mother of Sophie Elliott, the 22yearold Otago University graduate who was murdered by her ex boyfriend.

Lesley says that had she known the signs of an abusive relationship Sophie’s death could have been prevented.

She now recognises that her daughter Sophie experienced classic signs of emotional and physical abuse.

“I pay a heavy price for ignorance.

“I’m doing this for Sophie and all those other Sophies that went before her.

“I know she would want me to do this."

NZ Police Statistics show that on average 14 women are murdered by their partner or expartner every year.

Based on that average up to 38 women could have been killed since Sophie’s death in January 2008.

The Sophie Elliott Foundation aims to prevent violence against women by raising awareness about the signs of abuse in dating relationships.

Kristin DunnePowell, a trustee of the Sophie Elliott Foundation, says that young people starting out in relationships are understandably confused about what love is and is not.

“It is difficult to know what a respectful relationship should be like."

Chairman of the foundation, Neville Caird, says that building awareness is a key step for young women to avoid relationship violence.

“If we don’t teach our young people how to recognise the warning signs and risk factors we put them at great risk of harm. What happened to Sophie Elliott could have happened to anyone."

The foundation wants to create a generational change within New Zealand.

“Our aim is for the next generation of youth to recognise and reject the signs of abuse, power and control and for friends and family members to recognise them too and support our young women to safety, without blame or judgement,” says Neville.

The foundation has recognised that other agencies in the area of family or domestic violence focus on helping people after the event rather than prevention.

Currently government funding is focused on secondary care for victims of abuse.

“It became obvious to us that there is a gap in this area,” says Neville.

The foundation will take an educational, proactive and preventative role in protecting young girls from dating violence and psychological abuse.

It aims to raise money to fund a nationwide primary prevention programme and to support local community initiatives that align with the foundation.

“What we're hoping to be able to do is bring fresh funding to the primary prevention area and build a programme that is targeting youth and catching the problem before it starts,” says Kristin.

Lesley says that most existing programmes do not cover boyfriendgirlfriend relationships and yet that is the kind of relationship Sophie was in.

New Zealand’s 2006 National Survey of Crime Victims showed that 1524 year olds are the age group most at risk of physical, psychological and sexual victimisation from current and expartners. The primary prevention programme will be aimed at this age group.

Primary prevention programmes aimed at teen dating violence have proved successful in Australia, America and the United Kingdom.

The foundation aims to adapt a programme, such as Australia’s Love Bites or Sex and Ethics, to New Zealand.

It will do so with the help of Alison Towns, a clinical psychologist specialising in relationship violence and who’s research has focused on young people.

Neville says that the Elliott family and other families who have lost loved ones to partner abuse, have paid the ultimate price of not having a prevention programme.

He says that the cost of not having a prevention programme can be counted in other ways also.

Women’s Refuge receives a call to their crisis line once every 9 minutes and Police attend around 200 family violence (including those in dating relationships) situations every day.

“We see real benefit in investing into this problem upfront, being the fence at the top rather than the ambulance at the bottom, using New Zealand’s resources to help prevent the harm of our youth rather than just pick up the pieces afterwards,” says Neville.

The foundation will also build awareness through the telling of reallife stories of abuse.

When Lesley met Kristin, who had her own experience of an abusive partner, Lesley realised that their stories of abuse were similar.

“Her words were my words."

Numerous other women whose stories are similar have contacted both Lesley and Kristin.

“The names are different but the behaviours displayed by the abusive partners are the same. There is a pattern. It can be prevented,” says Kristin.

Lesley has already begun telling the story of Sophie’s abusive relationship to girls at several Dunedin High Schools and plans to continue this work.

“Her true life story will help to save others,” says Lesley.

Lesley calls on the people of New Zealand to go to their nearest Westpac and donate to the foundation so that its goals can be achieved.

“We only get one shot at life. This is it. We need to support our young women."

Ends

[Full media kit: Sophie_Elliott_Foundation_Media_Kit.pdf]

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