Venkat Raman
Auckland, December 17, 2020
A Minister of the Crown has acknowledged that more should be done to reduce family harm in New Zealand and support better intervention programmes.
ACC Minister Carmel Sepuloni said that although family violence is a serious problem, projects and programmes dedicated to tackling the issue are underfunded.
“Just about 2% of the total budget allocated to family violence is spent on intervention programmes,” she said, speaking at Gandhi Nivas in the South Auckland suburb of Papakura on Tuesday, December 15, 2020.
Ms Sepuloni, who is also Social Development Minister, visited Gandhi Nivas for the first time as a Minister, although she attended the first Fundraising Programme of the Organisation held in Auckland on April 23, 2015.
She said that she was pleased to learn of the work being done by Gandhi Nivas and its growth over the past six years.
She inaugurated the Family Room at the Papakura facility, which will be used for counselling for families including children- families of offenders who stay at the safe house for men.
Present at the event were Labour MP and former Ethnic Communities Minister Jenny Salesa, Labour MP Anahila Kanongata’a-Suisuiki, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Tamaki Makarau) John Tims, Haku Foundation Director Kari Adams, Martina O’Driscoll (The Tindall Foundation), Monique (Total Healthcare), Gandhi Nivas Chairman Ranjna Patel, Advisory Board Members Inspector Mark Vela, Rakesh Naidoo, Senior Sergeant Sharon Price, Venkat Raman (Indian Newslink), Sahaayta Counselling and Support Director Sucharita Varma, Team Leader Zoya Salim Kara, Family Harm Partnership Liaison Officer at Whangaia Nga Pa Harakeke Sergeant Gurpreet Arora and others.
About Gandhi Nivas
Gandhi Nivas is a partnership between Serenity Foundation, New Zealand Police and Sahaayta Counselling and Social Support. The Partnership was established in 2014, using a Lotteries Commission grant and funding from Total Healthcare PHO and other private funders.
The concept grew from discussions between Counties Manukau Police and its South Asian Police Advisory Board with the objective of providing early intervention and prevention services to people identified as at the risk of committing family violence to help them change their behaviour, reduce the likelihood of further family harm and increase safety for families.
Gandhi Nivas is partially funded by ACC. It provides emergency housing and counselling to men who have been issued with a Police Safety Order (PSO) following an act of family harm. Participating agencies describe the initiative as innovative and ground-breaking.
“Once a man is issued with a PSO, he must leave the family home for a set period of time. It is at this point that some men are taken by Police to one of three Gandhi Nivas homes in Ōtāhuhu, Te Atatu and Papakura. This immediately decreases the likelihood of further family harm, increases safety for the family, and provides the offender with an opportunity to begin the process of behavioural change,” said a Massey University Report released at a special event held in the Executive Hall of Parliament on June 30, 2020.
Major Social Problem
Family Violence is a major social problem globally, disempowering and paralysing women physically, psychologically, sexually and economically.
One in three women face some form of violence in their homes; every four minutes, Police are called to a Family Violence incident and Police believe that 12% of women actually make the call.
Although there are some organisations that cater to the needs of women and children, there was a need to shift focus on involving men in prevention strategies. Services of these organisations are usually provided during the working week (Monday to Friday) hours, while most incidents occur in the evenings and on weekends.
Gandhi Nivas is a round-the-clock, round-the-year facility and is governed by a board.
Pictures by Karzin Leong of Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Temple, Auckland.
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