93% of men finishing our non-violence programme say it helped stop their violent behaviour

In the six months ending 31 December last year, 96 men charged with a criminal offence came to RISE to attend our non-violence programme. They came from locations across the West Coast, other parts of Tasman, Marlborough including Kaikoura, and Nelson. They participated in at least 10 weeks of individual and group sessions with our specialist clinicians.

The non-violence programme uses a holistic and cultural approach to offer strategies for participants to keep themselves and others safe. We examine current behaviour and the beliefs supporting them and we help participants develop skills to make changes based on equality and respect. Every client is taught about the Family Violence Act and how it applies to them, but then we get into more personal events in their lives as examples for discussion. When applicable, this includes talking about the effects of violence on children.

We were delighted and grateful to see these results from a survey we ask them to fill out at the end of their time with us. Participants somewhat or fully agreed that the programme

• Helped stop their violent behaviour – 93%

• Taught them changes to make that helped their whānau – 84%

• Helped them – 96%

There’s something for everyone in this programme because it is tailored to every individual’s needs and personal life experience.

We want to note that three women also attended the same programme but were left out of these summary statistics to focus on the responses from male participants who do make up the majority of our clients who commit family harm. It is important, however, to recognise that either gender can perpetrate violence and we work with anyone who seeks to put an end to it.