An introduction to Te Aorerekura

Te Aorerekura is New Zealand’s National Strategy to Eliminate Family Violence and Sexual Violence. It was launched in December 2021 and has begun filtering through the various family violence organisations around the motu, like RISE. We strongly support the strategy and we want to keep our followers updated on it as it evolves. Today, an introduction.

From the Strategy itself, here is the story of Te Aorerekura.

Te Aorerekura has two specific parts – Aorere and kura. According to Māori lore, Aorere comes from a cluster of stars that navigates humankind to gain knowledge and comprehension. Aorere is responsible for ensuring the safe journey of her whānau as they travel across the celestial skies. Aorere is intrinsically connected to whatumanawa (supreme subconscious) pūmanawa (intuition) and manawa (heart). Aorere transmits healing energy through the whatumanawa to restore balance and harmony to all aspects of a person’s toiora.

In a modern context, kura is commonly translated to mean ‘school’. However, traditionally it encompassed wider ideas of knowledge, including consideration of:

• experiences, observations, and philosophies of life and toiora

• metaphysical awareness – striving to understand the natural and spiritual worlds.

Kura refers to the transfer of knowledge – from person to person through language, intent, thought, action and feelings. Kura also refers to interactions (such as intergenerational trauma and healing) that cross between different spaces and time.

Te Aorerekura is the fusion of everything that Aorere and kura represent. Te Aorerekura places the voice and needs of whānau, hapū, iwi, and communities at its centre and provides the tools and enablers necessary to meet their needs. Te Aorerekura does this by reinforcing the importance of people, whānau, identity, knowledge and learning, and environmental connections with the impacts these have on people’s physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and social toiora.

We love what this represents for family violence specialists working every day in our communities. Te Aorerekura was developed with communities through a months-long information gathering exercise that included 120 hui. RISE welcomed Minister Marama Davidson to our offices during a trip to the South Island in mid-2021. The entire engagement and consultative process included around 1,000 submissions and included an independent survey.

Six generational shifts

Te Aorerekura calls for six shifts,

1.      Shift One – Towards strength-based wellbeing

An interconnected ecosystem where ora / health is at the heart.

2.      Shift Two – Towards mobilising communities

Building collective ownership for solutions, and support and resource integrated, community-led responses.

3.      Shift Three – Towards skilled, culturally competent and sustainable workforces

A long-term approach to building and retaining diverse, sustainable and competent workforces. (We love #3! We can’t agree enough that our staff are skilled in what they do following years of education and on-the-ground practice, particularly helping users of violence. We need more people working in this area to help end the cycle of family violence.)

4.      Shift Four – Towards investment in primary prevention

Prevention efforts put in place early in one’s life so family violence and sexual violence do not occur.

Hon Marama Davidson visits RISE in July 2021

5.      Shift Five – Towards safe, accessible, and integrated responses

More on prevention that is about shifting the social norms that encourage, tolerate, or minimise violence, like toxic masculinity, sexual dominance, ownership of women and children, etc.

6.      Shift Six – Towards increased capacity for healing

Healing, recovery, and restoration services essential to address the intergenerational trauma of childhood exposure to family violence and sexual violence.

As you can see in the high level view, Te Aorerekura puts a stronger focus on primary prevention, healing, and community leadership. It identifies and responds to drivers of violence and insists on accountability. But there is also a greater acknowledgement of the complexity and diversity of the experiences of people, families, and whānau.

Te Aorerekura is a 25-year strategy. It is going to take a generation, at least, of sustained investment and focus to “strengthen the protective factors and enable the social changes required in Aotearoa New Zealand.”

We encourage you to read the strategy. It is very accessible and is presented in a variety of ways making it easy to take in. You can find the entire strategy via our website by clicking here.