Collaboration, sharing, and reflection
This is the seventh article in a 7-part series about one of the most significant contributions to eliminating family violence in Aotearoa New Zealand in the last decade.
In our finale of the series of the Family Violence Death Review Committee (FVDRC), we’re looking at the Third Report, published in June 2013. By the end of 2011, the FVDRC had issued two reports but the Committee was re-conceived after that to focus on more actionable recommendations. Thus, the Third Report signalled an exciting new phase at the time by making a number of strong recommendations based directly on evidence from death reviews.
Some of these recommendations came up again and again in subsequent reports, so change was obviously pushing the Committee and various family violence agencies throughout the 2010s.
The report summarises the development of the two-tiered family violence death review system. The first tier provides an overview of family violence deaths and family violence related deaths that occurred in 2009–10. The second tier provides in-depth reviews of a number of family violence deaths. And in this report the FVDRC makes recommendations for improvements in the following areas:
interagency collaboration and information sharing in high risk family violence cases
stopping violence programmes
the response to victims in the aftermath of family violence homicides.
In the years to follow, there were many changes made that resulted in part from this report and these recommendations that we can so clearly see now.
Changes were made by both the Ministry of Justice and the Department of Corrections to the components of what a non-violence programme includes. Victim Safety programmes were also introduced that align with a more trauma informed practices in the family violence field.
Inter-agency collaboration was significantly improved through the implementation of the Integrated Safety Response, or ISR. ISR is a multi-agency intervention designed to ensure the immediate safety of victims and children. In some parts of the country, this included work with perpetrators.
Most recently, Te Puna Aonui was established. It was formerly the Joint Venture Business Unit bringing government agencies together. It aligns the whole-of-government strategy, policy and investment to family and sexual violence.
Reflections from RISE
It’s also rewarding to think of RISE’s trajectory and the trajectory of the local family violence approach in Nelson Tasman over the last decade since the Third Report.
RISE itself went through a similar evolution in the mid-2010s ahead of the changes at government levels to become a trauma informed organisation and work force. We have been a leader in this area ever since.
In the past couple of years, RISE has been further represented in a collaborative and integrated process with members of our staff serving as Chair of the Operational Working Group and sitting at the governance table for the local response to an Integrated Safety response to address family violence.
