Reviewing years of family violence data
This is the sixth 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-depth reviews of all the family violence homicide data from 2009 to 2012, including deep dives into 17 specific deaths led the Family Violence Death Review Committee to new findings and recommendations in the Fourth Report published in June 2014.
For the first time, the pattern of violence was included in the analysis of all family violence deaths, which better addressed the context in which these events occurred. This broader brush provided insights into the responses required to prevent future deaths.
The family violence workforce needed to think differently if it was going to be able to respond effectively and safely to people living with family violence, the Committee recommended. It also suggested:
improving family violence training,
creating a stronger response to risk factors, and
changes in legislation to better support those victimised by family violence.
The report had a strong focus on children and the impact family violence had on them. In particular, it called for more support for children left behind after their parents, caregivers, brothers or sisters have been killed by family members. Some of these circumstances are just horrifying: one parent dead, and the other in prison, for example. (This is interesting reading in light of the most recent Eighth Report, published in March 2023.)
When looking back at this report, we can be proud at RISE of our trajectory since the mid-2010s as we had already started pivoting strongly in the direction the Committee recommended.
