Hon Marama Davidson visits RISE

We were delighted to host Hon Marama Davidson, the Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence, at our Nelson office yesterday. She is touring around New Zealand, undertaking an engagement process toward developing a national strategy around family violence.

We sat together in a circle and talked about the challenges and opportunities for those working in the area of family violence. Our staff shared some of their experiences and successes. We provided her robust feedback about the state of the sector in Nelson Tasman.

The Minister was clear that she supports helping people who have engaged in harm, including those who use harm. She said "punitive responses don't always deliver the justice and repair the harm." So true.

We discussed the need for non-punitive ways to help those who use violence and much of that was about trauma; in our experience, nearly all users of violence are also victims of violence. The mahi is and will be nuanced and challenging, but know we have a strong ally in her.