It Has To Stop - Vic Tamati On The Nutters Club

It Has To Stop - Vic Tamati On The Nutters Club

Vic Tamati is one of the faces of domestic violence prevention in New Zealand. The one time abusive husband and father shares his very personal story of the recognition of his problem and his redemption with Mike King and Dr David Codyre on Maori Television’s The Nutters Club.

Mike King asked Vic to join them at The Nutters Club RadioLIVE studio after hearing him speak at a men’s health clinic in Rawene.

“I was blown away by the unique way that Vic was able to engage men and get them to take ownership of their problems,” Mike says.

But Vic's story is a hard one to listen to and tell, as he recounts bashing his youngest daughter when she was eight – and how she became the one to turn his life around after his wife took the children and fled his violence.

"She said 'it's because of me, daddy, everyone is crying, that is why we are at this funny house, it's cos of me'... My eight-year-old daughter is not supposed to say that, she took the blame for me...and I cracked. The next morning I said to my wife, I've got to do something."

Vic entered a stopping violence program soon after.

“Vic was a guest who really opened our eyes as to how men can turn back from violent relationships in ways we never imagined,” says series director Marcus Clayton.

“He tells his story with a brokenness that is completely riveting and deserves to be seen by an open-minded audience willing to hear how one man changed his life – for good.”

Producer Brian Holland believes Vic’s episode is one of the best of the series.

“Vic Tamati is an incredibly brave man. For him to relive the horrors of his past over and over again in order to help others makes him a genuine hero in my books. His honesty and emotion that shines through in the episode making compelling television with a real message of redemption and hope,” he says.

A preview of Vic’s episode can be found here youtube.com.

The Nutters Club with Mike King is a weekly radio show on RadioLIVE, Sundays at 8pm filmed and produced by Top Shelf Productions for Maori Television where it screens Fridays at 10.30pm. The Nutters Club Facebook page provides a forum for those with mental health issues and the book, The Nutters Club with Mike King is in all good bookstores now.

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ENDS

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