TOAH-NNEST

Te Ohaakii a Hine - National Network Ending Sexual Violence Together

MEDIA STATEMENT, 16 September 2010

Government praised for good start on sexual violence work – and much more needed

The Government has made a “promising start” to work to address and prevent sexual violence - and it faces an enormous task ahead, representatives of Te Ohaakii a Hine-National Network Ending Sexual Violence Together (Toah-Nnest) said today.

This follows the Government’s announcement of its initiatives underway in response to last year’s report of the Taskforce for Action on Sexual Violence.

The two-year taskforce included senior officials from 10 government agencies and Toah-Nnnest representatives. Toah-Nnest is a Te Tiriti-based national network which represents hundreds of people working in whanau, hapu, iwi, community-based organisations and local communities to address and prevent sexual violence.

“The Government’s response to the taskforce report gives us hope that we are at the start of something promising,” said Sienna Hamilton-Katene, the Kaitakawaenga of Nga Kaitiaki Mauri, Toah-Nnest’s Maori caucus.
“There is a very high level of need in the community for sexual violence services, and historically the service providers have been substantially under-funded.”

A disproportionately high number of whanau Maori are vulnerable to being affected by sexual violence, she said, and increased Government funding is required to develop kaupapa Maori approaches to eliminate this violence. “It is our connection back to our ways of life and our belief systems which will assist whanau, hapu and iwi to be free of sexual violence.”

She encouraged the Government to implement taskforce recommendations wherever possible through its Whanau Ora programme, in order to work effectively with Maori, and for more Government agencies to invest funding in Whanau Ora.

Dr Kim McGregor, Chairperson of Toah-nnest’s Tauiwi Caucus, praised the leadership that this Government established to begin to respond to the taskforce recommendations.

“We’re pleased that we now have three Ministers committed to work in relationship with Toah-Nnest to address the hugely prevalent problem of sexual violence”.

“This relationship is the result of five years’ hard work forming our national network, and achieving and taking part in the first-ever Government taskforce on sexual violence. A strong community/government relationship is crucial, because without Government commitment and an enormous boost of resources, we cannot provide people affected by sexual violence with the wraparound, wholistic kaupapa Maori and Tauiwi services they need.”

Those who work everyday to support families to deal with the overwhelming effects of sexual violence see the huge gaps in services for these highly distressed people so there are enormous challenges ahead for us all, Dr McGregor said. “About a quarter of females and one in eight males in this country are likely to be sexually violated in some form. Treasury estimates the cost of sexual violence to be $1.2 billion a year – but the social, physical and emotional costs to survivors and their families are inestimable.”

The Government’s ongoing response to the taskforce report is being jointly led by Justice Minister Simon Power, Social Development Minister Paula Bennett, and Associate Social Development Minister Tariana Turia.

Minister Power, who took primary responsibility for the taskforce’s work under the present Government, was praised by the Toah-Nnest spokespeople for “his commitment to the sexual violence sector, and to sexual violence survivors and their whanau everywhere”.

Toah-Nnest was pleased when Minister Bennett and Minister Turia recently agreed to join with Minister Power and committed to work with Toah-Nnest to focus on the issue of sexual violence in Aotearoa.

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