New Zealand is ranked the worst nation among OECD countries for domestic violence with one in three women estimated to have been a victim of violence in their lifetime.

Auckland tech company Jupl has been providing domestic violence protection solutions in Australia for the last two years, resulting in protecting and empowering hundreds of families as well as saving eight lives in the last six months.

Sadly, the legislation and funding programmes that enable solutions in Australia, do not exist in New Zealand, Jupl founder Sir Ray Avery says.

“Over the next 12 to 18 months we are going to show government that Australian-led solutions can be as effective here.

“The first programme will be an emergency response service for those most in need. This will cost $1500 per family and last six months, protecting them whilst they transition out of their abusive environment.

“As there is no government funding available, we are seeking support from the New Zealand business community to fund this important initiative.

“Shine, a leading New Zealand specialist domestic violence service provide, are getting 50 to 55 domestic violence referrals from police a week.

“In 2017, NZ Police attend 118,923 family violence incidents, or one every four minutes. We must act fast.

“This is an acute problem and where we believe we can have the most positive and immediate impact here in NZ.

“The target is to protect 500 Kiwi families as we believe this a good balance between a suitable sample size and the amount of capital required - $750,000.

“We are looking for business support parcels of $15,000 and above which is enough to protect 10 NZ families.”

© Scoop Media