Hon. Marama Davidson Announces Government Investment Toward Ending Family and Sexual Violence
On Tuesday 10th May, Hon. Marama Davidson announced that as a part of Budget 2022, the Government will be investing $114.5 million over four years to prevent and respond to family violence and sexual violence across Aotearoa. This investment will work to support the implementation of Te Aorerekura - the National Strategy to Eliminate Family Violence and Sexual Violence, which was launched in December 2021.
What is Te Aorerekura? And what will this investment mean for implementing it?
Te Aorerekura was launched by the Government in December 2021, after developing in partnership with communities and specialist in the family and sexual violence sector, as Aotearoa’s first ever National Strategy to Eliminate Family and Sexual Violence.
Te Aorerekura identifies 6 key shifts for change, these are:
Shift 1: Towards strength-based wellbeing
Shift 2: Towards mobilising communities
Shift 3: Towards skilled, culturally competent and sustainable workforces
Shift 4: Towards investment in primary prevention to protect against family violence and sexual violence
Shift 5: Towards safe, accessible and integrated responses
Shift 6: Towards increased capacity for healing
These interconnected shifts will allow for tangata whenua, specialist sectors, communities and government to work together towards eliminating family and sexual violence in Aotearoa.
You can read more about Te Aorerekura here.
How Budget 2022 will support the work laid out in Te Aorerekura?
This budget will deliver $114.5 million over four years to prevent and respond to family violence and sexual violence across Aotearoa. This will include:
$38.1 million boost for community-led integrated responses
$37.6 million to prevent violence by strengthening existing initiatives in Māori and Pacific communities and for Aotearoa as a whole, and developing new initiatives for ethnic communities, older people, and youth
$9.8 million boost to services for victims and perpetrators of family violence
Te Aorerekura aims to eliminate family and sexual violence in Aotearoa, and that is no small feat. To do this will require significant resources that support the work of tangata whenua, the specialist sectors, and communities. This budget marks the first major investment in Te Aorerekura and will go towards achieving those 6 shifts for change.
You can read more about the Government’s announcement and Budget 2022 here.
Why is this so important?
At our recent Kōrero and Kai for Rape Awareness Week, Whaea Hera Pierce discussed how “[Te Aorerekura] is the defining document that is going to flip the world – this country, on its head.” It is a commitment to not just reducing but eliminating family and sexual violence.
This significant financial investment laid out in Budget 2022 further displays the commitment towards this work, and the support that Government will offer going forward as we work together to achieve this national strategy.
At Dear Em we are thrilled to see this type of investment and commitment from Government, and we look forward to being a part of the meaningful work to come.
