For some of our FASD whānau, family violence is something that they live with on a daily basis.
Sadly, Aotearoa New Zealand has some of the worst rates of family violence in the world. We know that our families continue to desperately reach out for support that is not often there.
In 2021 some members of FASD-CAN participated in the national hui for Te Aorerekura: The Action Plan for the National Strategy to Eliminate Family Violence and Sexual Violence. They were able to share their experiences in relation to FASD and what changes were needed to support children and their whānau. We acknowledge with aroha and gratitude their brave determination to be involved in this groundbreaking next step towards our shared, violence-free future.
The new policy is the result of seven weeks of community meetings around the country – by the end of it, over 1800 people had contributed in around 120 hui. Much more information about the process of contributing to the new strategy is available here:
https://violencefree.govt.nz/have-your-say/
And an excellent article about Marama Davidson's naming as NZ's first Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence for this new portfolio last year is here:
The full action plan can be found here.
