The Annual Teal Ribbon Campaign was launched on the weekend by the Auckland Council Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse and a week long campaign has enabled the message to get to more than 1000 school children. “Choose to be violence free” is the message the South Auckland Family Violence Prevention Network of SAFVPN is pushing again and this time focusing on younger people.

With support from the Manukau COGs Committee this year “we hope to have more of our kids take home the message” according to one of the school facilitators Mr Kaiui Tukinga.

SAFVPN has had some major changes take place from a governance point of view who are now operating from a more bi-cultural manner.

Co-Chair Rosemary Nash and George Ngatai says “that if there needs to be some changes to domestic violence then we need to do it together both Maori and Pakeha and including our other community groups and ethnicities as well”.

Maori and Pacific tend to be high on the statistics for domestic violence and we believe that addressing this problem needs to come from all of us. “We encourage people to wear our ribbon as a personal commitment against every form of family violence, child abuse, partner abuse and elder abuse, irrespective of who is the perpetrator” says George Ngatai.

Service Manager Raewyn Bhana says “The awareness week helps to raise the profile of community solutions to family violence and supports national campaigns like the Ministry of Social Developments “It’s Not OK” campaign, currently running on national television,”

More information on the event as well as times and dates we will be at your local school can be found at www.beviolencefree.org.nz.

SAFVPN is a network of non-governmental organisations, local and central government, schools, community and whanau of Counties Manukau whose interests lie in collaborative action against violence in our community.

Statistics show that incidences of family violence increase over the Christmas period. The awareness week has been timed to help reduce the frequency of incidents during this time.

New Zealand Family violence statistics:

- Every year about 10 children are killed in New Zealand by a member or members of their family. Let’s help change that statistic.

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