Press Release
For Immediate Release
Death of Hamilton toddler may vindicate Stretton’s cause.
International designer and founder of RAW (Reclaim Another Woman), Annah Stretton, says she backs the initial findings
of Sir Glenn Owens long-awaited report on domestic violence and child abuse in our communities. The release of the
report comes on the same day an 18-month-old baby boy, critically injured in an alleged assault in Hamilton, dies in
hospital.
The report identified a recurring pattern of connection between abuse as a child, domestic violence and child neglect -
children who were abused often became the next generation's abusers.
Stretton says that she is in total agreement with the reports findings, that children raised within a culture of family
violence will become the next generation of offenders and she is hell bent on working with the women from these violent
situations knowing that they will be the absolute game changers.
Aligned with Stretton’s own beliefs, Owen Glenn’s ‘First Report’ suggests that by helping young people find jobs, by
helping parents back into work, by establishing stable routines for children at school and by reducing the barriers to
living in violence-free contexts, individuals and families can lead productive lives.
Stretton’s RAW initiative believes that ALL women and children have a right to live without family violence.
RAW has been created to provide a significant other ( Mentor ) to walk at least a year's journey in support of a women
wanting to rebuild her life through education, ensuring that all women find a safe and meaningful pathway forward as
they seek to achieve the life that they desire for themselves and their children.
RAW believes that if you change a women's pathway then you begin to change a generation, as the women are the
gatekeepers. The RAW program is making very real inroads into what is an extremely violent and destructive cycle
existing in communities across New Zealand.
Since its March pilot launch in Hamilton, RAW has successfully paired over 80 women. RAW has recently launched in
Christchurch and in Tauranga, with a launch in South Auckland planned for next month.
To learn more about RAW or visit www.raw.org.nz
Follow RAW on Facebook www.facebook.com/reclaiminganotherwoman