Shakti launches “Find Your Voice” campaign

Empowering ethnic young people exposed to family violence

After the brutal murder of Farhat Rana and Sidra Noor in Ranui last year[1], Shakti decided to initiate a campaign, in honour of Sidra, to support children and young people living in violent homes. Sidra’s sister, Rida Noor will be speaking at the launch.

The Find Your Voice project, which is supported by Auckland City Council, aims to highlight the experiences of children and young people witnessing violence at home in migrant and refugee communities.

"Ethnic children and young adults are expected to keep the domestic violence a family secret, they don't even talk about it between themselves. They can feel completely abandoned and this is why the Find Your Voice campaign is so important. It will give them hope and encourage them to speak and get help," says Shakti Youth Ambassador, Rida Noor.

Other guest speakers at the launch include Jacinda Arden (The Labour Party’s Children’s spokesperson) and Jan Logie (The Green Party).

According to police statistics, children are involved in 63% of all family violence incidents attended by police[2]. “In our experience at Shakti, thousands of children and youth have passed through our safehouses over the last 20 years. But their experiences have yet to be told, and we know there are more young people out there suffering in silence,” said Shakti Youth Project Coordinator, Mengzhu Fu.

“With this campaign we hope to work towards breaking the cycle of inter-generational family violence. We want ethnic young people to know that they matter, they are not alone and there is support for them,” she says.

This event will feature the voices of youth from ethnic communities speaking out about their experiences. Shakti is offering info-packs with resources and workshops for schools and community groups with Asian, Middle Eastern and African youth. A poster campaign will be introduced around Central Auckland for three weeks from July 19th.

The Find Your Voice Network launch is being held at 2pm on Thursday the July 23 at Wesley Community Centre, 740 Sandringham Road Extn., Mt Roskill.

About Shakti Youth

Shakti Youth was formed in 2010 to bring together young people from Asian, Middle Eastern and African cultures passionate about social change and building towards violence-free futures in Aotearoa/New Zealand. It is part of Shakti Legal Advocacy and Family Social Services Inc., based in Manukau, Auckland.

ENDS

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