Confronting our violence problems head on

The figures are staggering: 13 women, 10 men, and 9 children on average killed every year as a result of family violence in New Zealand. Approximately 80% of family violence goes unreported, meaning that almost half a million family violence incidents could be occurring each year. For the year ending June 2014, approximately 14,000 children lived in situations where they were subjected to emotional, physical, or sexual abuse according to child abuse statistics released by the Ministry of Social Development. The Black Ribbon New Zealand campaign has been initiated to confront the views we have as a nation in relation to violence, especially violence perpetrated against the vulnerable.

Our more vulnerable households are those which house children, the elderly, and the disabled. Those groups are far more at risk of the 'silent offender' than any other, and the abuse of the more vulnerable is less likely to come to light and be properly dealt with. Perpetrators need to be held to account for what they do, and they need to be supported to make lifestyle changes that provide alternative and more effective methods of communication and control over everyday situations that arise. In other words, perpetrators need to first be aware that they are abusers, and then be given the tools to stop.

"There are a number of initiatives aimed at reducing violence against the vulnerable" says a spokesperson for the Black Ribbon campaign "but few of them are addressing the reality of how a large proportion of the violence has been left to simmer relatively unnoticed by mainstream media and not often mentioned by the very organisations that could help bring change. It's really important that New Zealand comes to terms with the fact that violence is not something that we do because of the genitals we were born with. It's something we do because we're conditioned by our environment to do it."

According to Black Ribbon, research suggests that at least half of all domestic violence is perpetrated by women, rebuffing the politically correct concept of domestic violence as being something that men exclusively or primarily do to women. Certainly, women are more regularly violent to children, the elderly and the disabled. Whether this is merely a 'numbers game' with women more likely to be the primary caregiver, is not relevant. Men as perpetrators of violence tend to do more damage to their victims, and therefore serious injury is more likely to come from a male offender. Regardless, the campaign makes it clear that violence in all forms is not a 'gender issue'. It is, and always has been, a violence issue.

"Violence is an action arising from our emotions. Emotions like anger, sadness, love and fear arise from the fact of being human. But it is not inevitable that our emotions must result in violence." The Black Ribbon campaign uses social media website Facebook to spread often hard-hitting truths and uncomfortable questions about perpetrators of violence. "It's not going to be a popular message, but it's a necessary one, nevertheless."

ENDS

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