Budget 2022 is supporting the implementation of Te Aorerekura – the National Strategy to Eliminate Family Violence and Sexual Violence(external link) which was launched in December 2021, and delivers key first steps to shift toward healing and prevention.
It invests $114.52m over four years to strengthen collective action to prevent and respond to family violence and sexual violence.
The Budget 2022 Family Violence and Sexual Violence package of initiatives is distributed across four broad areas:
This package of initiatives builds on the Government’s investment across Budgets 2018 to 2021, which addressed the funding pressures across the system and laid the foundations for change. Budgets 2018–2020 eased cost-pressures and provided much-needed support for frontline services. Budget 2021 invested in initiatives to help communities lead whānau-centred, holistic services.
As part of this package, the Ministry of Justice has received funding to build the capability of the court-related workforce, and maintain services for victims and perpetrators of violence.
This initiative will improve the capability to deliver safe and culturally appropriate training to the court-related workforce on the safe responses to people impacted by family violence and sexual violence.
Training will, primarily, be delivered regionally by community-based family violence and sexual violence providers to improve responses. The training will ensure court participants receive a safe, consistent and culturally appropriate response when they interact with members of the court-related workforce.
The training will build a common understanding of family violence and sexual violence in the court-related workforce, to support collaborative practice. It will also build wellbeing in this workforce by providing a safe environment for people to disclose and get help for their own experiences of family violence and sexual violence.
This initiative will establish and maintain a national training infrastructure to ensure national consistency in the delivery of this foundational training. It supports Te Aorerekura’s shift towards skilled, culturally competent and sustainable workforces and starts the delivery of Action 15: Build court workforce capability.
This critical cost pressure provides funding for family violence NGOs contracted by Te Tāhū o te Ture and Ara Poutama. Additional funding will strengthen the sector, ensuring providers delivering safety services and non-violence programmes are better resourced and equipped to respond to service users and their whānau.
Not only does this initiative raise funding levels for 2022/23, it allows for further increases. This will support retaining and developing staff, resulting in improved sustainability. The strengthened financial viability of approximately 80 community-based providers will mean family violence and non-violence services will continue, and quality will not be compromised.
Effective services will help to reduce the likelihood of further victimisation, harm and court intervention for victims of family violence.
The improved resourcing will support the delivery of Te Aorerekura’s shift towards a more skilled, culturally competent and sustainable workforce.
Find out more about the Budget 2022 announcements on the Violence Free website here(external link).
Budget 2022 on a page(external link).