Cuts to domestic violence centre 'don't go far enough', says advocate

A proposed restructure at the government's domestic violence centre, which includes several layoffs, should go further, a respected advocate says.

David White MNZM said The Centre for Family Violence and Sexual Violence Prevention was an "ivory tower" and a waste of money, and the government needed to urgently rethink its approach.

But others say the centre has done important work, and worry the cuts will stunt its progress.

White was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for campaigning against family violence in the wake of his daughter's murder.

"I don't know of anything they've done that has prevented family or sexual violence in this country, and since it started [in 2016] they've managed to spend over $100 million," he told RNZ.

"Show me somewhere in New Zealand where a life has been changed, where an attitude has been changed, where any sort of percentage has come down. There aren't any."

Last year, White made a submission to Parliament calling for the centre to be disbanded entirely, describing it as "inefficient".

Now that a restructure had been proposed by its board, White was sceptical they could right the ship.

"All that's going to happen from the restructure, my biggest fear, is that all they're going to do is reshuffle the deck chairs on the Titanic," he said.

"We're not actually going to end up with a working group that will get to the core of the problem."

White turned to advocacy when his daughter, Helen Meads, was murdered by her abusive husband while trying to separate from him in 2009.

"I fell into the trap of ... When Helen decided it was all over, she told him and we celebrated and made a lot of noise about the whole mess being over and that we were getting our daughter back," he said.

"Everybody that works with family violence will tell you that when a woman is leaving such a situation, that is the most dangerous time of all. Helen added to that statistic."

While he believed the government's broader efforts through the Centre for Family Violence and Sexual Violence Prevention had failed, he said community efforts had shown great promise over the years.

The most notable, he said, was the 'It's not OK' campaign which ran in Huntly in 2015.

"On every street in Huntly they would have a champion for 'It's not OK', for the prevention of family and sexual violence, and a big field day in November that year, and the outcome was that over that Christmas the level of family and sexual violence dropped by forty-something percent," White recalled.

"But they didn't have the backing to keep going with the campaign so it faded, which was a tragedy, but it showed how much could be done by people in the community who wanted change and were prepared to step up and do it, providing they were helped to do it."

"That's my argument. We're spending twenty-something million a year on the centre and nothing's happening. Put [that money] out to New Zealand communities and sustain it so they can keep going, that's how we're going to get through it."

Over the 2024 to 2025 financial year the centre had an expenditure of $21.3m, and White said there was little to show for it.

"Why are we still talking on the same soundtrack that we've had for the past 40 years, we have to change how we're approaching what we're doing," he said.

"And I think we need to have a massive attitude change on how we treat women. I don't think we've got a proud history."

Merran Lawler, the chief executive of the National Network of Family Violence Services, disagreed that the centre had been ineffective.

"The fact that we now have a national strategy, that we've got action plans, that for the first time we have an agreed risk and safety practice framework," she said.

"And we've had within the centre a focus on upskilling ten thousand public servants to interact with people who have experienced family violence... That's the work that if the centre is allowed to continue it, is actually the work that will save lives."

She worried the incoming restructure would make it less effective.

"My sense is that the restructure is really about proposing that the executive board return to a very formal type of Crown entity of [ministry] chief executives who come to the table perhaps once a month for a board meeting."

The Centre for Family Violence and Sexual Violence Prevention declined to be interviewed, but board chair and secretary for Justice Andrew Kibblewhite said in a written response that the recent review of the centre found the Board and the centre itself "remain important".

"It also found that roles and responsibilities could be clearer, and that resources could be better aligned to deliver stronger whole of government results," he acknowledged.

"With a smaller and more focused centre, we will free up resources to support system initiatives to improve responses for victims and families at the front line."

Where to get help:

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What's Up: 0800 WHATSUP / 0800 9428 787. This is free counselling for 5 to 19-year-olds

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Family Violence

Women's Refuge: 0800 733 843.

It's Not OK 0800 456 450.

Shine: 0508 744 633.

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HELP Call 24/7 (Auckland): 09 623 1700, (Wellington): 04 801 6655.

The National Network of Family Violence Services NZ has information on specialist family violence agencies.

If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.