Domestic Violence: Commissioner Janine Donaldson

Commissioner Janine Donaldson - our Territorial President of Women's Ministries in The Salvation Army New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga Territory - speaks on the reality of domestic abuse within our borders, churches and communities - and our shared vision for a violence-free community.

Following is an abridged speech that Commisioner Janine presented in September 2016 at a New Zealand Elimination of Violence Against Women address. In this submission, New Zealand statistics and policies are referenced.

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The Salvation Army is an international Christian social services organisation that has worked in New Zealand for over one hundred and thirty years.

The Salvation Army provides a wide range of practical, social, community and faith-based services. These are particularly for those who are suffering, facing injustice or who have been forgotten and marginalised by mainstream society. We are interacting with the community in a variety of complex ways - some of which are our accommodation and housing services, Education and Employment, Court, Prison, Children and Youth Services.

Some of our transitional housing and supportive accommodation services support mainly women and children - and according to our National Director of Community Ministries - approximately 75% of those women and their children are or have been experiencing family violence. 

The Salvation Army recognises family violence as a serious problem that occurs within the community, and in the church.

As we are a church, an employer, and a charitable social service organisation, we have multiple spheres of contact walking alongside both the victims and the perpetrators of family violence, all around the three countries (New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga) in our Territory - every day. 

FAMILY VIOLENCE: WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?

Violence within the family may take various forms, such as:

• physical
• sexual
• verbal
• psychological
• emotional abuse
• economic and social control: these may at first appear harmless but fall into the category of domestic violence as they are used to assert the dominance of one partner over another in a relationship.

THE SALVATION ARMY ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Please read our Positional Statement on Domestic Violence. This also addresses the status of The Salvation Army as an international and local church - which can have its own culture and dynamics - and what we believe are relevant biblical principles in combating family violence.

"The Christian Bible teaches us that all people are equal in value to God and should be treated with respect and dignity. Every instance of domestic violence and every occasion of misuse of power is contrary to this teaching and is unacceptable (Ephesians 5:21, RSV; Ephesians 4:31,32, GNB).

As part of the Christian Church, we are motivated by the mission of Jesus to lead victims to experiences of healing (Luke 4:18, RSV).

Perpetrators of violence within the family should acknowledge their wrongdoing, accepting responsibility and the legal consequences for it.  They should also seek help in dealing with their violent behaviour and work towards a commitment to non-violent, respectful behaviours, equality in relationships with other adults and truly nurturing relationships with children and other dependants.

A victim should not be further exposed to abuse through misuse of biblical principles, such as, ‘wives submit to husbands’ or, ‘forgive one another’.

The Salvation Army, along with individual Salvationists, should be ready to alert authorities where appropriate, and to help those who are victims, either directly or through support and referral to professional help, regardless of who the perpetrator is." - extract from The Salvation Army's positional statement on Domestic Violence

THE SALVATION ARMY'S RESPONSE

Here are a few 'point of contact' approaches that our Community and social services have incorporated into their culture to meet the needs of both domestic abuse victims and the perpetrators.

RESTORING MANA: Families that come through the doorway of Community Ministries will have often been to WINZ multiple times, have undergone multiple assessments, filled out forms, and answered hundreds of questions. The power imbalance is already in place – the members may already be in a state of high anxiety and distress, which may be expressed in different ways.

Salvation Army staff consulted for this talk repeatedly emphasised that in this context, the value of respect and trust is significant.

“It’s ultimately about restoring mana.” one of our social workers said. For someone who has always been the victim - or always been talked about but not with - building a relationship of trust is essential.

INVESTING TIME: For a relationship of trust to be built, it can take time. In an environment of high need and stretched services, this is not always easy. However our staff seek to take the time to work with the families and individuals that come through our doors to make them feel welcome – investing in long-term well-being and wholeness. This can take weeks, months, and sometimes years!

WRAP-AROUND SERVICES: We seek to offer a variety of services under the same umbrella and are very conscious of the re-victimisation that can happen when an individual has gone to multiple agencies before coming to us. Community Services is the door through which all our other social services are connected and can be accessed.

SAFE FROM THE START PROGRAM: The Salvation Army’s Safe from the Start program is an innovative approach to working with pre-school children exposed to family violence. This was led by our National Director of Community Ministries when it was identified that there was a 'gap' in the prevention space, particularly for very young pre-school children who witness family violence.

Safe from the Start equips and trains Salvation Army social workers to facilitate a safe healing environment for children by facilitating play-therapy programs for children, along with their main care-giving parent. As the child plays, the parent learns about the child’s experiences and emotions, and also how to use the toys to build attachment with their child and further develop parenting skills.

THE SALVATION ARMY'S AIM GOING FORWARDS

THE NEED FOR COLLABORATIVE APPROACHES

We may often be the “door” to many, but we must know our own limits and refer when necessary. Feedback from our staff emphasise that the local inter-agency networks that they have are key to the work that they do. This is supported by research which consistently shows that high quality coordinated community responses decrease repeat family violence more than isolated responses.[1]

The Salvation Army will continue to sit on the Violence Agency Response System which builds on these essential networks.

At a policy and government level, The Salvation Army believes it is also essential that on the ground work is facilitated and victims are empowered by effective legislation and investment.  Our Policy Unit seeks to connect the experiences and knowledge from our “front line” services by engaging with Parliament through their reports and submissions to Government Departments and Select Committees.  Last year we submitted on the Family Violence Law Review that was led by the Ministry of Justice. Our staff will often sit on local FVARS - Family Violence Agency Response Services. 

We as an organisation are not a specialist family violence service. Therefore like many other large organisations, it is important to acknowledge there is always more work that we can be doing, and things we could be doing better. We are committed to exploring how we can change, so that we can be part of the ultimate goal of ensuring that everyone can be part of a violence free and loving home and community.

THE NEED FOR POWERFUL RESEARCH 

When we are talking about ending family violence it is imperative to acknowledge the inequalities facing each individual. An eco-social framework, such as that introduced in 1994 by Nancy Krieger helps expand our lens for understanding components of inequality (e.g. inequalities based on socio-economic status, race and/or sex), which can increase a person’s likelihood of experiencing violence.[2] Many of our clients are experiencing multiple components of this inequality sometimes from early childhood.

Identifying and addressing these inequalities at a societal and legislative level is also vital if we are to empower victims, and this is something that is a priority for the Salvation Army’s Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit.

The Salvation Army’s annual State of The Nation reports highlights that there has been an insufficient reduction in the level of recorded violent offences in dwellings over the last five years.  Of further concern is that as much as two thirds of domestic violence goes unreported. This suggests current processes are inadequate in terms of supporting victims to seek assistance, and inadequate in terms of assisting perpetrators to understand and address their inappropriate behaviours. 

THE NEED FOR LEGISLATION WITH TEETH

In order to boldly address the issue of family violence in New Zealand there needs to be significant and deliberate intervention by Government.  All legislation and policy that is considered by Government and Government Departments should consider the effect that the proposed policy and legislation has on domestic relationships which could be impacted by family violence. This must be balanced against assumptions that only certain communities experience family violence as noted in Te Puao Te Ata Tu 1988, a Government inquiry into racism in the child protection system.

The Salvation Army also submitted that the current legislative context is not an effective and brave enough intervention to ensure the reduction of domestic violence in New Zealand. Legislation alone will be insufficient to generate behaviour change in relation to the issue of misuse of power within relationships. We particularly raised our concerns at the Family Law reforms that cut access to free counselling as a key prevention measure.

More recently, the Salvation Army submitted on the initial stages of the CYF review, and we will be closely watching its developments. The next 12 months will be a time of significant strategic, policy and legislative change in the New Zealand landscape, and we hope and pray that the welfare of our families in all our communities throughout New Zealand will remain the priority throughout.

He aha te mea nui o te ao
What is the most important thing in the world?
He tangata, he tangata, he tangata
It is the people, it is the people, it is the people

Thanks so much for your attention; thank you and bless you.

Commissioner Janine Donaldson

Territorial President of Women's Ministries | 2013-2016 | The Salvation Army New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga 

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[1] https://nzfvc.org.nz/issues-papers-1

[2] https://nzfvc.org.nz/issues-paper-10-understanding-research-risk-and-pro...