Women's Refuge
Women’s Refuge is New Zealand’s most significant family violence organisation with a 39 year history of providing comprehensive services for women and children.
Women’s Refuge runs 44 Refuges throughout the country including kaupapa Maori and Pasifika Refuges and Refuges for Asian, migrant and refugee women. 63% of the work force is unpaid volunteers.
Our comprehensive services include:
- Providing help and support for women and children 24 hours a day in their community
- Parenting skills courses and self–esteem programmes in which women are taught how to live free from family violence
- Child–focussed sessions to teach self–care when facing violent situations
- Providing trained workers to access legal services and welfare support both in Refuge and in the community
- Providing information and education about family violence to community groups, agencies and professionals
- Campaigning and lobbying government at a national level
All women and children with whom Refuges work can elect to receive one, some or all of the services available. These services range from a short stay in a safe house to escape immediate danger, to participation in both crisis and preventative services for longer periods.
13,937 women and 11,014 children (total 24,951) needed the help of Women's Refuge in 2011. Women’s Refuge is New Zealand's most significant family violence organization with a 39-year history of providing comprehensive services for women and children.
On average, of the women who seek our help, 90% report psychological abuse compared to 65% who report physical abuse.
60% of Women's Refuge clients are 36 years old.
40% of children we deal with are under 5 years old.
Women's Refuge receives just over 60,000 calls to its Chrisisline every year. This means we answer a crisis or information call every mine minutes, every day.
We have 1073 staff, with 417 paid staff and 656 unpaid or volunteer staff. Half of our workers - paid or unpaid - identify as Maori.
In November 2008 Friends of Women’s Refuges were able to donate $150,000 from their beautiful NZ Sculpture OnShore exhibition. $1000 was given to each Refuge to buy new whiteware for their safe house. The rest has been used to develop a new Child Advocacy Kit called Mokupuna and an updated programme for women accessing Refuge services. The Child Advocacy Kit is a comprehensive tool for child advocates to use in their work. The kit was rolled out at a very successful training conference that gave advocates a wonderful opportunity to get together and share their stories, discuss their work and learn how to use their new resource.
To date, $1.2 million has been raised for Women’s Refuges nationwide. Funds are usually raised by a combination of sculpture sales commissions and by entrance fees to the exhibition. The money is usually targeted for special projects that would not otherwise be achievable – reprints of handbooks, backpacks of necessities for children entering refuges with their mothers, whiteware grants for refuges and funding educational Mokopuna Kits. The donation from the 2010 show was directed to refuge needs around the Christchurch earthquakes and reprinting an update of an important resource for women leaving violent relationships, called Fresh Start.
Friends of Women's Refuge is a significant group supporting the work we do. We need the passion and enthusiasm of the general public to support our work and allow us to create the best environment, resources and services for women and children. Money raised from their mammoth efforts have helped thousands of women and children move forward in their lives and live free from fear and violence.
Click on the following to view the latest Te Ara Newsletter.
http://www.womensrefuge.org.nz/users/Image/Downloads/PDFs/TeAra%20July%202012.pdf