Christchurch Police and Aviva sign Letter of Agreement

Christchurch Police and Aviva Family Violence Services (formerly Christchurch Women's Refuge) have signed a Letter of Agreement to work together to reduce family violence.

The initiative, which is unique to Christchurch, engages with men that have been involved in a family violence episode whether as a victim, subject or offender. Canterbury District Commander, Superintendent Gary Knowles said "Canterbury Police are increasing the effort they are putting in to reduce family violence and signing this agreement is a significant step towards achieving this in Christchurch city."

During October and November Christchurch Police will be working on Operation Bright Hope which aims to reduce family violence and repeat victimisation, increase the awareness of family violence in the community and promote intervention and prevention. The Operation is timed to coincide with the lead up to Christmas and New Year, ending with White Ribbon Day.

Nicola Woodward, CEO of Aviva said "Working effectively with men that have been involved in a family violence episode can enhance the effectiveness of interventions and make a critical difference to children and families."

Aviva has also been involved in the initiative ReachOut in North Canterbury, which provides an outreach service for men who have committed, or were considered likely to commit, family violence. An evaluation of the service suggested that during its first twelve months of operation, ReachOut achieved results in various parts of the family violence system including the community networks, cross disciplinary teams within and across different human service organisations, and through the direct service delivery to men who commited family violence offences. It also identified areas of focus for continuous improvement. The project which began in April 2012, secured funding for an additional three years to expand Christchurch-wide by July 2013, with potential to expand to Timaru and Northland.

Media:

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Image: Community of People by Frits Ahlefeldt-Laurvig Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)