Black Ribbon

New Zealand Trust

The Trust

The Black Ribbon New Zealand Trust exists to promote awareness of domestic and family violence as non-discriminatory in terms of any of the prohibited grounds of discrimination pursuant to Section 21 of the Human Rights Act 1993.

The Black Ribbon New Zealand Trust is incorporated under the Charitable Trusts Act 1957 as a charitable trust. The Trust uses all donations and other funds to administer its purposes as per the Trust Deed.

Family Violence Legislation

Domestic/Family Violence

New Zealand has two primary pieces of legislation to ensure that family violence victims are kept safe and offenders are held to account. The Family Violence Act 2018 which repeals and replaces the Domestic Violence Act 1995 and the Family Violence (Amendments) Act 2018 which amends the Bail Act 2000, Crimes Act 1961, Sentencing Act 2002, Evidence Act 2006, Criminal Procedure Act 2011 and Care of Children Act 2004.

In Plain English: What is Family Violence?

Family violence, in relation to a person, means violence inflicted against one person by any other person with whom that person is, or has been, in a family relationship. Violence against a person includes a pattern of behaviour (done, for example, to isolate from family members or friends) that is made up of a number of acts that are all or any of physical abuse, sexual abuse, and psychological abuse, and that may be coercive or controlling (because it is done against the person to coerce or control, or with the effect of coercing or controlling, the person) and/or it causes the person, or may cause the person, cumulative harm. Abuse may be a single act or a series of acts forming a pattern of behaviour.

What does abuse look like?

The five commonly identified categories of abuse are:

1. physical abuse: infliction of physical pain, injury or force and inappropriate use of restraint or confinement that causes pain or bodily harm
2. sexual abuse: any forced, coerced or exploitive sexual behaviour or threats imposed on an individual, including sexual acts imposed on a person unable to give consent, or sexual activity that an adult lacking mental capacity is unable to understand
3. psychological/emotional abuse: any behaviour that causes anguish, stress or fear, including verbal abuse, intimidation, harassment, damage to property, threats of physical or sexual abuse, and the removal of decision-making powers
4. financial/material abuse: illegal or improper use of funds or other resources, and/or exploitation
5. neglect: occurs as a result of another person failing to meet the physical and emotional needs of a person.
   

Our Focus for 2022 and beyond

Our focus for 2022 is to establish and/or promote programmes which directly assist communities nation-wide and are not limited to physical locations. If you would like Black Ribbon to promote your organisation, please feel free to get in touch with us!

Black Ribbon currently operates as a social media awareness campaign. We have minimal active volunteers and need to develop an active volunteer base around New Zealand, for which we are now seeking a volunteer co-ordinator. Have some time on your hands and want to help? Contact us now to find out more about this volunteer position!

We have an advocacy service established to operate under the auspices of the Trust, which currently provides crisis support for men who have nowhere to turn for advice and assistance. The Trust looks forward to extending the advocacy services to support other vulnerable groups in the future.