Domestic violence increases after Civil Defence
victoria-university-of-wellington
Tue May 25 2010 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
Domestic violence increases after Civil Defence
Tuesday, 25 May 2010, 10:03 am
Press Release: Victoria University of Wellington
Domestic violence increases after Civil Defence emergencies
Victoria University PhD research revealed that domestic violence reports can increase after Civil Defence emergencies—sometimes up to tripling the number of women seeking help.
Rosalind Houghton, who graduated with a PhD in Social Policy from Victoria University last week for her thesis “We Had to Cope With What We Had": Agency Perspectives on Domestic Violence and Disasters in New Zealand, says, “Although the data does not suggest that disasters turn healthy relationships abusive, my research found that the disasters had a considerable impact on the frequency and intensity of abuse already occurring.”
“Another reason reporting increased was that some women felt they could not cope with the impact of the emergency and the violence occurring simultaneously and this was a trigger for seeking agency support.”
Dr Houghton’s thesis involved a 17-community survey and five community case studies. An increase in domestic violence reporting was found in 11 of the 17 communities surveyed and in all five community case studies.
Her research focussed on agency perspectives on disasters and domestic violence. She collected reporting statistics from Women’s Refuge for her case studies and conducted interviews with representatives of agencies in the domestic violence and disaster response fields.
She says that although clear increases in domestic violence reporting were established, no policy was in place to ensure agencies could meet the increased demand for support during disasters. Civil Defence workers were often unaware of unsafe situations.
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“It would make sense to set up a formal relationship between Civil Defence representatives and domestic violence non-government organisations to ensure the safety of women and children at risk during these times.”
Dr Houghton completed her PhD with assistance from the Ministry of Social Development’s SPEaR Linkages Programme and the Ministry of Civil Defence. Her supervisors were Dr Sandra Grey and Dr Jan Jordan.
Examples from the case studies
• In Whakatane after a flooding in 2004, Women’s Refuge workers resorted to housing families in their own homes due to a shortage of appropriate accommodation. Police reported experiencing a doubling in the number of callouts for domestic violence in the first three months after the flooding, which remained high for a further three months. The James Family Trust (now Family Works Northern) reported that after the flooding, women were placed on waiting lists for education programmes about violence—the first and only time this has happened.
• In Timaru after a snowstorm in 2006, the safehouse of Women’s Refuge was physically cut off from the workers for a one-week period during the first week of the snow. Once roads re-opened, there was a marked increase in the demand for Women’s Refuges services in this area. At the same time, their volunteer base was reduced creating significant pressure on the agency.
• In Palmerston North after a flooding in 2004, Women’s Refuge workers were unable to provide service to women in rural areas as they were unable to leave the city.
ENDS
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