Raising awareness of domestic violence

Hi. My name is Grace Schaefer and I am fundraising to raise awareness for domestic violence and to financially support my friend who is a domestic violence survivor.

Domestic violence is a major human rights issue, and one in three women across Aotearoa (and worldwide) will experience either intimate partner or sexual violence within their relationship. When we think of these issues, we always assume that it happens to other people. We may wonder, “why doesn’t the person just leave the relationship?” However, it ain’t that easy and it takes great courage and support.

I started this fundraiser to help a dear friend of mine who has finally found her courage and left her relationship to start a new and exciting journey of healing and self discovery. Unfortunately, she is engaged in an acronimonious divorce involving children. In a very short space of time, she has drained all of her savings and is now heavily in debt, which has also left her emotionally drained and exhausted.

I need to help my friend, because hey that’s what friends do for one other. However, I simply cannot do this on my own. Please donate today. I promise you, it will make a difference.

———

New Zealand has one of the worst rates of family violence in the OECD, with police attending a family violence incident every 4 minutes, and 80% of incidents going unreported.

The new Family Violence Amendments Act makes non-fatal strangulation or suffocation a new offence carrying a maximum sentence of 7 years imprisonment. Research has also found that being strangled by a partner is a strong signal of escalating abuse, and leads to a seven-fold increase in the risk of being murdered by your partner.

From 1 April 2019, the Domestic Violence - Victims’ Protection Act also gives employees affected by domestic violence the right to:

- take at least 10 days of paid domestic violence leave. This is separate from annual leave, sick leave and bereavement leave.

- ask for short-term flexible working arrangements. This can be for up to 2 months.

- not be treated adversely in the workplace because they might have experienced domestic violence.

To learn more visit this link: https://www.employment.govt.nz/leave-and-holidays/domestic-violence-leave

If you’re on the fence, and you want to learn more, please don’t hesitate to reach out and ask me anything you need to help.

Thanks

Grace