The Backbone Collective

There are tens of thousands of Violence Against Women survivors in New Zealand. If we were all in one place at the same time our voices would be deafening. But because these forms of violence and abuse serve to silence their victims, and because survivors are not connected in any way, we are largely invisible and our voices are not heard.

We believe that the system and those that work within it should consult the women who use those services and find out how they can respond to keep women safe and help them rebuild their lives. We give women a safe way to share their experiences and then we advocate on their behalf for system change. This unique and transparent approach relies on our professionalism, thorough understanding of violence and abuse and evidence based consultation with women victim-survivors.

The funds we raise will be used to support the operation of The Backbone Collective. Funds will help us recruit more women members, run more surveys, complete reports of the survey findings, prepare reports about how the system is doing, create resources for women to help them get through the system better, undertake media work and help build information guides. We are currently in great need of funds to cover operational costs and administrative work. Untied funds allow us to cover staff costs, purchase office supplies, wifi, software subscriptions, insurance, printing and promotional materials.

Here's a rundown on our ongoing activities;

• We consult with victim-survivors on responses to family and sexual violence and share our findings and recommendations for improvements on those responses to governmental organisations, services and international monitoring bodies.

• We advocate for victim-survivors to have a permanent seat at the table with decision makers and we provide a conduit for their issues to help inform safe and effective policies and programmes - particularly in terms of the justice sector response and the support sector.

• We deliver presentations to government agencies, community organisations and academic and workplace settings on issues for victims-survivors and regularly report to media stories on family and sexual violence issues.

• We submit papers, reports and submissions to both national and international bodies such as the United Nations.

• We send out regular newsletters with information regarding the response to family and sexual violence, research and activities to our collective members.

Thank you for supporting us to keep on doing the work required to help women victim-survivors and their children be safe and rebuild their lives.