Increasing the safety of women, so they live without fear of violence, is a priority for the Ministry. The focus of primary prevention is on stopping violence against women and girls before it occurs so they have better futures and lives. Primary prevention is an emerging field of practice in New Zealand. This paper highlights growing international evidence that violence against women is predictable and preventable.
The purpose of this paper is to generate discussion about primary prevention of violence and how these approaches can be effectively implemented in New Zealand.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to generate discussion about primary prevention of violence and how these approaches can be effectively implemented in New Zealand. Internationally there have been shifts in understandings about violence prevention and a substantial increase in reports, frameworks and activities focused on primary prevention of violence.
This paper adds to the New Zealand knowledge base about primary prevention by ensuring that our understandings are in line with international developments. Increased understanding will contribute to effective implementation of primary prevention approaches in New Zealand. Primary prevention is an emerging field of practice, and this paper provides information to ensure that people working in community and in government agencies understand what is distinctive about primary prevention. A recent stocktake of New Zealand sexual violence primary prevention services report suggests that this is not always the case.