Appeal crucial for Women's Refuge

With Government funding cuts and more pressure on women's refuges, this year's annual appeal is even more crucial than usual, Women's Refuge chief Heather Henare says.

Mrs Henare said women and children needed a bed at New Zealand women's refuges 75,000 times last year, an increase of 8% on 2009, at the same time as government funding for bed nights was decreased.

Women's Refuge was in urgent talks with CYF and MSD about the underfunding, after recent funding cuts to the family violence sector resulted in a $380,000 cut for Women's Refuge.

"The recent announcement by [Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector] Tariana Turia regarding the Family Centred Services Fund has increased the individual funds to 20 refuges, but the money is funded for only 12 months and does not cover baseline funding needs."

It cost, on average, $236,000 a year to run one refuge, and Women's Refuge had to raise about $95,000 of that itself each year, for each refuge, she said.

This year, the campaign would feature its usual street appeal, in Dunedin this Friday, as well as a social media campaign including auctions and featuring the case of Dunedin woman Sophie Elliott during the appeal week, which runs from today until Sunday.

There is one Women's Refuge in Otago - Te Whare Pounamu Women's Refuge in Dunedin.

Aside from providing a safe house, refuge staff did a "vast" amount of work with women in the community and provided services including safety plans, help with legal and counselling services, help in liaising with government departments and the provision of food and clothing if necessary.

The appeal was also a time to raise awareness of domestic violence and the work the refuges did to prevent it, Mrs Henare said.

Domestic violence was "staggeringly costly", in terms of not only health, justice and welfare, but also the wider economy through loss of income, production and consumption.

There were also costs around the long-term effects on children exposed to violence, she said.

"Our annual fundraising drive is critical to us this year."