Nearly 40% of women who ask for help after physical or sexual
violence from a partner do not get it, a survey by Auckland
University's faculty of medical and health services.
The survey found more than 75% of the New Zealand woman who
experienced violence told someone about the abuse but only
half of those women were helped.
The findings were published in the Journal of Interpersonal
Violence and study author, Dr Janet Fanslow, says in contrast
with other countries, it was clear domestic violence in New
Zealand was not a private and secret matter, with 75% of
abused women speaking out.
She said the challenge was not getting people to talk about
violence but to get women the help they needed.
"The fact that 40% of abused women reported that no one had
tried to help them suggests we're a long way from achieving
this aim," she said.
She said most abused women told relatives or friends but she
said those family and friends needed to be able to provide
support for women asking for help.
She said fewer women reported abuse to police, health care
providers or women's refuges and of those who did, only the
Women's Refuge was reported to be helpful by all women.
Doctors were reported to be helpful by about half of the
women and counsellors or mental health workers were
considered helpful by about two-thirds of women, the survey
revealed.
Dr Fanslow said women sought help mostly because they could
"not endure more", were badly injured or because their
partner had threatened or tried to kill them. Women also
sought help because their children were suffering or had been
hit or threatened.
She said while it was important to help victims of violence,
the real need was to prevent violence happening.
"Sadly, the government has just disestablished the ACC family
and sexual violence prevention workstream. This is a
significant loss. It was one of the few government
initiatives focussed on preventing violence before it
occurs," she said.
The study of violence against women was the largest done in
New Zealand and was part of a World Health Organisation
multi-country study which asked 30,000 women from 10
countries about intimate partner violence.
The study surveyed nearly 3000 women, aged between 18 and 64,
in Auckland and Waikato.
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