A simple concept to help anyone affected by domestic violence better understand themselves and their situation has won not only the praise of participants, but also a national peace award.
The project, Moving Forward, was organised by Stopping Violence Dunedin counsellor Cinnamon Boreham and psychotherapist Sandra Turner, and used playback theatre to dissect domestic violence.
Run in six sessions late last year, it brought people affected by violence - from the perpetrators to victims and health professionals - together to share their experiences, and understandings, of violence.
"We are all quite capable of being violent towards each other ... so we were wanting to expand on the idea of who the perpetrator or victim was," Ms Turner said.
Members of the audience were invited to share a violent experience, which was then acted out by other members of the audience. Typical family situations, such as an evening meal, were also portrayed.
People quickly started displaying typical ways of responding to each other, which allowed everyone to look at the whole system of violence and the roles everyone played in it.
"It started to expose the hidden stuff. It was about getting a deeper understanding of systemic violence," Ms Boreham said.
Stereotypes of who committed acts of family violence - and why - were broken down.
Ms Turner believed the project was a first, because it was so rare to get all people on the domestic violence spectrum together in one place.
Research conducted after the events "surprised and shocked" her as participants revealed it had a big effect on their lives, she said.
"People softened as they understood more about the system and the families. It created a multi-level impact," Ms Boreham said.
The project recently received the New Horizons for Women Trust's annual Sonja Davies Peace Award, which promotes women's initiatives to advance the cause of peace.
Stopping Violence Dunedin received $3500, which would fund further Moving Forward events to break down further barriers.
These would run in St Paul's Cathedral, with extra support from the Dunedin City Council.
• The next Moving Forward public event will be held in St Paul's Cathedral on October 28 at 6.30pm. For more information, contact Stopping Violence Dunedin on (03) 474-1121.
