What is primary violence prevention?

Primary prevention is ‘taking action to prevent health and social

problems before their onset’. This approach is increasingly being
used to prevent all kinds of violence in New Zealand.
This means getting social environments (home, work, schools,
and sports clubs) to support individuals and families to behave in
non-violent ways.

In this newsletter -

It’s not OK wins award

The ecological model and violence prevention

Different action to prevent violence in Waitakere City

Auckland Rugby Union’s Sideline Behaviour campaign

How the Culture of Cool research can be used to prevent violence

Using technology safely

A useful website for teenagers and parents

Addresses for 15 useful or inspirational websites

Primary Violence Prevention Network Newsletter 2, July 2010 Page 1

 Top award for It’s not OK campaign
The It’s not OK campaign has won New Zealand‘s top award for public service
excellence.

The campaign received the Prime Minister‘s supreme

award at the Institute of Public Administration New
Zealand (IPANZ) Gen-I Public Sector Excellence
Awards. The It’s not OK campaign won the category
for Public Sector Communications as well as the
supreme award.

The awards celebrate excellence within the public sector and highlight initiatives
making a positive difference to local communities. Projects were judged on their
vision, innovation and results.

Receiving the awards, manager Gael Surgenor said the win was a real
acknowledgement of how communities in New Zealand have mobilised around the
campaign message, It‘s not OK.

The simplicity of the core message has helped to bring discussion about family
violence into the open, with one in five people taking some action as a result of
the campaign and six out of ten saying they have influenced someone else‘s
behaviour.

A new phase of the campaign being launched shortly will look at the practical
things families can do to keep each other safe. Research and feedback shows
that people want to help families in trouble but they don't know how. The
campaign will be helping families, whanau, friends, workmates and neighbours to
take action. New TV advertising will begin in August.

The campaign work is carried out by MSD in association with the Families
Commission. www.areyouok.org.nz

Primary Violence Prevention Network Newsletter 2, July 2010 Page 2

 The ecological model and violence
prevention
No single reason explains why one individual is violent while others aren‘t or why
one community experiences more violence than its neighbour. Violence is the
outcome of many influences.

One way to understand the complex nature of violence is to use an ecological

model. The model groups factors that increase the risk of committing or being a
victim of violence into four levels: individual, relationships, community and society.

Ecological model for interpersonal violence

Society Community Relationships Individual

Risk factors at each level of the model increase the likelihood of violence. While
some risk factors may be unique to a particular type of violence, most are
common across all types of violence.

The individual level includes biological and personal history factors that
increase the likelihood of becoming a victim or perpetrator of violence. For
example, an individual lacking the skills to resolve conflict without violence.

The relationships level is concerned with how family, friends, intimate

partners and peers can affect the risk of violence. For example, having
friends who engage in or encourage violence will increase a person‘s risk of
being a victim or perpetrator of violence.

The culture, processes, and policies of public settings, such as schools,

workplaces, sports clubs and neighbourhoods, which increase the risk of
violence, are identified at the community level of the model. For example,
the lack of sexual harassment policies in workplaces suggests that sexual
harassment is tolerated which increases the risk of abuse.
Primary Violence Prevention Network Newsletter 2, July 2010 Page 3
 Broad societal factors that help support violence are grouped at the society
level of the model. These include dominant social and cultural norms, along
with government policies. For example there is a greater risk of child abuse
if parental rights are valued more than child welfare.

The overlapping rings in the model illustrate how factors at each level strengthen
or modify factors at another. For example, a person with an aggressive personality
is more likely to act violently in a family or community that habitually resolves
conflict through violence.

As well as helping to clarify the causes of violence and their complex interactions,
the ecological model shows that preventive action needs to happen across
several levels at the same time to be effective. For instance an increase in mutual
trust and respect in intimate partnerships would decrease the risk of violence.
Prevention can happen simultaneously at all four levels:

At the individual level counselling and life skills training can develop
individuals‘ attitudes and behaviours so they are more respectful and
trusting.

At the relationship level mentoring and peer programmes can promote and
model respectful and trusting intimate partnerships.
Primary Violence Prevention Network Newsletter 2, July 2010 Page 4
 At the community level a social marketing campaign can promote the value
of mutual respect and trust in intimate partnerships.

At the society level social norms, policies, and laws that give gender and
economic equality will support respectful and trusting relationships.

This newsletter includes stories
about prevention work at different
levels of the ecological model:
The Waitakere Anti-Violence
Essential Services (WAVES)
works at the community level
and influences laws at the
societal level.
The Culture of Cool research
can be used to develop
effective violence prevention
initiatives at all levels.
The Auckland Rugby Union‘s
Sideline Behaviour campaign
targets the culture of
community sports events.
For an understanding of how the World Health
Organisation uses the ecological model in
their report on the primary prevention of
intimate-partner and sexual violence. See
www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/publi
cations/violence/IPV-SV.pdf
Also see
www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pub/SVPrev
ention.html for info on the Center for Disease
Control’s use of the model in preventing
sexual violence.
For the report ‘Preventing violence: a guide to
implementing the recommendations of the
World report on violence and health’ see
/www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/med
ia/news/08_09_2004/en
The New Zealand’s Family Commission report
Zero tolerance: key issues and future
directions for family violence work in New
Zealand also draws on the ecological model:
www.nzfamilies.org.nz/research/ beyond-zero-
tolerance

Primary Violence Prevention Network Newsletter 2, July 2010 Page 5

 Making waves to prevent violence
―We‘re thinking about places that are communities of influence‖ explains Debbie
Hager of Waitakere Anti-Violence Essential Services (WAVES). ―Sports clubs and
churches have this influence over their members as they are where people go for
social inclusion and they‘re warm and supportive places. They‘re also made up of
people who we wouldn‘t otherwise come into contact with‖.
Debbie sees her role as building networks and collaboration. She is starting to
work with the local sports development trust (Sports Waitakere) on anti-violence
activities for local sports clubs. This involves developing strategies to prevent
violence and how bystanders can intervene effectively if there is violence. This
violence prevention focus builds on the club‘s host responsibilities (how they
ensure a safe environment for the sale and consumption of alcohol). ―I want clubs
to say to their members that while competition is good, violence is not. And you
are not welcome here if you support violence‖.
She believes that clubs could address all sorts of violence by adopting policies to
promote child protection and prevent side-line abuse. Debbie believes that sports
clubs would ―give a powerful message that violence is completely unacceptable‖
by not applying for name suppression when a prominent player is charged with
assault, and if they‘re found guilty, by removing them from the club. She is also
getting sports clubs involved in White Ribbon Day: ―This shows that the club has
taken a step towards preventing violence and it encourages other clubs to get
involved‖.
Debbie is also encouraging local
churches to be involved in White
Ribbon Day to show their commitment
to preventing violence. She helps
Useful websites
churches to include information about
domestic violence and responding to
disclosure into their leaders‘ training Waitakere Anti-Violence Essential
programmes. Services (WAVES) -
www.waves.org.nz
She acknowledges that while some
churches have been resistant, it was ALAC‘s Host Responsibility guidelines
the church that was more familiar with - www.alac.org.nz/DBTextworks/
the prevalence of violence from their PDF/HostResp.pdf
own social service work that The Law Commission‘s reports on
immediately picked up on the issue. ―Alcohol In Our Lives: Curbing the
She thinks that churches could Harm‖ -www.lawcom.govt.nz
prevent violence by giving messages
about power and control and
respectful relationships to their
congregations, and by providing more
support and understanding to
individuals in abusive relationships.
Primary Violence Prevention Network Newsletter 2, July 2010 Page 6
Debbie has also made submissions to policy and legislation reviews, such as the
Auckland Super City bill, and reviews of Domestic Violence legislation, legal aid
and alcohol availability. These submissions focused on improving services and
minimising the risk of violence towards women. For example she used World
Health Organisation (WHO) information to identify the link between alcohol and
the prevalence of violence. ―Alcohol doesn‘t cause violence but if a community
believes alcohol causes violence then it will be an enabler of violence‖.

Debbie thinks there is a challenge in ―getting people to understand what primary

prevention really is. The current focus is still on preventing further violence by
providing services once violence occurs. People need to understand that we‘re
talking about system and population change. We need to move people‘s thinking
from individual behaviour onto systemic change‖.
Her top tips for primary violence prevention are:
Be prepared for it to take time as it will start slowly.
Start where the people are at.
Analyse the power dynamics involved so that people can understand their
role in changing these.

Culture of Cool
―Being cool and being a man directly
impacts on young men's relationships
with girlfriends‖ explains psychologist
Alison Towns, who has produced two
reports on the Culture of Cool. ―This
Culture of Cool research opens up our
understanding of youth culture,
particularly what it is to be cool and how
being cool is promoted by the media.
The research gives us new information
about attitudes that drive violence‖.

The first report summarises interviews

with young women about their
experience of boyfriends exerting
ownership over them – this includes the
boy assuming he is entitled to or owns
the girl, using surveillance techniques
against her or using emotional and
physical violence.

Primary Violence Prevention Network Newsletter 2, July 2010 Page 7

The Culture of Cool research also
covers the wider social values, ―…you would be the show girl kind of thing, you
beliefs and attitudes which would be their possession and they would show
you off.‖ Miranda
contribute to these experiences. It
explores these influences in three discussions: In the first young women describe
being treated as ‗a trophy‘ and being pressured to conform to an ideal; the second
describes the impact of highly sexualised images of young women in advertising
and music videos; while the third covers the influence of other males on men‘s
assumption that they are dominant.

The second report summarises
interviews with young men and explores
their ideas about control, power and
equality in relationships. These include
monitoring and limiting the girlfriend‘s
choices, controlling her contacts and
dress, isolating her and using violence or
other entitlement practices.
―Guys have this unrealistic ideal of what a
woman should be. They‘re all contradictory
you know like women are supposed to be
smart but they‘re supposed to be dumb but
they‘re meant to be pretty but they‘re meant
to be average but they‘re meant to be curvy
but curvy is not hot anymore because you
have to be anorexically thin…‖ Nina

The report also looks at the broader social and cultural values and beliefs that
contribute to these ideas, in particular the pressure to be ‗The Man‘. The impact of
binge drinking and the boy-racer and
gangster sub-cultures are also ―Being The Man is …very much one-up
highlighted. manship game‖. Zak

Alison believes we can prevent violence by getting in early when young people
are starting out in their relationships. However she found little research on the
social values and beliefs that support controlling behaviour. Her research provides
new knowledge that can be used to prevent violence: ―I believe this research has
the potential to be used across the spectrum of prevention from the individual
awareness level right through to the
policy level‖. The Culture of Cool ―If you see your dad was always the one that
research is already being used by was in charge and in control you go around
thinking that‘s how a relationship should be.
programmes with school groups to You think you should be the stronger one, the
change attitudes of individual young more manly one. And once you see that the
people. Alison is also disseminating the girl is starting to take that away from you
research at seminars and is currently that‘s when you step back and tell them to
working on a brochure for youth slow it down‖. Dante
workers about how they could use the
research.

Drawing on the link the research established between binge drinking and violent
attitudes towards women, Alison made a submission to
the Law Commission‘s review of alcohol availability. She ―I always tell people off
wants to get the research distributed among people who when I‘m tanked‖. Zak
address alcohol harm.

Primary Violence Prevention Network Newsletter 2, July 2010 Page 8

The research‘s findings on how advertising images can influence violent attitudes
has been used effectively by The Auckland Coalition for the Safety of Women and
Children when they complained about three billboard advertisements that used
violent and sexual images. The Advertising Standards Authority required two
advertisements to be withdrawn.

Alison is also talking with government agencies about how they can respond to
the research and she is also exploring ways to get it distributed in Maori and
Pacific communities.

The two Culture of Cool reports are available from www.nzfvc.org.nz (enter Alison
Towns‘ name and scroll down the publication list). Also on this website is a short
paper about the key messages for early intervention arising from the Culture of
Cool research, written by Alison‘s colleague Hazel Scott.

In conjunction with the Culture of Cool research, The Auckland Coalition for the
Safety of Women and Children ran a competition for media and film students to
make a video that promoted respectful boyfriend/girlfriend relationships.

The winning entries can be seen on You-Tube – Go to www.YouTube.com and

search for ‗Her World‘ by Fiona Young and ‗A Mugs Game‘ by Hannah Spierer.

A new cool
“The Culture of Cool research gives youth
workers real information they can immediately
use‖ says Ala'imalo Lua Maynard, the Youth
Resource Worker at Manukau City‘s Friendship
House. ―The research is presented in
everyday terms and it identifies particular male
attitudes that support violence. These are what
we need to focus on changing‖.
Lua attended one of the presentations Alison
Towns did about the Culture of Cool in South
Auckland: ―We expected about thirty people
and were blown away when over 150 people
turned up. They were youth workers and staff
A copy of the Culture of Cool from a range of social services. I recognised
youth worker brochure will be on people from other parts of Auckland, so
www.community-action.ning.com obviously there‘s lots of interest in these
when it is available. issues‖.
―In South Auckland the US gangster sub-culture has a big influence on young
people. It‘s the music they listen to so they tend to take on the attitudes expressed
in the songs. The Culture of Cool research highlights the link between gangster

Primary Violence Prevention Network Newsletter 2, July 2010 Page 9

culture and violence towards women. It helps us target the violent attitudes and
gives us some ways to talk about them with young people‖.
Lua is also working with Alison on a Culture of Cool presentation to the Involve
Youth Workers‘ Conference (www.involve.org.nz) later this year.
Lua has been working with South Auckland youth organisations on how they can
prevent violence for about four years. He was behind the very successful
‗Brothers Against Violence‘ music video produced at the Otara Music and Arts
Centre. Produced for White Ribbon Day three years ago, this video has had
185,000 hits on You-Tube (see www.youtube.com/
watch?v=8KitGfjj2-k).
He describes primary violence prevention as ―getting out there and connecting
with people with a similar approach and developing a shared strategy. It involves
drawing strength from others to achieve a shared goal‖.
Lua compares his primary prevention work with his other role of facilitating
programmes for violent men who‘ve been referred from the courts for domestic
violence: ―Primary violence is top-of-the-cliff stuff rather than crisis reaction. It‘s a
different mindset because you can‘t see it and it works by stopping a pattern or
breaking a cycle‖. ―When men on the programmes learn how they can avoid
violence I often hear them say they wish they‘d known this much, much earlier in
their lives. This is where the Culture of Cool research can be helpful – it gives us
accurate information about being a young man today and the attitudes we need to
change to prevent violence‖.

Left to Right— Ian Katoa (Otara Youth Leader), Ala'imalo Lua Maynard (Youth
Resource Worker), George Pulenga (Otara Youth Leader) & Tia Suemai (Otara
Youth Worker) at a violence prevention workshop at the City College of San
Francisco last year.

Primary Violence Prevention Network Newsletter 2, July 2010 Page 10

 Preventing sideline abuse
Auckland rugby bosses are promoting rules for spectators at club and schoolboy
rugby matches in a bid to stop unruly parents and others ranting from the
sidelines.

Club rugby manager Matt McHardy said

The Ten Rules for sideline supporters:
the sort of on-field violence that marred Don’t
rugby games usually stemmed from the Yell out instructions.
sideline. "Someone on the sideline will Yell at me in public.
make a comment another parent takes Yell at the coach.
exception to. That [escalates], and as the Put down my teammates.
Put down the other team.
parents get more fired up, that transfers to
Put down the officials.
the kids on the field." Lose your cool.
Lecture me about my mistakes
―We asked ourselves two questions: How after the game.
do the kids on the field feel when this kind Forget how to laugh and have
of behaviour is going on? What do they fun.
want from their supporters?‖ After looking Forget that it is just a game.
at research from overseas the Auckland
Rugby Union developed a set of rules based on research by American clinical and
sports psychologist Dr Darrell Burnett, author of It's Just a Game! - Youth, Sports
& Self Esteem: A Guide for Parents.

―This is a chance for the players on the field to have their say. It‘s a reminder they
want to enjoy their rugby and while they will do their best, please don‘t take their
fun away with negative comments from the sideline or by setting unrealistic
expectations‖ explains MattThe amount of sideline abuse had not reached
breaking point, but there were enough incidents to concern the Rugby Union: ―I
wouldn't say it was out of control, but every couple of weeks we were getting
something through".

The rules will be promoted with posters

and signs at secondary school and club
grounds across Auckland and an online
version will be sent out to the wider
rugby community.
This is the second instalment of
Auckland Rugby‘s Sideline Behaviour
campaign, which was launched last
year. For more information, including
viewing a video, visit
www.aucklandrugby.co.nz

Primary Violence Prevention Network Newsletter 2, July 2010 Page 11

 Safety on the web
―We want confident, capable technology users who are respectful of others‖ is
how Lee Chisholm describes the goal of NetSafe.

NetSafe provides education resources and programmes for individuals and

schools, and advises organisations on a range of cybersafety issues. It has
become a leading educational advocate for cybersafety since being set up 12
years ago.

―We‘ve shied away from ‗scare messages. Technology use is normal so it is more
realistic and effective to show young people how to manage it well and how to
take responsibility‖, Lee, NetSafe‘s Operations Manager, says. ―We are very pro-
technology and want young people to have every opportunity to develop their
skills‖.

For example the young people‘s

pages on the NetSafe website
(www.netsafe.org.nz) provide
information that explains Twittering,
how to get started on a social Useful websites
networking site and what to do if
someone accesses your email, along For NetSafe - www.netsafe.org.nz
with information about sexual content,
For information about digital citizenship
avoiding grooming, and managing
- www.digitalcitizenship.net. or
cyber and text bullying. On the adult
Google ‗digital citizenship‘ for more
pages there is information on
info, including You-Tube video clips
computer safety and personal safety,
plus advice about choosing a safe
dating site and managing different
forms of harassment. The parents‘
pages give a range of information on
how to encourage children‘s safe use
of the internet.
―Our big push is promoting ‗digital citizenship‘‖ says Lee. ―This is about what goes
on in cyber space, rather than how to access the online environment‖. On the
Digital Citizenship website (www.digitalcitizenship.net/) the first of nine themes of
digital citizenship is Digital Etiquette, to avoid inappropriate behaviour. This site
notes, “It is not enough to create rules and policy, we must teach everyone to
become responsible digital citizens in this new society‖.
―NetSafe uses a collaborative approach‖ explains Lee, ―Our partners come from
the education sector, government and business, along with services with an
interest in the wellbeing of children and young people. Our approach is evidence-
based and research drives our practice‖.

Primary Violence Prevention Network Newsletter 2, July 2010 Page 12

 Tools for teens
www.teentools.co.nz provides young people and their parents with ―tools for the
teenage years‖. These include up-to-date information, links to other relevant
websites and a comprehensive directory of services.

The website was set up by Tauranga Safe City and provides relevant information
to all teenagers and parents.

Michael Mills, the Tauranga Safe City Coordinator, sees the website as primary
violence prevention: ―The target audience for the Teentools website is parents and
caregivers and young people, who are looking for information on teen issues.
Parents and teens who are better informed will make better decisions and make
better plans that reduce the risk of violence – before it occurs‖.

This fits with Tauranga Safe City‘s focus on crime prevention and community
safety, with particular reference to youth issues such as alcohol and drugs, and
violence which includes family and sexual violence and bullying‖. Michael sees the
Teentools website as effective as ―It is a ‗one-stop-shop‘ with information,
resources, links and a directory‖.

The website grew out of a need to keep information accurate: ―In 2007 we printed
a Parent Pack but after two years the information was getting out-of-date. We
decided to set up the website because it enables us to constantly update the
information, and it has more of a magazine-style. While we may reprint the Parent
Pack we will continue with the website. It‘s now a case of both rather than one or
the other‖.

Michael sees the website as supporting other violence prevention and safety
initiatives: ―It‘s a useful platform to profile our past and current activities. It is
another ‗media‘ to convey our social marketing campaigns. We use it as a
reference point for these campaigns and direct people back to it for further
information and advice. As we take on new programmes, we update Teentools‖.

Michael would like to see other

Useful websites
For Teentools - www.teentools.co.nz
For information about World Health
Organisation safe communities -
www.safecommunities.org.nz/
Primary Violence Prevention Network
communities involved with Teentools: ―We
are actively promoting Teentools around
the country and inviting other communities
to become members. Several are already
on board (Manukau City and Taupo). This
is a time and cost effective way to go. Once
we have achieved critical mass we will
develop a ‗landing page‘ for the website
where visitors can select their district to get
localised content along with the generic
information. We also see the potential to
run on-line surveys, competitions and other
Newsletter 2, July 2010 Page 13
interactive media‖. His advice to anyone interested in developing a similar
violence prevention website is ―Join up with Teentools and get the benefits of a
collective approach‖.

Michael explains: ―We work with a wide cross-section of government and NGOs.
Tauranga Safe City is a partnership between Tauranga City Council, Western Bay
of Plenty District Council, the Bay of Plenty DHB, ACC, Police, Ministry of Justice,
Ngai Te Rangi Iwi, and Fulton Hogan. Our approach is based on partnerships
and collaboration‖. Tauranga was designated an International Safe Community in
2008 under the World Health Organisation safe communities programme.

Young People and Sexual Violence

Rape Prevention Education is running a one-day training programme on
The prevalence, dynamics and effects of sexual violence on young people.
The legal aspects of sexual violence.
How to deal with disclosures of sexual violence.
How to approach issues around sexual violence safely and effectively with
young people.
What you can do in your work to promote sexual respect and prevent sexual
violence with young people.
Cultural implications when working with Maori young people.
Services available to support young people and how best to access them.

This workshop is in Auckland and is being offered twice – on Thursday 8th July and
Wednesday 6th October.

For more information email kylie@rapecrisis.org.nz or phone 09 360 4001 ext 207

See www.rapecrisis.org.nz

This is the second newsletter of a primary violence prevention network. This

network is for anyone interested in preventing any sort of violence, or who
works with any group of people. It is our interest in developing approaches that
effectively prevent violence that unites us.
Please forward it to other people you know who are interested.
If you want to be on the mailing list for future newsletters please email
primaryprevention@gmr.net.nz
Participate in the online discussion group at http://community-action.ning.com
For information or with suggested newsletter content please contact
Garth Baker at garth@gmr.net.nz or ph 027 357 7901
Primary Violence Prevention Network Newsletter 2, July 2010 Page 14