A LONG WALK FOR JUSTICE

Hi guys, my name is Christine. I am 28 years old (as of November 2013) and am doing my Masters in Theology at Laidlaw College in Henderson, West Auckland. I am not fit AT ALL, but am working on it, and not a big walker usually. But all this has now changed!

 

I am walking to raise awareness about domestic violence in New Zealand. As a peacful and happy country, we have appalling statistics around the number of children that have died due to domestic violence. One in three women experience psychological or physical abuse from their partners in their lifetime. On average 14 women, six men and 10 children are killed by a member of their family every year. Police are called to around 200 domestic violence situations a day – that’s one every seven minutes on average. Police estimate only 18% of domestic violence incidents are reported. At least 74,785 children and young people aged under 17 were present at domestic violence situations attended by police. 84% of those arrested for domestic violence are men; 16% are women. The economic cost of domestic violence was estimated at $1.2 to $5.8 billion per year by economist Suzanne Snively in 1962. In today’s figures, that would be up to $8 billion. In the 2009/10 year there were 3,867 domestic violence cases in the Family Court which each involved at least one child (all these stats are thanks to Women's Refuge over at https://womensrefuge.org.nz/WR/Domestic%20violence/Statistics.htm)

 

THIS IS NOT OK!

 

The prolific nature of this violence has led me to believe that is ingrained as part of our culture and it will take education and awareness to stop this behaviour. So I am walking from the Cape to the Bluff in order to take a stand and, hopefully, help others to do the same. Sponsor me, or donate to the cause in general, and give some love back to those who have had it all taken from them.