Do West Auckland children who witness family violence get an adequate response? An assessment of the current situation with suggested strategies for the future.

The WAVES Trust is the umbrella organisation for all agencies working in family violence in West Auckland. WAVES commissioned research into the response by schools to children who witness FV. It soon became clear that schools have no requirement and limited ability to do this. It also appears that the response by the community would require some rethinking if schools were to be able to collaborate effectively with it. These findings are probably general to most other New Zealand communities.