Make it about us : Victim-survivors’ recommendations for building a safer police response to intimate partner violence, family violence and sexual violence in Aotearoa New Zealand

This report discusses some victim-survivors’ experiences of the NZ Police response to intimate partner, family and sexual violence and how that response can be improved. In late 2022, The Backbone Collective and Hohou Te Rongo Kahukura released an anonymous online survey to gather feedback from women, trans and non-binary victim-survivors about how the NZ Police respond to intimate partner, family and sexual violence and how that response can be improved. We heard from 599 diverse victim-survivors throughout Aotearoa who shared powerful accounts of their experiences with NZ Police and practical ideas for improving the police response to make it safer, more effective and better suited to the needs of victim-survivors, including children. While some victim-survivors received mana-enhancing and dignified responses that increased their safety, many said police involvement made them and/or their children less safe. Victim-survivors made practical suggestions to improve the police response regarding staffing and resources, specialist training to address the very real gaps in knowledge and practice in responding to the lived experience of victim-survivors and in particular those who are Māori, Pasifika, ethnic, disabled and/or Takatāpui or Rainbow. The report contains a key findings section and a set of recommendations as suggested by victim-survivors. A summary report is also available.