In 1994 Susan
Snively undertook a study for the Department of Social Welfare, The
economic cost of family violence. (For a critique, see here or here)
It makes extreme claims, including one that each year 37,711
women and children in New Zealand need dental treatment as a
result of family violence. It also assumed that all family
violence was by men against women and children.
This appears to be consistent with
the position of Women's Refuge, if we are to judge by events in
the Manawatu not so long ago. In 1997 a Family Violence Symposium
was held in Palmerston North. Participants included the Principal
Family Court Judge. There was "vigorous debate" about
alternative approaches to family violence. The debate led to
mediated discussions between certain groups, resulting in a two-page
statement being issued by Manawatu Men Against Violence.
To quote from the statement: "We
wish to acknowledge the anger and grief felt by the committee
members representing Palmerston North Women's Refuge by being
associated, through their committee involvement, with
presentations which neither they nor the Women's Refuge endorsed
nor accepted."
It is a concern that Palmerston
North Women's Refuge wished to limit presentations to include
only those that they "endorsed and accepted". They
appear to have objected in particular to a play/presentation. The
statement describes this: "Although we realise that the
play and presentation did also reflect the viewpoint that 'men
can be victims too' and 'women can play their part in this' we
believe that at the time it was presented in the spirit of a
contentious and debatable viewpoint ...This viewpoint is
certainly not endorsed by Manawatu Men Against Violence policy or
actual practice".
Susan Snively has
been actively researching family violence more recently also. The
report of a further study she had undertaken for The National
Collective of Independent Women's Refuges was released in May
this year. The Refuge press release described the findings:
…despite
the well targeted and organised services provided by Refuge
current levels of expenditure results in only 11 percent of women
who access Refuge services known to become free from violence.
However the
study found that if Government funding was doubled from $4 to $8
million the number of women and children known to be free from
violence would more than double to 28 percent. This represents a
250 percent improvement in the number of women known to be free
from domestic violence…
Brett Cate, in an
article, "Abuse Facts", in The Press of 24 July
(p.21) referred to it as "an independent report".
This is
stretching credibility, however. Jan Corbett wrote a piece,
"Women's Refuge now a political lobby group", published
in the New Zealand Herald on 25th July this
year. It contained the revealing information that, until last
year, there was a Women's Refuge Foundation. This was "the
fundraising branch made up of high-profile middleclass women such
as economist Suzanne Snively".
Stuart Birks
22 September 2000