The women’s refuges in the news; And the funding crisis
I have often found it hard to believe women’s refuges would stand and say, “Women are only victims” because women’s refuges often take in women who are part of the problem. They work closely with CYFS and I have known of board members being on both boards.
Sometimes women’s refuges take children away from the mothers and place them in CYFS care. In more recent years women’s refuges have made programmes that mothers must attend to help them be better parents. The refuges are consistent in putting the needs of the child as important and sometimes they even ask the father to take custody of the children.
Mothers are also referred to addiction centres for treatment (when needed) and some programmes allow the mothers to keep their children while in treatment. These programmes have been funded through women’s government spending plus other donations from business and even judges. These programmes are also available to fathers and their children. Both sexes can share the facilities in programmes well developed.
Always there is discussion between organisations as how best to deal with family problems and research, networking + programmes is seen as a positive way forward.
In one day we have 2 spokespersons for women’s refuges in the news. One is for damage done to the refuge ……
“Someone has come in and turned the fire hose on full bore.
“We think it may have been an act of revenge by a woman who stayed here last week.
“We make no apologies that when women stay here they have to join our programmes about the care and protection of their children.
“Some women we have to tell to help themselves so they can help their children.”
And the other is over the murder of three-year-old Nia Glassie.
Rotorua leader Merepeka Raukawa-Tate said: “Maori women in particular need to look at who they are spending their days with, who they are sleeping with. Some lead crap lives, are crap parents and are with crap partners.”
I have heard from refuge leaders, menz groups are also part of the solution.
CYFS has connected with men’s groups especially for funding towards aiding male youth and safe houses for men have opened in the past few years which take referrals from the police and other organisations.
A problem shared is a problem halved and I think that even though we have had decades of bias towards men and fathers, men and women need to bond together to come up with the answers and implement the solution.
Times are tough with the crisis of the economy and our new government is looking to cut costs where they can. One of these areas is prison where males are the greater amount of inmates. The women’s prisons have already been upgraded while the menz are in the process. So it is the menz who will miss out.
Corrections Minister Judith Collins has slammed the “extravagance” of the previous Government’s prison building programme and is looking at using pre-fabricated modular units to slash construction costs by more than half.
As an example of Labour’s extravagant spending, she cited the $380 million Spring Hill Corrections Facility in the Waikato which worked out at around $660,000 per cell to build once all costs were taken into account.
“You can buy two houses for that. You’ve got to do better than that.
Another area to receive funding cuts will be the community sector. The law centres are just one area cuts will be made.
There is a funding crisis looming at 27 community law centres across the country: the government is cutting funding by 44 per cent across the board in the year ahead.
The women’s groups will most likely fight to keep funding coming into the community for women and children as they are in the UK.
Councils face legal threat over ‘failures to help women suffering rape and domestic violence’
More than 100 local authorities are to be threatened with legal action over claims they have failed to provide specialised services to women victims of rape, domestic violence and abuse.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission said it will write to the targeted authorities within a month asking them to explain why they were not providing adequate services, as required by law, and will take further action against those failing to give a satisfactory response.
‘This is a call to action for everybody who cares about this issue, and a firm reminder for those in local and national Government with the power to make a difference.
‘But for those councils who continue to ignore the dire need to shore up services and plug the gaps, we also have a stark reminder – the commission is ready and willing to use its enforcement powers.’
It would also be in men’s interest to pressure leaders to keep men’s issues at the community level alive and well.
