Rather than focusing on the individual offender only Te Whare Ruruhau o Meri’s Effective Intervention programme addressed recidivist domestic family violence by including female victims, tamariki (children) and the male offenders. [14] This approach was based on the premise the interventions need to occur within the whanau as a unit and treats the offender as but one component of the overall family that is in need of healing.
Three streams were created for the offenders, female victims and tamariki respectively.
The programme for the male offender consisted of two hour session’s culminating in a a weekend wananga that provided the opportunity for the offender to be fully immersed in marae process. The programme’s philosophy centered around providing an environment that empowered their self-development through whanaungatanga, self-reflection, understanding the context of their history of violence, developing non-violent strategies to resolve tensions and achieve a break in the abuse cycle.
The Female victims stream was of a similar 12 week arrangement to the males expect it was completly voluntary and did not culminate in a weekend wananga.
The third of the whanau streams focused in the tamariki of the parents. One on one and sibling counseling was arranged that culminated in a school holiday programme at the closure of the course. The school holiday programme provided opportunities for the tamariki to develop self-esteem and confidence around other children who shared an experience of abuse.
Results
A number of qualitative and quantitative results were noted.
Qualitative Results
Qualitatively participants perceived the programme to have
- Stopped violent offending
- Taught prosocial ways of communicating
- Had positive effects on their whanau
Quantitative Results
The New Zealand Police provided follow up data of the of the male offender participants for the following nine month period. Of the 41 participants more than half had no subsequent convictions. Of those 20 who did receive a conviction the overwhelming majority (n=15) were not do with domestic violence. The police were praising of the programme as only 5 of the 41 offenders have reoffended through domestic violence and only 3 of the 41 were back in jail.
Maori Cultural Values
Te Whare Ruruhau o Meri’s programme reflected core Maori values of whanaungatanga, whanau, manaakitanga and aroha in its design and implementation. For example whanau, a value central to the programme was reflected in its approach to the issue of domestic violence as a whole of familiy issue with the design aimed toward achieving a a healthy and functional whanau unit. Whanaungatanga was achieved in reconnecting the participants with te ao Maori through marae immersion and its protocol of non-abusive korero. Such an approach is geared toward creating a secure cultural identity that can lead to increased levels of confidence and self-esteem. Maanakitanga was reflected through the participants sense of being welcome guests in the programmed environment.
[15] ‘He Purongo Arotake: Te Whare Ruruhau o Meri Evaluation Report’ found at tpk.govt.nz.