News and views from The Backbone Collective which advocates for women and children who have experienced violence or abuse and who are enduring further harm from New Zealand's Family Court.
This opinion piece was first published here in The Post on 18 March 2025. The article discusses the urgent need for child specialists with expertise in child development, trauma, family and sexual violence and tikanga to replace the current Lawyer for Child model in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Read MoreTRUE STORY: Backbone regularly hears from women who are accused of being mentally unwell during Family Court proceedings when they raise genuine concerns for the safety of their children while in the care of the abuser. Sometimes these women are portrayed as ‘unfit mothers’ and lose custody of their children. Here, a victim-survivor writes about the horror and heartbreak of losing her children into the full-time care of her abuser.
Read MoreA U.S film documents how the family law and child protection system is failing women and children who are victim/survivors of domestic violence. The issues explored in What Doesn’t Kill Me are as real for the women and children of New Zealand as they are for those in the U.S.
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