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.
TRUE 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 MoreTRUE STORY: One woman shares her experience of psychological abuse from her husband and the struggle she has faced to get safe. She reached out for help but no one believed her. She writes that friends, family, Police and those working in the Family Court do not understand psychological abuse and coercive control and the impact it has on victim-survivors. She hopes that more is done to improve the understanding of and response to psychological abuse so that other victim-survivors don’t go through what she has. She advocates that victim-survivors keep believing their own experiences are real and don’t give up demanding protection from abuse.
Read MoreTRUE STORY:A domestic violence survivor writes an open letter to Prime Minister Jacinda Adern to share her anguish about the way that Oranga Tamariki (New Zealand’s Statutory Care and Protection Agency) abuse, blame and devalue mothers who experience violence and abuse from a partner. She is calling for immediate system change that makes Oranga Tamariki 110% accountable for the way they work and intervene in the lives of whānau. She says “change needs to happen as swiftly as our children are removed. It's not OK! “
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