It’s not OK campaign Changing the world one community at a time Ministry of Social Development

“There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about.” Margaret Wheatley

Understanding family violence

Scope Partner abuse Child abuse & neglect Elder abuse & neglect Dating violence Violence in the wider family (e.g. by siblings, aunties, cousins; towards parents)

Essential facts Family violence effects all New Zealanders, it happens everywhere Women and children are more often harmed, controlled and fearful, but men can experience family violence too Most family violence is a crime We need everybody to do something

It’s not OK Campaign

What do we want to change? increase knowledge and understanding of family violence increase peoples’ willingness and confidence to give and receive help encourage the involvement of family, neighbours and community members create a social climate that supports behaviour change address the social norms that promote or support the tolerance of family violence

People’s beliefs and actions are influenced by their family, the community or neighbourhood they live in, by our social norms – both positively and negatively Changing the whole world

Our approach Social change focus – intentionality, creating a supportive environment for change – social marketing, 'Selling' a better life, audience focus Partnerships – govt/NGO/public – community development / community mobilisation Complexity – observation, research, learning as you go, flexibility – holding the space and letting go, tight/loose

Intentionality problem definition clear attitude and behaviour change objectives how will they contribute to long-term goal? audience(s) focus often, target audiences for behaviour change are not the ‘at risk’ population exchange/reciprocity why will people think or act differently? plan, measure, adapt – re-plan, measure, adapt

Audience focus What matters are the audience’s needs and wants We must respect their perceptions and their realities Audience research really important… (easy to make assumptions)

What are we offering? Need to recognise that there is a significant cost involved (financial, social, emotional) How can we reduce the costs/barriers of choosing what we are offering? “Exchange/reciprocity”

 It’s not OK defining family violence and what is not OK  It is OK to ask for help showing that change is possible and help is available  It is OK to help encouraging people to take effective action when they know about family violence Development of the Campaign

Activities of the campaign Mass media Community action Resources and tools Communications and media Champions Capacity building in communities Research and evaluation

Community action

Recently, community mobilisation projects have taken a whole-of- community approach: local key messages champions media training community events subgroups within a community Whole of community

Towns and Neighbourhoods

Sports communities Messaging & branding in club rooms, fields Provide information to players, families, sponsors Training for champions Fair play awards Non-violence pledges Leadership programmes and work in schools Club policies CULTURE CHANGE

Businesses and workplaces Talk to people about what family violence is Put posters and helping resources around the workplace Train HR and managers Support for workers (policies and contracts) SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENTS

Ethnic and migrant communities

What works well? “Workforce development” for communities: media training “community change” and “social change” workshops project planning tools “how to help” workshops advocacy tools and resources Increasing capacity

What works well? Increasing capacity

Champions of change Increase knowledge and understanding Show change is possible Challenge cultural and social norms The faces of a social movement – men leading change

More people are seeking help, more readily, earlier than usual We are igniting the potential for helping that exists within families, whanau and communities. Monitoring survey shows: –1 in 3 people taking action (up from 1 in 5 in previous survey) –for Maori, 45% taking action and for Pacific 50% –big shift in the number of people who now believe they could influence someone else’s behaviour – from 57% to 81% Impact of It is OK to help

New kind of helper, the “emerging helper” –not comfortable taking action, but doing so anyway Reporting to Police has doubled - 50,000 before the campaign, 100,000 now It’s not OK has given New Zealanders a language to use −“Are you OK?” a Mason’s handshake Impact of It is OK to help

What we've learnt Be positive, inspiring Tell stories Use champions Be open to new partners Flexibility Research, constant observation Audience focus Let go – be led by local people Light touch support

Go where the magic is

Thank You Any questions? It’s not OK campaign | | Campaign for Action on Family Violence | An initiative of the Taskforce for Action on Violence within Families