Good Shepherd NZGood Shepherd NZPublications & Insights
This report and its companion resources shine light on women’s experiences of economic abuse and the long-term financial and economic consequences of family violence.
Good Shepherd New Zealand seeks to raise awareness and improve understanding of economic abuse and harm from family violence.
To support these efforts, we interviewed people who experienced this form of abuse and analysed data from our services and from Women’s Refuge.
This report examines the difference we’re making for people working through financial harm and hardship.
The report analyses the experiences and perspectives of over 100 Good Shepherd clients. The results of this research show that, together with our partners, Good Shepherd is helping people navigate significant challenges and improve their financial wellbeing — and we’re on course to continue making a sustained positive impact. Thank you to our amazing clients for contributing your feedback to this research. We will use what we learn to continue improving our services.
Read what we got up to in July 2023 – June 2024. You can find out about our work and impact on the two biggest issues for women and girls in New Zealand – poverty and family violence, and the issues that stem from those.
Our Year in Review reflects on the work we’ve done to reduce harm while providing people with new opportunities. It also looks at our efforts to drive and support system change to help stop harm before it happens and reduce the impact of harm where is has occurred.
Evaluation of Good Shepherd NZ specialist Economic Harm Support Service.
Good Shepherd NZ’s specialist Economic Harm Support Service was developed and piloted for 12 months from November 2021. It aimed to:
This evaluation of the first 12 months includes qualitative and quantitative data. It includes case file data, assessment notes, monthly reports on debt levels and types of support provided and stakeholder interviews.
Read our submission advocating to ensure our clients and their financial wellbeing have been considered in the proposed Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act (CCCFA) buy now, pay later (BNPL) amendments.
We are concerned that the $600 threshold has only been considered from a commercial perspective, not a social or ethical one.
Most people who approach us for financial support have several BNPL accounts in use, and they are often used to purchase essential items in the short term. It creates longer-term issues when several payments become due at the same time, and the lack of affordability checks from some services leads to missed payments and subsequent penalties.
Excluding people borrowing less than $600 ensures the most vulnerable New Zealanders, who have very few alternatives to purchase essential items, have none of the protections provided to people who will be borrowing more than $600.
The convenience and value of BNPL for middle-income New Zealanders, who have alternative credit options such as mortgages, personal loans and credit cards, is based on a business model that is subsidised by people in hardship continuing to pay significant default fees.
The harm that is caused by unmanageable debt was the reason affordability assessments were strengthened by the Government in recent years, and these regulations should be extended to BNPL and other new forms of credit where harm can be caused by financial penalties being imposed on consumers.
Read what we got up to in July 2021 – June 2022 and discover how we supported more people across Aotearoa New Zealand than ever.
Our Year in Review reflects on a record volume of enquiries into our financial wellbeing programmes and the work that was prioritised to continue to grow and adapt to meet the emerging needs of the women and whānau of Aotearoa.
Key international developments in response to economic abuse over 12 – 18 months across six participating countries: Australia, Canada, Israel, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom.
This report outlines key international developments in response to economic abuse over 12 – 18 months across six participating countries: Australia, Canada, Israel, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom.
It highlights the actions governments, corporations and other community organisations are taking to make a difference for victim-survivors of this lesser-known form of family violence.
This snapshot underlines a shift to support better outcomes for New Zealanders experiencing economic harm.
A lack of financial independence, and dealing with the impact of economic harm, are cited as key reasons people stay in violent relationships or are unable to overcome the enduring effects of abuse and establish a life free from family violence.
Family violence is pervasive and deeply damaging to whānau and communities across Aotearoa. It is one of our greatest shames accounting for more than 40% of a frontline police officer’s time and affecting one in two New Zealand women over the course of their lifetime.
With statistics like these, it is not possible for one part of our community to effect change by itself – it requires a societal shift driven by collaboration across businesses, government, social services and others. Tackling economic harm is a critical component of this shift, and there are steps we can take towards this in our roles as employers, policymakers and providers of goods and services for New Zealanders.
This snapshot includes the type of work and progress being made, and the role organisations and individuals can play in eliminating family violence in Aotearoa New Zealand.
A brief insight into the issues observed in the first six-months of our Economic Harm Support Service pilot.
This Good Shepherd New Zealand interim report provides a brief insight into the issues observed in the first six months of our Economic Harm Support Service pilot. It includes:
8 March 2022
In this joint letter with FinCap, Christians Against Poverty, Ngā Tāngata Microfinance and more, we call on MPs to support changes to the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act (CCCFA) to help protect whānau from spiral debt.
No whānau in Aotearoa should end up facing serious stress, losing their most valuable belongings or going without kai because a lender is collecting on a loan that was always going to be unaffordable.
This open letter to New Zealand’s MPs backs safe lending laws that bring financial wellbeing to our communities and asks all parties to support the 2021 reform of the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act (CCCFA).