Submission: Family violence and sexual violence

Good Shepherd NZ made a submission on the Government’s National Strategy and Action Plans to eliminate family violence and sexual violence in Aotearoa New Zealand.

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We had three main points:

  • Economic harm needs particular emphasis in the strategy and action plans
  • The private sector needs to be identified as a key participant in the eradication of family violence
  • A gender lens needs to be legislated across all areas of policy.

Research: Economic abuse in New Zealand

Good Shepherd New Zealand worked with the specialist research team at Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand to establish an understanding of economic abuse in New Zealand.

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This study considers economic abuse, specifically as a form of intimate partner violence where men perpetrate violence against women, within the New Zealand context. 

The purpose of the report was to contribute to a common understanding of economic abuse and grow the knowledge in this area to support effective, evidence-based policy and practice responses.

Evaluation: Community
finance initiative

May 2018

Malatest International undertook an evaluation of Good Shepherd New Zealand’s no and low interest loans scheme.

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The Community Finance Initiative (CFI) was established in 2014 to provide loans to a group of New Zealanders described as ‘financially vulnerable’ – meaning they did not meet standard bank criteria and had exhausted their Work and Income options. 

The CFI provides access to a fair and affordable line of credit as an alternative to fringe lenders, many of whom charge high interest rates and fees. It is run by Good Shepherd New Zealand and BNZ, in partnership with the Ministry of Social Development, and delivered by community partners like the Salvation Army.

This interim report describes the findings of Part One of the outcomes evaluation based on baseline survey results for 324 participants.

Evaluation: Turning the curve driving programme

Allen + Clarke completed an evaluation of a driver licensing programme delivered by ChangeMakers Refugee Forum and Good Shepherd New Zealand.

Woman by car

The ‘Turning the Curve’ driving programme aimed to enable women from refugee backgrounds living in the Wellington region to obtain their full driving licence, and in doing so, contribute to a range of outcomes. 

The purpose of the evaluation was to inform the programme’s implementation moving forward and to assess the value of the programme to the former refugee women who participated in it, to ChangeMakers, and the funders. The evaluation focused on the programme from July 2015 to June 2017.

Evaluation: No interest loans scheme

The evaluation of a pilot no interest loans scheme, in partnership with Aviva, reports on microfinance as a family violence response.

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Good Shepherd’s No Interest Loan Scheme (NILS) offered no interest loans to people on low incomes for the purchase of essential household goods and services. The NILS model was offered to accredited community organisations, allowing them an adaptable way to provide safe, fair and affordable loans to their individual communities.

Aviva, a specialist family violence agency, was one such organisation. Good Shepherd and Aviva implemented a pilot programme for Aviva’s clients in Christchurch. The Aviva NILS pilot ran from February 2014 to February 2015. This report presents the key findings and recommendations from the evaluation.