Shine was delighted to host Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall and representatives from organisations working to end domestic violence and support victims last Tuesday.
The Duchess of Cornwall is committed to highlighting the issue of domestic violence and lending her support to the work of domestic violence agencies, like Shine. The Duchess hoped her visit would shine a light in the media on domestic violence.
“It’s so important for voices to be heard. When I sat down and listened to some of these tales they were just shocking, shocking. Hopefully today we can up the ante.”
Representatives from the NZ Police and Te Roopu O Te Whanau Rangimarie O Tamaki Makaurau were present, as were Westpac and the Ministry of Justice, early adopters of Shine’s DVREE workplace training to support people experiencing domestic violence.
In a private meeting with the representatives at Shine, The Duchess heard about topics specific to New Zealand including recent changes to legislation, such as the new offence of strangulation and the increased workplace obligations, and culturally responsive services for Maori in responding to domestic violence.
Shine GM Jane Drumm spoke to Radio New Zealand prior to The Duchess of Cornwall’s visit. Jane said The Duchess of Cornwall’s visit represents a huge shift in attitudes towards family violence.
“[Twenty years ago] when I first started family violence was a secret, it was hidden. No one wanted to talk about it. And now we have got a member of the Royal Family, who is not only interested in the UK but actually has made a point of visiting two separate family violence organisations in New Zealand. And is wanting to talk about it and raise awareness as a member of the Royal Family but also as a woman. And I could not have imagined that twenty years ago or even ten years ago.”
You can listen to the Radio New Zealand interview here.
A selection of other online media coverage of the Royal Visit:
Watch a video of the visit on The Herald Online.
Watch TVNZ 1News (Shine visit starts at 1:29)