Ethnic Communities Violence Prevention programme
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The Ministry of Social Development’s (MSD) Ethnic Communities Violence Prevention (ECVP) work programme aims to address violence within ethnically diverse communities. This programme aligns with MSD’s commitment to Te Aorerekura, focusing on Action 23: Developing prevention programmes for ethnic communities.
The programme focuses on delivering culturally sensitive and responsive approaches to preventing family violence and sexual violence (FVSV) for the ethnically diverse communities of Aotearoa New Zealand. Please note that we use the Ministry for Ethnic Community's definition to describe ‘ethnic communities'.
The ECVP programme uses evidence collected from engagement with ethnically diverse communities during the development of Te Aorerekura – National Strategy to Eliminate Family Violence and Sexual Violence, MSD’s own work, engagement with other Ministries, and key literature and evidence across the years.
To set the foundations of the work programme, the ECVP team engaged in workshops with communities across the motu. This was to better understand FVSV in ethnically diverse communities and the solutions that may work for them.
Community-led programmes
The work programme includes two key community-led projects:
- The South Asian Auckland trials
- The Ethnic Communities Innovation Fund project. Please note that the application process has concluded.
Research and Evaluation
The ECVP programme has a strong research and evaluation focus. This is to contribute to the growing evidence base of the issues related to FVSV in our diverse ethnic communities in Aotearoa New Zealand, as well as identify solutions that seek to address and prevent violence and abuse.
A theory of change and an ongoing monitoring, evaluation, research, learning framework have been developed for the programme. These will help build an evidence-based approach to improve the programme's effectiveness, identify strategies for preventing FVSV in ethnically diverse communities, and inform future efforts.
The work programme will also deliver various qualitative and quantitative research projects to inform culturally responsive prevention and response strategies.
‘Our Culture, Our Pride: No Excuse for Abuse’ – ethnic communities family violence booklet
The ECVP team, in collaboration with the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, Shakti and Te Puna Aonui Ethnic Communities Network, has updated, redesigned, and translated the Our Culture, Our Pride: No Excuse for Abuse booklet into 10 languages: Hindi, Punjabi, Arabic, Dari, Farsi, Simplified Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Tagalog, and English.
This resource raises awareness of different forms of FVSV that can affect ethnically diverse communities and provides information on prevention and accessing support.
You can access and download a digital copy of the booklets in the language that you prefer by clicking on any of the links below:
If you are interested in ordering free hard copies of these booklets for your community, please get in touch with the team at mgc@msd.govt.nz. Please note that there are limited quantities of the hard copies.
Community engagement to initiate the kaupapa
Building on previous government engagements, the ECVP team hosted 14 sessions across the country over July 2023 to better understand FVSV within ethnically diverse communities. Five engagement sessions were held online and nine were in-person, in the following regions:
- Auckland x2
- Christchurch
- Dunedin
- Hamilton
- Invercargill
- Napier
- Palmerston North
- Wellington
During these engagements, representatives discussed various forms and dynamics of FVSV impacting ethnically diverse communities on both interpersonal and systemic levels. These conversations ensured that communities played an active role in shaping the programme's direction, while also helping MSD establish partnerships across the country.
