The Ministry of Justice has become the first public sector organisation to receive the DVFREE Tick from Shine, New Zealand’s specialist domestic violence prevention charity. The certification is the second DVFREE Tick awarded in New Zealand with Westpac being the first.
To qualify for the DVFREE Tick, at least 90 percent of managers within an organisation must undergo DVFREE training; the DVFREE Tick criteria allows two years for large employers to reach that threshold.
Working with Shine’s specialist advisers and trainers, the Ministry of Justice has already trained nearly all of its 470 managers and has also provided training for a group of first responders who are able to talk to employees experiencing domestic violence and connect them to specialist help.
The Ministry has also begun an in-person family violence awareness programme for all of its 3,800 employees.
“We are impressed by the level of commitment from the Ministry’s leadership for this programme This is an unprecedented level of face-to-face education about domestic violence done by a New Zealand workplace”, says Shine’s communications manager, Holly Carrington, in a media release.
The Ministry’s chief operating officer Carl Crafar, who was senior executive sponsor for the family violence programme, says employee wellbeing is a high priority for him and his senior colleagues.
“We want to make it clear that the rates of family violence in New Zealand are not acceptable. We know that the prevalence will mean our people will be impacted and we want them to know it’s okay to ask for help and that they will be fully supported when they do so.”
Ministry chief executive, Andrew Bridgman, has urged other public sector organisations to follow its lead.
“The model we have developed with Shine has given our managers tools to deal with some of the issues faced by our people, and the systems we have put in place are already working.”
He says that the DVFREE Tick also is a good foundation for the Ministry’s client-facing work, especially for employees who engage with families affected by violence at home.
