Victim abuse groups welcome untraceable portal on website

Tauranga's Shakti Women's Refuge manager Sonia Pathak welcomes The Warehouse's new and untraceable web portal on its website.

An untraceable web portal which allows victims of abuse to seek help secretly has been welcomed by a Bay agency.

The Warehouse and Women's Refuge have collaborated by tapping into technology to provide important information for women seeking to escape violent relationships.

The Warehouse's online shop now has an additional feature - an untraceable web portal.

The portal, a small computer icon at the bottom of each screen, allows users to access details on what to do if in danger, how to get help, necessities to take when leaving, and contact details of who can assist them.

The untraceable web portal has a 'close' button to let users return to The Warehouse site quickly and easily.

Living Without Violence manager Mary Bedford-Jones said the tool would be beneficial.

"I think it's a good idea, a really good idea. It allows women, or others, to look somewhere easily and gives them information and the support they want," she said.

"It's really easy to use, well thought out and not traceable."

Tauranga's Shakti Women's Refuge manager Sonia Pathak said she thought using an online site such as The Warehouse, which was accessed by numerous New Zealanders everyday, to host an untraceable web portal was "a good idea".

She thought having those resources accessible might help women who were looking for help.

The Warehouse Group released a media statement on May 30, which said the shielded site was a place where anyone could seek help or information from the Women's Refuge without the fear of it showing in the browser history.

The Warehouse's executive general manager, Paul Walsh, said the development of the shielded site was a response to a social need through their partnership with the Women's Refuge.

Goodnest.co.nz, a New Zealand service which links various contractors online, has followed suit and added the Women's Refuge untraceable portal to their website pages.

Where to find help:

• Tauranga Women's Refuge, crisis line 541-1911 or 0800-867-33843
• Shakti 0800-742-584
• Tauranga Living Without Violence 577-9297
• Te Tuinga Whanau Support Services Trust 571-0875
• It's Not OK helpline 0800-456-450
• Shine 0508-744-633