Northland police say family harm encompasses more than just violence. It can involve emotional, psychological, and financial abuse. Photo / Supplied
As the lockdown draws on the amount of family harm has crept up, Northland police say.
Fears that lockdown has kept Northlanders holed up in unsafe homes are being countered by police and community organisations,who stress help is at hand.
The current climb in numbers pales in comparison to the record breaking level of family harm reports received in the first 24 hours of last year's lockdown.
Senior Sergeant Haydn Korach, the District Victims manager for Northland police, said that was the biggest single day for family harm reports officers had seen.
"This time it has been a bit more of a slow burn. Family harm started off low when we went into lockdown but it has started creeping up."
Most family harm investigations occurred in central Whangārei (314), ahead of Kaitaia (94), Kaikohe (76), and Kamo (74).
Family harm encompassed abuse within any family relationship, anyone sharing a household – including flatmates – or two people with a close, personal relationship.
Korach said it wasn't just about the "punching, kicking, and strangling".
"Someone could control the bank account, what friends a person's allowed to see, and never hit them once. But it's still having a massive impact on that person's mental health.
"There's a lot more to family harm than just physical violence."
He said it could involve psychological, emotional, financial, as well as sexual abuse; and was not limited to women and children.
Although men were more often the perpetrators of family harm, there were times they were victims too but they tend to report it less, Korach said.
On a whole, the level of violence seen in family harm incidents had declined – but Korach believed this was because police received more reports, and earlier before things escalated.
He said police attended about 2000 reports of family harm in 12 months – across Kaitaia, Kaikohe, Kawakawa, and other parts of the region.
"Some of our staff still have to go to family harm callouts where there's been a lot of violence but some of those we attended were incidents where mum turned off the Wi-Fi so the son was upset."
Korach said those incidents were still included in the police family harm statistics.
"Percentage wise, the level of violence has gone down but it's still very much a factor, and the risk for violence is still so high if we don't attend."
Korach said people were "doing the right thing" by reporting any potential family harm events to police.
"I can't stress that enough. If people feel like their family's in danger or they haven't heard from a sister they usually hear from all the time ... or if you have serious concerns then call us. We'll check on the person's welfare."
New Zealand's chief victims adviser to Government, Dr Kim McGregor, emphasised how lockdown was not a free pass for crimes to be carried out behind the closed doors of family homes.
FAMILY VIOLENCE - WHERE TO GET HELP For anyone experiencing family violence, worried about their own abusive behaviour, or supporting someone else in these situations:
• If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 111
• Shine Helpline – now 24/7: 0508 744 633 OR chat online with Helpline staff at www.2shine.org.nz
• Are You OK - 9am to 11pm, every day: 0800 456 450 www.areyouok.org.nz
For anyone worried about their own abusive behaviour:
• 0800 Hey Bro: 0800 439 276 - 24/7 (for men who feel they're going to harm a loved one or whanau member) www.hewakatapu.org.nz/services/0800-hey-bro
For anyone who experiences sexual harm:
• Safe to Talk – 24/7 (sexual harm helpline): 0800-044-334 OR text 4334 – 24/7. Chat online at www.safetotalk.nz
ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT SOMEONE ELSE? DO NO HARM:
Well-intentioned efforts to communicate with someone living with an abusive partner may end up further endangering them.
Always be careful about communicating with someone at home who you know or suspect is experiencing domestic violence.
Always assume that an abusive partner is hearing or seeing your communication, and avoid alerting them that you know or suspect the abuse.
If you need advice about how to help someone you are concerned about, ring one of the family violence helplines listed above for advice.
If you are supporting someone else, even if it's not safe to be specific about your concerns with them, it is helpful to stay in touch with them, however that may be possible and safe to do.
Staying in touch with people outside of their bubble may help to provide emotional support, distraction, and possibly time when they will be safer from abuse.
ADVICE FOR EMPLOYERS: Employers can also find advice from Shine's DVFREE workplace programme about supporting their employees experiencing family violence during lockdown by clicking here.