Family Violence awareness in Aitutaki and Mangaia
Early last week Cook Island Police Officer Sergeant Ellis flew to Aitutaki and Mangaia to help raise awareness of Domestic Violence in the Homes with Domestic Violence
Speaker Jude Simpson and New Zealand Detective Mike Oxnim spent two days in Mangaia raising awareness among the council and leaders of Mangaia , though the team was taken aback before arriving to the island by being told that a community meeting was not needed as Domestic Violence is not an issue in Mangaia .
“No -where in the world does domestic violence in the homes not happen, not even the remotest of islands,” said Sergeant Ellis. The team had a good response from the small group of attendees and were asked to come back to the island in the near future for more meetings on preventing domestic violence.
When the team flew to Aitutaki they were a greeted by a number of people at the meetings who did not know the many types of abuses. Sergeant Ellis told the Times that one woman in particular went through her life not knowing that being shouted at and being called rude names were verbal abuse.
The team was approached by the people of Aitutaki who asked they come back to for a longer stay to start workshops on preventing Domestic Violence.
The team arrived back last Friday and are already planning their next trip under the NZ AID Pacific Domestic Funded Programme. They hope to visit other islands such as Aitu and Mauke. -Tiare Ponini

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