Family violence prevention leaders recognised in Queen’s Birthday Honours, Blake Medal
Tue 19 Jun 2018
New Zealand Family Violence Clearinghouse Co-Director Janet Fanslow has been recognised on the Queen's Birthday Honours List. Other family violence ...
New Zealand Family Violence Clearinghouse Co-Director Janet Fanslow has been recognised on the Queen's Birthday Honours List.
Other family violence prevention leaders Judy (Jude) Simpson and William (Bill) O'Brien and sexual violence legal specialist Professor Elisabeth McDonald were also appointed Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM).
On 4 June, the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC) announced the 2018 Queen's Birthday Honours List. The Honours Lists are approved by the Queen on the Prime Minister's advice.
New Zealand Family Violence Clearinghouse Co-Director Associate Professor Janet Fanslow was appointed MNZM for services to the research and prevention of family violence. The DPMC website outlines:
"Dr Janet Fanslow is an Associate Professor in the section of Social and Community Health at the University of Auckland’s School of Population Health. Associate Professor Fanslow has been researching family violence for more than 20 years and her work has been instrumental in proving its high rate of prevalence and exploring means through which it can be prevented.
Her early work in this field, funded by the Health Research Council of New Zealand (HRC), was instrumental in establishing recognition of family violence as a treatable health issue. She was Principal Investigator of the HRC-funded New Zealand Violence Against Women Survey (NZVAWS) in 2003, the largest study of violence against women undertaken in the country with 2,855 women consulted in face-to-face interviews.
She is now co-director of the New Zealand Family Violence Clearinghouse, which collates and publishes data and research on the issue, offering a suite of specialist information to practitioners, researchers and policy workers in the field helping to inform programme delivery and assist with funding applications.
She is the author of a number of reports and guidelines regarding family violence, child and partner abuse, and elder abuse and neglect. Associate Professor Fanslow was appointed to the Expert Advisory Group on Family Violence in 2013."
Ms Judy (Jude) Simpson was appointed for services to the prevention of domestic violence. Jude Simpson facilitates family violence workshops across New Zealand for MSD, Police, District Health Boards and other organisations. She has worked as a family violence prevention advocate since 2005.
Mr William (Bill) O'Brien was appointed for services to victim support and the prevention of domestic violence. Mr O’Brien has been a Trustee and Manager of the Sophie Elliott Foundation since soon after its inception in 2010, previously had a 35 year career with NZ Police, was a key driver in the implementation of the ‘Keeping Ourselves Safe’ programme and has been involved with Victim Support.
Professor Elisabeth McDonald was appointed for services to the law and education. Professor McDonald's areas of focus include the prosecution of rape and feminist legal perspectives. She has published books including ''Real Rape' to Real Justice: Prosecuting Rape in New Zealand' (2011) and 'Feminist Judgments of Aotearoa New Zealand' (2017).
Many others were recognised for service and achievement, including in areas related to family violence. For the first time ever, more women than men received awards (56% women). See the selected media below and the full Queen's Birthday Honours List 2018 for more information.
Previous awards
In the New Year Honours List 2018, Jane Drumm was appointed as a Companion of the Queen's Service Order (QSO) for services to victims of domestic violence. Jane Drumm has provided support for victim of domestic violence for more than 20 years. Since 1997, Ms Drumm has led the violence prevention agency now known as Shine.
Also at New Year 2018, Raewyn Bhana was awarded The Queen's Service Medal for her contribution to initiatives to support people in the South Auckland community. These include Whānau Ora Community Clinics and the Safer Aotearoa Family Violence Prevention Network which she has managed since 2010.
Other leaders in the family, whānau and sexual violence prevention fields to have received awards in recent years include Dr Kim McGregor, appointed Companion of the Queen's Service Order (QSO) in 2014 for services to the prevention of sexual violence.
For background information, see an explanation of the New Zealand Royal Honours system from the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
Blake Medal
The Hon Dame Tariana Turia has been awarded the Blake Medal, an award for leadership achievement in New Zealand, by the Sir Peter Blake Trust. The Blake Medal is given "to acknowledge and celebrate an extraordinary New Zealand leader who has made an exceptional contribution to the country." Dame Turia is the first Māori woman to receive the Blake Medal.
Amongst other achievements, Dame Turia led the development of Whānau Ora, which "puts whānau and families in control of the services they need to work together, build on their strengths and achieve their aspirations." In 2015 Dame Tariana was made a Dame Companion of the Order of New Zealand for services as a Member of Parliament.
Selected media
New Zealand Youth Awards 2018 Recipients Announced, Beehive Press Release, 28.06.2018
'Exceptional and courageous' Dame Tariana Turia honoured, NZ Herald, 08.06.2017
Mentor, law expert honoured, Wairarapa Times Age, 06.06.2018
Honours for serving our Ethnic Communities, Beehive press release, 04.06.2018
More women take Top(p) honours, Beehive press release, 04.06.2018
Māori celebrated in Queen’s Birthday Honours, Beehive press release, 04.06.2018
Police staff recognised in Queen’s Birthday Honours, NZ Police press release, 04.06.2018
Queen's Birthday Honours: Jude Simpson says award overwhelming, Bay of Plenty Times, 04.06.2018
Queen's Birthday Honours: Kristine Bartlett recognised again, NZ Herald, 04.06.2018
Image: Unsplash