Superu hosts family violence Knowledge Exchange Forum

Superu (the Social Policy Evaluation and Research Unit, formerly the Families Commission) hosted a Knowledge Exchange Forum on family violence on 16 September 2014. A report of the forum is now available on the Superu website.

The aim of Knowledge Exchange Forums hosted by Superu is to bring together experts from policy, research and/or practitioners to identify knowledge gaps around the selected topic. The forums are intended to encourage the use of evidence to address social issues important to New Zealand families and whānau, and provide an opportunity for interaction, exchange and mutual learning among the participants.

The family violence forum was the first of these. Superu brought together 28 participants from universities and government to explore "new ways of addressing family violence." The key question which the Forum was asked to address was "What is missing in New Zealand’s response to family violence?’ Secondary questions were "What are the gaps in our knowledge?" and "What are the research questions that we should address to better inform decision-makers?" The report is organised under three themes:

• Making better use of evidence to inform family violence policies and practices
• Improve workforce development and training
• Government must provide clearer governance and stronger leadership

The short report (5 pages) outlines a range of suggestions made in these areas.