The Campaign for Action on Family Violence (the Campaign) is a community-based social marketing initiative that seeks to change the way New Zealanders think and act about family violence. The Campaign, which was established in 2007, takes a positive approach to social change, aiming to inspire opportunities and possibilities for change. It has four core components – mass media, community action, communications and resources, and research and evaluation.
The Community Study on which this paper reports is one aspect of the Campaign’s research and evaluation programme. The Community Study investigated the impact of the Campaign’s mass media television advertising in four New Zealand communities – Christchurch, Porirua, Te Tairawhiti (Gisborne) and Waitakere. The Community Study, undertaken between July and December 2008, was designed to explore the community context into which the Campaign was launched, and determine if and how the Campaign is making a difference to awareness, discussion and action on family violence.
Key Results
The Campaign, supported by a range of other community responses already in place, appears to be challenging community beliefs about family violence being a private matter and an individual responsibility. Participants said clearly that family violence ‘is not okay’, and, for many, turning a blind eye to family violence is also no longer acceptable. The Campaign has expanded people’s understanding of what constitutes family violence and given them the language to talk about it. There is evidence the Campaign has prompted or affirmed help-seeking, and has given people permission to act on concerns they may have about others by checking whether people are okay, or by seeking help or advice from a third party.
The Community Study suggests that, to date, the Campaign has been successful in raising awareness and understanding of family violence, increasing discussion of the issues among family/whānau and friends, and prompting action. There is widespread support for the Campaign to continue and be developed further.