A Tairāwhiti contingent represented the region’s peer support service for male survivors of sexual abuse at the second annual Male Survivors Aotearoa hui in Nelson last week.
Five members of the Tauawhi Charitable Trust, which provides governance for Te Hōkai: Male Survivors Tairāwhiti, attended the three-day hui along with MSA representatives from across the country.
Day one was focused on operational and practice issues, supporting peer workers in the survivor space.
The major part of the hui was held the next day at Whakatu Marae, where peer workers, managers and governance representatives met alongside national trustees and their tangata whenua sub-committee Te Roopu Tautoko.
Emma Powell, the new chief executive of the Joint Venture for Family and Sexual Violence, attended the hui and Minister for Family and Sexual Violence Marama Davidson joined by Zoom during the day.
It was a good opportunity to hear from the Minister about the newly-released strategy Te Aorerekura and to hear her commitment and ongoing relationship with Male Survivors Aotearoa, for whom the voice of men as survivors has not always been heard in the family and sexual violence sector
Tauawhi trust member and men’s centre coordinator Tim Marshall