WUNRN

http://www.wunrn.com

Direct Link to Full 150-Page New Zealand Report:

ReportonOwnershipThecultureofCoolpeerreviewedrcircV2.pdf

http://www.neww.eu/en/news/news/1,5402,1.html

NEW ZEALAND - EARLY PREVENTION OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE - YOUTH

The underlying thesis of this project is that men’s violence towards women is preventable. If young people are more informed about these practices they will be more able to resist them in their own relationships.

The practices of dominance and entitlement that emerge from social and cultural pressures can no longer be considered “natural” or “just the way things are” for men and women. Young people’s actions in relationships become informed conscious choices.

The intention of this research is that the knowledge uncovered can be employed to construct new curricula in schools and to inform existing curricula which work towards the early intervention and the prevention of domestic violence. It is hoped that these curricula will involve critically reflecting on our cultural heritage - questioning historical and current media representations and other institutional practices that promote ways of being which work against ethical and just behaviour in boyfriend/girlfriend relationships - and promoting egalitarian relationships which appear to protect women from men’s domestic violence.

This research demonstrates that qualitative research of this nature can provide important knowledge about the relationship between culture and violence and can usefully inform early intervention and prevention practices.