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Lawyers have crucial role against domestic violence BY CRAIG STEPHEN
Understanding the triggers
A Bay of Plenty barrister says lawyers have a crucial role to play in the campaign against domestic violence, and understanding the causes and effects can prove vital. Megan Leaf is one of the faces of a video project coordinated by It’s not OK, a national campaign run by the Ministry of Social Development to prevent family violence through changing attitudes and behaviour. Local community campaigns involve a range of people as “champions” who speak up about family violence issues and who are trained to provide initial support to people affected by family violence. Megan is a champion in her home town, Te Puke.
She says while lawyers in New Zealand have a strong awareness of protection orders and all the legal elements around domestic violence, many don’t understand the triggers. “The thing that blew me away was that I didn’t have enough understanding of the reasons why people go back to violent relationships and the effects it has on children, and the level you have to go to to try to stop it reoccurring. I just didn’t understand it and even though it doesn’t affect what you do, in terms of getting a protection order, for example, it does affect how you treat the person. “I haven’t come from a privileged background by any means, but I have come from a background with no emotional abuse, or domestic violence relationships,
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