Citation

Short J, Cram F, Roguski M, Smith R, Koziol-McLain J. Int. J. Ment. Health Nurs. 2019; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

Department of Nursing, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc., Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/inm.12641

PMID

31441998

Abstract

Aotearoa New Zealand's high rates of intimate partner violence (IPV) and child abuse and neglect point to a clear need to develop and resource equitable mental health and addiction practices that are responsive both to people experiencing and using violence, and to their families. Current responses to IPV in mental health and addiction settings in Aotearoa New Zealand require a critical re-framing, from an individualistic autonomy and empowerment framework that constrains practitioners' practice, to an understanding IPV as a form of social entrapment. Using a composite story constructed from 28 in-depth New Zealand family violence death reviews, we highlight current problematic practice and discuss alternative responses that could create safer lives for people and families. Re-framing IPV as a form of social entrapment acknowledges it as a complex social problem that requires collective steps to secure people's safety and well-being. Importantly, a social entrapment framework encompasses interpersonal and structural forms of violence, such as the historical and intergenerational trauma of colonization and links to ongoing structural inequities for Māori (the indigenous people of Aotearoa) in Aotearoa New Zealand.

©2019 The Authors International Journal of Mental Health Nursing published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

Language: en

Keywords

New Zealand; intimate partner violence; mental health services; racism; substance addiction services