The ‘I Am Me’ structured programme created in Cambridge to support women who are victim-survivors of family violence was introduced at a community forum in Te Awamutu last week.
Pictured after the ‘I Am Me’ programme meeting in Te Awamutu are, from left, Waipā councillor Clare St Pierre, Kainga Aroha’s Sandra Clarke, Waipā deputy mayor Liz Stolwyk, ‘I Am Me’ programme founder Anne Morrison, Te Awamutu Business Chamber chief executive Shane Walsh, Waipā mayor Susan O’Regan, Te Awamutu’s Vayle Hammond and CommSafe’s Mandy Merson. Photos Viv Posselt
The programme pilot launched in Cambridge late last year, with the first group of 15 women going through an initial eight-week course in early 2025, followed by an informal self-directed second phase.
‘I Am Me’ founder and developer, Violence Free Waipā’s Anne Morrison, said the time was right to take it further afield.
“We are bringing it to the Te Awamutu community, essentially Te Awamutu, Pirongia and Kihikihi,” she said. “We found a few things we wanted to tweak as we’ve gone through the course in Cambridge and now we want women here to get the benefits, to reclaim their mana and start rebuilding their future.”
She told those at the launch that reported cases of family violence in Te Awamutu, Pirongia and Kihikihi were roughly double that listed for Cambridge, despite Cambridge being significantly larger in terms of population. Figures in 2023 listed 677 reported cases in the Te Awamutu area, compared to 368 in Cambridge, and for 2024 listed 745 in the Te Awamutu area, compared to 417 in Cambridge.
Figures for 2025 list 364 reported cases in Te Awamutu, Pirongia and Kihikihi to date.
Programme founder Anne Morrison, left, with Minister for Children/ Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence Karen Chhour. Photo: Michael Jeans
Programme founder Anne Morrison, left, with Waikato police sergeant Gregg Foster and ECLIPSE Family Violence Services founder Debbs Murray. Photo: Viv Posselt
“Family harm reports to police for Te Awamutu, Pirongia and Kihikihi communities combined continue to hover at high rates … with close to two reports on average each day,” Morrison said. “It’s important to understand that these are reported cases only. The New Zealand Crime and Victims Survey released in 2024 suggests that only 24 per cent of interpersonal violence is actually reported to police.
She said New Zealand’s rates of domestic and family violence was among the highest in the OECD, and Māori women in particular were at risk, more likely to be killed by a partner and less likely to seek help.
The programme was developed from the bottom up, built with the support of Cambridge women with lived experience and input from Debbs Murray, founder of the national Eclipse Family Violence Services.
“I looked at other models elsewhere in the country, but they seemed to have been developed along more academic lines,” Morrison said. “That is why we went on to develop our own programme.”
The initial structured phase covers numerous topics over eight weeks, including protection and police safety orders, parenting orders, digital safety, legal aid and navigating the Family Court system, accessing help and building skills, counselling, budgeting, mental health and wellbeing, spiritual and cultural support, and workplace preparation. Thereafter, participants go through a second phase of primarily self-directed support.
The women who went through the Cambridge course all completed it. They said it made them feel inspired, less alone, less judged and more empowered to move forward.
Morrison shared the programme’s aims with those at the community forum and invited Te Awamutu groups and individuals to become involved where they could.
“This is our chance as a community to get behind our women and see opportunities for how we can support them as they move through their healing journey and help break generational cycles of family violence.”
Following this initial meeting, she hopes to get the Te Awamutu, Pirongia and Kihikihi ‘I Am Me’ programme off the ground at the Waipā Women’s Hub in Te Awamutu later this year, ready for an early 2026 start.
‘I Am Me’ founder Anne Morrison speaking in Te Awamutu last week.
