Excellent article, Katrina. I could not agree more. Refuge have never not had a funding struggle. Governments have for a long time only covered about 50% of their costs, and women volunteers not only set it up, but continued for decades to help keep it going on very little money. I read somewhere on a NZ site about these men in refuges demanding and getting their own showers, and another woman who had stayed at refuge saying a man came into her bedroom at night where she was with her kids, and she had to leave the room to him rather than risk him assaulting her. His voice alone sent shivers down her spine. But their financial situation today I would say is definitely down to trans money and trans-friendly public money. I think we need a campaign to establish that part of providing for women's sex-based right to non-discrimination, needs to be the right to female-only refuges, rape crisis, public bathrooms, sports, prisons, hospital wards, etc. The fact that, as you report, "there are no Rape Crisis Centres and Women’s Refuges only for women in New Zealand anymore", suggests this move is well past needed.
I agree that refuges and sexual assault services should be female only. But in the meantime before we transform our society and get back Women only refuge and sexual assault support spaces do you suggest that the women of New Zealand will be better off with no government funded refuges or sexual assault support? Are you going to be getting out there and doing voluntary unpaid support full-time? If not then I suggest you, like me, start supporting the female workers who are trying to do their best in the system we were left by Marama Davison and stop ill-informed ranting that is quite obviously incorrect. (I’m not talking about Ang Jury who I think should be trying to make waves.)
I would suggest no such thing. I wrote a PhD on the victims and survivors of domestic violence in NZ, including a small study of how Women's Refuge got set up. Still, that was before they started allowing men in, and you're right, I don't know how this change has been brought about. I can only surmise based on the evidence.
Once a charity/NGO gets close to government, receiving funding, invited to “targeted engagement” and “consultations with communities” etc - there is no way it will survive without being in ideological lockstep with the civil service which is now an ideological monolith. Also, the “Rainbow” charities and activists who are also cosy with government (and in government) would never stand for a women-only service provider being funded. And NZ is so small women-only services and charities not already captured have quietly folded rather than take on our captured civil service and institutions.
I think we are among a number of small jurisdictions that are just so completely captured by genderists and other illiberal leftists we are not getting rid of them any time soon even while larger countries change course. It may be we will have to fund our own spaces and services and build from scratch, and face down the activists and law-fare which will inevitably arise when anything is publicised.
Also, having just read James Esses’ latest Substack about a completely captured Council in the UK I’m reminded that even in “terf island” with Forstater and the Supreme Court ruling, true believers within government and institutions are defiant. They at least have JK Rowling’s legal fund over there, albeit any cases taken will still require individuals and small groups of women to upend their lives. It will be interesting to see how it plays out over there, but like I said I think our trajectory will be more like smaller poorer countries.
Thanks - I've just gone and read James's Substack piece. Yes, here in NZ we may have to wait until we simply can't NOT follow the changes bigger countries are making.
You’re reading something from overseas but not the New Zealand sources for your own blog post. You might as well be a Trans activist following a global movement.
You’re right about JKR but we still have a long way to go here, it’s all so deeply riddled everywhere and it’s still being taught in many schools from a young age. Insanity is proving difficult to remove.
We seem unable to come up with anything new so we better hope the reckoning in other countries includes steps to stop this type of ideological takeover again. Our history doesn’t bode well, we went full tilt into neo liberalism - etc. Worst case scenario we will swing into social conservatism. Genderism is a type of sexism after all and full tilt libertines who need a cause often jump ship into religion (which Genderism also is). The NZ psyche doesn’t give me any optimism and Māori won’t save us as the leadership is also captured by genderism, & US style CRT.
I won't be surprised if we have a strong swing back into a type of strict conservatism - in fact, I'm half expecting it as an inevitable reaction to the ideological nuttery that has been forced on us. If/when it happens, it will totally be on those brainless ideologues who overreached at every opportunity.
We’ll have a popular rightwing populist party in no time, and the usual suspects will be on their fainting couches, and it will be *entirely their fault* . Trump, Farage, Le Pen etc are the result of the uselessness of the establishment Left, the abandonment of ordinary working people.
So good to be brave and forceful about closing down Services and starting again when you (and K.Biggs) are not the vulnerable women who are actually are using the existing services, which as many women correctly point out, we’re set up by females for females. Bill Clark has spent years on the board of Dunedin OCASA and also doesn’t deserve big mouth fantasising about what took place. We need investigative journalists or people with a very sharp approach to confusing situations to explain what has and is going on
Fun fact. In that interview that Ang gave with Sean Plunket (or it may have been another one), she said that women's refuge had been admitting men who identified as women "for years" and that "there had never been any problems, none at all." In the comments section underneath, there were several women who claimed that they had been threatened with eviction from women's refuge by women's refuge for complaining about the behavior of said men who had "never created a problem." - problems like peeing on their things and openly watching them in the communal bathroom in a creepy manner, and wandering around communal areas with their very obviously male genitals exposed. .
Around six percent of the people in Jails are original, genuine females, and many are there for fighting back against their abusers, usually genuine, original males.
May love be with us all. Please extend women the merit and respect they are due.
For some years I donated to the refuge's 'Safe Nights' programme ($20 a night for accomodation for women requiring respite) and in Wellington donated a painting of mone in 2014 (for auction to raise funds). But when in recent years ...post 2019 when other women's groups began accepting ( as did N.C.W.) any man who 'identifies' as a 'woman' into women space I stopped donating and wrote a clear explanation to the Refuge as to why. I copied my letter ti fbk and got from Refuge 'we put abused men/ trans into motels' reply and online very very nasty trolling...must have blocked dozens. In my professuonal practice in education and in MH advocacy I only came across a couple of cases of abused ( physicslly and psychologically) males. Official stats are 1 in 8 for men, 1 in 3 for women.
I did the same to Wgtn Women's Refuge in 2021. This is the reply I got back:
"thank you for your email and for letting us know that you won’t be supporting Refuge in future.
In our experience, cisgender women staying in safe houses with transgender women or non-binary people do not feel there is any threat to their safety. Women’s Refuge recognises transgender women as women, and welcomes all women into its services."
I'm also concerned about the children who are there with their mums. Double, double vicitmisation.
Thank you for this piece, Katrina. I have volunteered for rape crisis centres in the past as well as for domestic violence shelters and have always given of my money, time and skills. Any organisation which puts mentally ill mens fetishes ahead of women's needs, will in future get nothing from me.
Well, looky here, people! Our thoughts may be transmitting.
An acknowledgement in the press today. From the New Zealand Herald, a paper that has recently come under new ownership, which says it is seeking both sides of the story.
Not just family violence: New report highlights NZ femicide crisis, exposes unaccounted victims
"A powerful new report reveals far more women and girls are dying from systemic, preventable violence in New Zealand than previously acknowledged – and the national response still falls short.....
“Femicide: Deaths Resulting from Gender-Based Violence in Aotearoa New Zealand” is a report by the Family Violence Death Review subject matter expert group, released this morning by the National Mortality Review Committee, He Mutunga Kore.
Experts say femicide must be recognised as a national crisis and a human rights violation, urging urgent government action and a shift from reactive responses to systemic prevention....."
Well! Maybe The Herald is starting to show its new colours already. I did groan at 'colonisation' being trotted out as one of the causes of the higher number of Maori women who suffer from violence perpetrated upon them, though. I don't think its colonisation that lifts a bloke's hand and punches and chokes a woman - but devolving to excuses seems to be more popular than just demanding personal responsibility and accountability.
I think they are so far off the mark, these experts, it's abisimal.
There are generations of 'removed' children in the Maori population.
Very similar treatment to the institutional residential schools and programs, in Australia and Canada. Removal from family.
A number of years ago, there were some very revealing articles on the damage this has done, particularly to the men involved.
I was looking at a First Nation Canada site recently, and a woman said the hardest thing to lose from all this abuse has been that they do not know how to be parents.
Sir Trudy King did a similar thing to ALL of New Zealand. For decades, we were ostracized from natural and loving childcare because of his directives for parenting. The Plunket Society was set up to implement these rules made by an eugenicist.
He is however labeled as a New Zealand hero, even though many Iwi damn him to hell!
the Stuff article is careful not to mention what any of the conflict was about, of course, don’t scare the horses. I was working in a similar space in Dunedin at the time, and heard nothing about it. All very hush hush. The funding increase is so obvious though right?
Rape Crisis Centres in NZ can no longer obtain government funding unless they provide services to both males and females. (Thanks to M Davison). Do readers believe women would be better off with no services at all? Are those writing and publishing this post volunteering and raising money to provide non-govt funded women only services? (Edinburgh had JKRowling-NZ doesn’t). Bill Clark is an easy and totally mistaken target. Hamish McNeilly’s blog is strongly pro-the trans activists’ attempted transformation of Dunedin rape crisis not opposed to it - unfortunately those writing this blog post have misinterpreted McNeilly’s reticence. This is a complicated story and those currently working in Dunedin are owed apologies for this Substack mash-up.
Given the example of the SPCA it is obvious that when Government funding gets in the mix, control goes out to them and the organisation changes quite quickly.
1080 is one instance, the SPCA was opposed, and now they are accepting of the mass and pain full killing of all feral animals by helicopter drop of this poison....
Excellent article, Katrina. I could not agree more. Refuge have never not had a funding struggle. Governments have for a long time only covered about 50% of their costs, and women volunteers not only set it up, but continued for decades to help keep it going on very little money. I read somewhere on a NZ site about these men in refuges demanding and getting their own showers, and another woman who had stayed at refuge saying a man came into her bedroom at night where she was with her kids, and she had to leave the room to him rather than risk him assaulting her. His voice alone sent shivers down her spine. But their financial situation today I would say is definitely down to trans money and trans-friendly public money. I think we need a campaign to establish that part of providing for women's sex-based right to non-discrimination, needs to be the right to female-only refuges, rape crisis, public bathrooms, sports, prisons, hospital wards, etc. The fact that, as you report, "there are no Rape Crisis Centres and Women’s Refuges only for women in New Zealand anymore", suggests this move is well past needed.
'All genders' is such a win for women - not!
🙄
I agree that refuges and sexual assault services should be female only. But in the meantime before we transform our society and get back Women only refuge and sexual assault support spaces do you suggest that the women of New Zealand will be better off with no government funded refuges or sexual assault support? Are you going to be getting out there and doing voluntary unpaid support full-time? If not then I suggest you, like me, start supporting the female workers who are trying to do their best in the system we were left by Marama Davison and stop ill-informed ranting that is quite obviously incorrect. (I’m not talking about Ang Jury who I think should be trying to make waves.)
I would suggest no such thing. I wrote a PhD on the victims and survivors of domestic violence in NZ, including a small study of how Women's Refuge got set up. Still, that was before they started allowing men in, and you're right, I don't know how this change has been brought about. I can only surmise based on the evidence.
There was a combination of change from above and change from below.
Once a charity/NGO gets close to government, receiving funding, invited to “targeted engagement” and “consultations with communities” etc - there is no way it will survive without being in ideological lockstep with the civil service which is now an ideological monolith. Also, the “Rainbow” charities and activists who are also cosy with government (and in government) would never stand for a women-only service provider being funded. And NZ is so small women-only services and charities not already captured have quietly folded rather than take on our captured civil service and institutions.
I think we are among a number of small jurisdictions that are just so completely captured by genderists and other illiberal leftists we are not getting rid of them any time soon even while larger countries change course. It may be we will have to fund our own spaces and services and build from scratch, and face down the activists and law-fare which will inevitably arise when anything is publicised.
You may be right that women will have to start again. The 'enemies' we'll have will basically be the same enemies of old.
Also, having just read James Esses’ latest Substack about a completely captured Council in the UK I’m reminded that even in “terf island” with Forstater and the Supreme Court ruling, true believers within government and institutions are defiant. They at least have JK Rowling’s legal fund over there, albeit any cases taken will still require individuals and small groups of women to upend their lives. It will be interesting to see how it plays out over there, but like I said I think our trajectory will be more like smaller poorer countries.
Thanks - I've just gone and read James's Substack piece. Yes, here in NZ we may have to wait until we simply can't NOT follow the changes bigger countries are making.
You’re reading something from overseas but not the New Zealand sources for your own blog post. You might as well be a Trans activist following a global movement.
You’re right about JKR but we still have a long way to go here, it’s all so deeply riddled everywhere and it’s still being taught in many schools from a young age. Insanity is proving difficult to remove.
Great piece Katrina.
We seem unable to come up with anything new so we better hope the reckoning in other countries includes steps to stop this type of ideological takeover again. Our history doesn’t bode well, we went full tilt into neo liberalism - etc. Worst case scenario we will swing into social conservatism. Genderism is a type of sexism after all and full tilt libertines who need a cause often jump ship into religion (which Genderism also is). The NZ psyche doesn’t give me any optimism and Māori won’t save us as the leadership is also captured by genderism, & US style CRT.
I won't be surprised if we have a strong swing back into a type of strict conservatism - in fact, I'm half expecting it as an inevitable reaction to the ideological nuttery that has been forced on us. If/when it happens, it will totally be on those brainless ideologues who overreached at every opportunity.
We’ll have a popular rightwing populist party in no time, and the usual suspects will be on their fainting couches, and it will be *entirely their fault* . Trump, Farage, Le Pen etc are the result of the uselessness of the establishment Left, the abandonment of ordinary working people.
Indeed it will be, Katrina. We need to avoid doing what was done to us. We should do as we would be done by.
So good to be brave and forceful about closing down Services and starting again when you (and K.Biggs) are not the vulnerable women who are actually are using the existing services, which as many women correctly point out, we’re set up by females for females. Bill Clark has spent years on the board of Dunedin OCASA and also doesn’t deserve big mouth fantasising about what took place. We need investigative journalists or people with a very sharp approach to confusing situations to explain what has and is going on
Fun fact. In that interview that Ang gave with Sean Plunket (or it may have been another one), she said that women's refuge had been admitting men who identified as women "for years" and that "there had never been any problems, none at all." In the comments section underneath, there were several women who claimed that they had been threatened with eviction from women's refuge by women's refuge for complaining about the behavior of said men who had "never created a problem." - problems like peeing on their things and openly watching them in the communal bathroom in a creepy manner, and wandering around communal areas with their very obviously male genitals exposed. .
That sounds about right. The famous "never been any problems" line, whilst at the same time shutting down any complaints about problems.
Around six percent of the people in Jails are original, genuine females, and many are there for fighting back against their abusers, usually genuine, original males.
May love be with us all. Please extend women the merit and respect they are due.
For some years I donated to the refuge's 'Safe Nights' programme ($20 a night for accomodation for women requiring respite) and in Wellington donated a painting of mone in 2014 (for auction to raise funds). But when in recent years ...post 2019 when other women's groups began accepting ( as did N.C.W.) any man who 'identifies' as a 'woman' into women space I stopped donating and wrote a clear explanation to the Refuge as to why. I copied my letter ti fbk and got from Refuge 'we put abused men/ trans into motels' reply and online very very nasty trolling...must have blocked dozens. In my professuonal practice in education and in MH advocacy I only came across a couple of cases of abused ( physicslly and psychologically) males. Official stats are 1 in 8 for men, 1 in 3 for women.
Are the circumstances women and men are abused in largely different to each other, or similar?
I did the same to Wgtn Women's Refuge in 2021. This is the reply I got back:
"thank you for your email and for letting us know that you won’t be supporting Refuge in future.
In our experience, cisgender women staying in safe houses with transgender women or non-binary people do not feel there is any threat to their safety. Women’s Refuge recognises transgender women as women, and welcomes all women into its services."
I'm also concerned about the children who are there with their mums. Double, double vicitmisation.
as usual an extremely well written piece by Kitrina, many thanks
Thank you for this piece, Katrina. I have volunteered for rape crisis centres in the past as well as for domestic violence shelters and have always given of my money, time and skills. Any organisation which puts mentally ill mens fetishes ahead of women's needs, will in future get nothing from me.
Well, looky here, people! Our thoughts may be transmitting.
An acknowledgement in the press today. From the New Zealand Herald, a paper that has recently come under new ownership, which says it is seeking both sides of the story.
Not just family violence: New report highlights NZ femicide crisis, exposes unaccounted victims
"A powerful new report reveals far more women and girls are dying from systemic, preventable violence in New Zealand than previously acknowledged – and the national response still falls short.....
“Femicide: Deaths Resulting from Gender-Based Violence in Aotearoa New Zealand” is a report by the Family Violence Death Review subject matter expert group, released this morning by the National Mortality Review Committee, He Mutunga Kore.
Experts say femicide must be recognised as a national crisis and a human rights violation, urging urgent government action and a shift from reactive responses to systemic prevention....."
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/not-just-family-violence-new-report-highlights-nz-femicide-crisis-exposes-unaccounted-victims/JLP43X7XEFD7VFD7S4F24AJRVI/
Well! Maybe The Herald is starting to show its new colours already. I did groan at 'colonisation' being trotted out as one of the causes of the higher number of Maori women who suffer from violence perpetrated upon them, though. I don't think its colonisation that lifts a bloke's hand and punches and chokes a woman - but devolving to excuses seems to be more popular than just demanding personal responsibility and accountability.
It is somewhere below, Katrina, on this most marvelous site.
It's possible to enlarge the installation and then click on anything, and a story/description will come up
May love be with us all.
The Witness Blanket
https://humanrights.ca/resource-guide/canadas-residential-schools
https://witnessblanket.ca/stories
I do agree with you.
I think they are so far off the mark, these experts, it's abisimal.
There are generations of 'removed' children in the Maori population.
Very similar treatment to the institutional residential schools and programs, in Australia and Canada. Removal from family.
A number of years ago, there were some very revealing articles on the damage this has done, particularly to the men involved.
I was looking at a First Nation Canada site recently, and a woman said the hardest thing to lose from all this abuse has been that they do not know how to be parents.
Sir Trudy King did a similar thing to ALL of New Zealand. For decades, we were ostracized from natural and loving childcare because of his directives for parenting. The Plunket Society was set up to implement these rules made by an eugenicist.
He is however labeled as a New Zealand hero, even though many Iwi damn him to hell!
Great piece, Katrina and what a situation!!
Have cross posted
https://dustymasterson.substack.com/p/we-women-will-not-make-it-easy-for
Dusty
the Stuff article is careful not to mention what any of the conflict was about, of course, don’t scare the horses. I was working in a similar space in Dunedin at the time, and heard nothing about it. All very hush hush. The funding increase is so obvious though right?
It's hard not to make that correlation.
Rape Crisis Centres in NZ can no longer obtain government funding unless they provide services to both males and females. (Thanks to M Davison). Do readers believe women would be better off with no services at all? Are those writing and publishing this post volunteering and raising money to provide non-govt funded women only services? (Edinburgh had JKRowling-NZ doesn’t). Bill Clark is an easy and totally mistaken target. Hamish McNeilly’s blog is strongly pro-the trans activists’ attempted transformation of Dunedin rape crisis not opposed to it - unfortunately those writing this blog post have misinterpreted McNeilly’s reticence. This is a complicated story and those currently working in Dunedin are owed apologies for this Substack mash-up.
I wrote this blogpiece, and I give no apology for it. Spin that however you want, babe.
Given the example of the SPCA it is obvious that when Government funding gets in the mix, control goes out to them and the organisation changes quite quickly.
1080 is one instance, the SPCA was opposed, and now they are accepting of the mass and pain full killing of all feral animals by helicopter drop of this poison....