The Whānau Protect service is funded by the Ministry of Justice (the Ministry), managed by the National Collective of Independent Women’s Refuges (NCIWR) and delivered by Women’s Refuges around the country as local providers. The service is a ‘remain at home’ model of safety and security for victims of family violence who are at high risk of serious physical violence. Clients are provided with a safety alarm (usually for six months) and property ‘target hardening’[1] measures on their homes to reduce the likelihood of further victimisation.

The Ministry commissioned GravitasOPG to conduct an evaluation of the service in 2021-2022 to find out how effective the service is for clients and their families/whānau, the impact the service has on whānau health and wellbeing, appropriateness and accessibility for victims who meet the eligibility criteria, impact of any changes implemented since the previous internal evaluation [2], and identify any unintended consequences of the service.

The evaluators collected data from 177 stakeholders, including clients and a wide range of professionals involved in referring to, and delivering, the service. Qualitative in-depth interviews and online surveys were used to collect data. Data collection took place between November 2021 and March 2022. Quantitative administrative data, including a data match with Police Recorded Crime and Victim Statistics (RCVS) was also analysed. (From the report). Record #8154