Zonta club of Tauranga is partnering up with Families Achieving Balance to raise awareness about domestic violence.

At an event in Tauranga recently, four panellists discussed domestic violence and systemic changes that need to happen in New Zealand.

The speakers were former family violence response coordinator Lisa MacKinnon, police officer and family harm intervention coordinator Adrian Tukaki, Societal change leader Julie Sach and parent of a domestic violence victim, David White.

Lisa says family violence is an epidemic in New Zealand and the aim of the event was to raise awareness.

She says only by non-government agencies and service clubs working together can they get anywhere near ending family violence.

Lisa was motivated to speak up because she is the survivor of an abusive relationship and wants to stop the perception that it only happens to certain people in certain places.

She talked about a lack of resources, particularly for people who self-refer.

'I was referred to a programme and was finished in 12 weeks, but my partner who had self-referred was still on the waitlist a year later.”

Adrian says it's not just a case of locking perpetrators up, as they can't stay in prison forever.

'We need to be asking ‘how can we help?'”

David agreed, saying it's important to get to the real root of the problem.

'At some point we have to stop pulling people out of the water and go up the river, and find out why they're falling in.”

He emphasised the importance of a simple hug, saying he met a man in prison who after giving the man a hug, realised it was the first time he'd ever been hugged.

Adrian echoed the call, saying his father had ruled with an ‘iron fist' and he didn't remember ever being hugged. He now makes sure to hug his kids every day.

Zonta president Leigh Murdoch says Zonta is about ‘empowering young women in our community to ensure that they become valuable citizens and members of the global family'.

There are 1300 clubs around the world with 29,000 members worldwide.

They support causes such as ending child marriage and ending gender-based violence.

Families Achieving Balance are an agency who work with the core providers to unpack systemic issues such as poverty, housing and relationships.

'What we do is start to untangle the web around these complex issues and complex families so that these families can actually move forward.”