From May to July 2024, Mana Mokopuna—the Aotearoa New Zealand Children and Young People’s Commission—led a series of engagements to capture the voices of 41 children and young people, 24 family members, and 46 practitioners from 14 organisations across Aotearoa New Zealand. Our goal was to understand "what good looks like" when engaging with services and supports aimed at helping individuals heal from family violence and/or sexual violence. We published a report in October 2024 called  “A place to talk peacefully”: what helps and what gets in the way - Mokopuna voices on healing from family and sexual violence in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Through these engagements, we heard powerful stories of bravery, hurt, resilience, and persistence. Children and young people shared their preferences for support—who they want to be supported by and how. They also shared their thoughts on what needs to change and provided holistic, innovative ideas for how the sector can better care for those seeking help, reflecting the diverse voices we engaged with.

In this presentation, we will share the voices, stories and experiences of the children and young people we engaged with. Key themes and findings will be introduced along with our call to action. We will also discuss our methodology for ensuring we conducted this work ethically, safely and authentically. Deep consideration and care with the support of an external ethics committee of experts has allowed us to genuinely hear and amplify the views shared with us.