Family Violence Capability Frameworks
SOS, E2E, and RSPF

The safety and wellbeing of people, whānau, and families is everyone’s responsibility. Reducing risk and enabling safety requires a whole-of-community response and a capable, coordinated system working together to protect victim-survivors and promote the accountability of people using violence.

The Specialist Family Violence Organisational Standards (SOS) and the Family Violence Entry to Expert Capability Framework (E2E)(external link) were launched in May 2022. These frameworks provide information about the dynamics and impact of family violence, and the standards and capabilities needed to support safe and effective approaches, responses, and services.

The Family Violence Risk and Safety Practice Framework (RSPF) uses the SOS and E2E to benchmark the organisational and worker capabilities needed to ensure risk is recognised early, and people receive safe and effective responses that reduce risk of further harm and enable safety and wellbeing.

It delivers on Te Aorerekura Action Plan 2025-2030(external link), Keeping people safe, to build a consistent and integrated approach to understanding and responding to family violence risk. The RSPF will support the project “Developing a consistent approach to family violence high risk” by providing the benchmark for, and mechanism to, improve processes and practice in multi-agency responses to family violence.

When workers are equipped and supported to do the right thing at the right time, people, whānau, and families will experience safe and effective responses to family violence. This will reduce, and manage, risk and enable safety and wellbeing.

The Family Violence Risk and Safety Practice Framework (RSPF) builds on significant work to strengthen the capabilities of organisations and workers. The RSPF is informed by research, case studies, and literature that provide insights into the changes required to strengthen the way organisations and workers collectively think about, and respond to, family violence risk. This includes how they understand power, inequity, and trauma, prioritise the safety and wellbeing of victim-survivors and whānau - and how they make visible, and keep visible, the behaviour of the person using violence to ensure risk of further violence is significantly reduced.

The RSPF was developed with the support and contributions of many individuals:

·       A Working Group of government and non-government organisations provided specialist oversight and input.

·       We reviewed feedback and undertook further engagement with Te Puna Aonui agencies, tangata whenua and tauiwi family violence specialists, representatives from the Children and Young People’s working group, the Older People and Kaumātua working group, the National Pacific Practitioners Forum, the Interim Disability Reference Group, the Ethnic Communities Network, and Rainbow Communities.

This provided us with a solid foundation for the development of the RSPF.

Generalist organisations and workforces are considered not to be specialist family violence service providers, but they may have frontline staff who interact with people who have been impacted by violence – including children and young people, and older people.

They can include – but are not limited to – people working in:

• National and local government
• Education
• Retail
• Hospitality
• Legal
• Health
• Trades

It’s important these workforces can respond to family violence and/or disclosure safely and effectively. This is so people can receive help where and when they need it, including anyone who is a member of those workforces.

Generalist workers, particularly frontline workers, need to know and understand:

• The dynamics of family, and the impacts of violence on victim-survivors, including children and young people
• The need to take a victim-survivor and family and whānau-centred approach that is strength-based, so they can respond, support healing and restore wellbeing
• Aotearoa New Zealand’s diverse population, and how intersectionality can compound how a person experiences and copes with family violence and the response system. In the family violence context, intersectionality is where a person belongs to one or more groups experiencing discrimination and disadvantage.
• How to respond safely and effectively to family violence under any circumstance.

Specialist family violence organisations, workforces and practitioners work towards eliminating family violence in Aotearoa New Zealand. They play an essential role in providing safe, effective, and restorative services and responses to people impacted by family violence – including children and young people, and older people – and to people who use violence.

A specialist family violence response is one that comes from a highly skilled person with extensive training and experience working with family violence, and who is supported by an organisation with expert knowledge and practice embedded at all levels.

Specialist family violence organisations and workforces:

• Carry considerable responsibility as dedicated organisations/practitioners working with victim-survivors and people using violence, and their whānau/family
• Identify and manage the most extreme level of risk, and respond to high levels of need with respect to people’s safety and wellbeing
• Have cultural expertise and cross-cultural literacy
• Focus on addressing people’s experiences of structural and interpersonal violence
• Work in a trauma- and violence-informed manner
• Undertake leadership and system improvement roles requiring a range of knowledge and expertise, using a partnership and collaborative approach.

The family violence frameworks are intended for organisations and workforces who through their day-to-day mahi will encounter someone needing help. Whether that’s someone impacted by violence, or someone who is using violence.  

The SOS can be used by Managers, Team Leaders or Boards to:

• Reflect, evaluate, review, design and continually improve organisational structures, systems, processes and practices in safe and effective ways.
• Promote safe, effective, trauma- and violence-informed services for victim-survivors and whānau, as well as for people who use violence.

The E2E can be used across a range of workforces including frontline staff and volunteers, specialist practitioners, team leaders, managers, executives and board members to:

• Support your organisation’s professional development planning or to guide your own professional development.

• Promote safe, effective, trauma- and violence-informed general and specialist services appropriate to victim-survivors and whānau, as well as to people who use violence.
• Guide career planning and determining professional development and training plans.
• Support greater recognition and validation of the knowledge and skill of workers who respond to family violence in generalist and specialist settings.

The Specialist Family Violence Organisational Standards (SOS) help organisations understand what’s expected of them when providing services to people impacted by family violence.

It provides contextual information about the dynamics and impacts of family violence in Aotearoa New Zealand. The standards focus on the quality of the service, scope of practice, and organisational capability to deliver safe and effective services.

Use the SOS to:

• Reflect, evaluate, review, design and continually improve organisation structures, systems, processes and practices in safe and effective ways.
• Promote safe, effective, trauma and violence informed, connected, and victim-survivor and whānau-centred generalist and specialist services.

Boards, organisational leaders, and funders are welcome to implement the SOS within their organisation.

The Entry to Expert Family Violence Capability Framework (E2E) framework can be used to guide and support family violence workforces to develop safe, holistic and effective practice. It provides contextual information about the dynamics and impacts of family violence in Aotearoa New Zealand, and standards for Entry, Essential, Enhanced, and Expert level capability.

Everyone can use the E2E – including frontline staff and volunteers, team leaders, managers, executives and board members in organisations, professional bodies and learning institutions.

Use the E2E to:

• Support your organisation’s professional development planning or to guide your own professional development
• Promote safe, effective, trauma and violence informed, connected, and victim-survivor and whānau-centred practice by generalist and specialist workforces
• Guide career planning and determining professional development and training needs
• Shape generalist and family violence specialist workforce training, and professional development programmes and qualifications, to align with the capabilities set out in the E2E
• Support greater recognition and validation of the knowledge and skill of workers who respond to family violence in generalist and specialist settings.

Mapping Organisational Values, Principles and Processes Tool (SOS)

Broad Benchmarking of Roles Tool (E2E)

Planning and Tracking Completion Tool (E2E)

Recognition of Prior Learning and Experience Tool (RPLE) (E2E)

Mapping Training Tool (E2E)

Background

In May 2022, two family violence capability frameworks were launched to build the capability of government and non-government organisations and workforces across Aotearoa NZ to ensure safe, accessible and effective responses to family violence.

The Specialist Family Violence Organisational Standards (SOS) and the Family Violence Entry to Expert Capability Framework (E2E) are trauma- and violence- informed. The frameworks provide information about the dynamics and impacts of family violence and apply an indigeneity lens with Te Tiriti o Waitangi, te ao Māori and whānau centred thinking at their heart.

The SOS helps organisations to align existing values, principles and processes and, where needed, extend existing or develop new to support integrated, holistic, safe and effective approaches, responses and services. The Standards are set out across the five principles and outline the recommended minimum standards required for any organisation with a role in responding to family violence.  

The E2E sits alongside the SOS and sets out the knowledge and skills workers need to safely and effectively respond to the different needs of a diverse range of people and whānau. The SOS and E2E are underpinned by the five principles above.

Five tools have been developed to support organisations to map existing standards and training, identify what E2E level/s different roles should be working towards and provide a process for workers to cross credit prior learning and experience. Three of the tools outline the standards and capabilities on word templates with columns added to aid tracking and completion processes, and with the E2E capabilities clustered into subject-related modules.

The tools are optional and are intended to provide an easier approach to putting into action the SOS and E2E. They are based on a high trust model and require organisations to discuss and decide the approach that best suits them. The tools won’t be applicable for all situations but can be adapted to fit, or different processes can be used if needed. Each tool is designed to be downloaded from the website and completed on your own device. The tool can also be printed to A3 paper, or to print to A4 paper you will need to save the tool as a PDF first and then print. 

Capabilities are set out across four levels and each level builds on the previous level/s:

Developing the tools

The tools were developed with the input and oversight of a working group with representation from government and community organisations. The draft tools were shared with a range of organisations to be trialled, including the National Collective of Independent Women’s Refuges and Te Kupenga Whakaoti Mahi Patunga – National Network of Family Violence Services, and feedback was gathered to inform the final versions.

Feedback on the family violence capability frameworks and tools

If you have any questions or feedback on these frameworks or tools, please contact us at workforce@tepunaaonui.govt.nz.