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The Centre for Family Violence and Sexual Violence Prevention

Sexual Violence Workforce Capability Frameworks
Strengthening sexual violence workforce capability to improve safety

The Sexual Violence Workforce Capability Frameworks set out guidelines and benchmarks of shared language and understanding for workers and organisations.  

This is part of the same suite of tools as the Family Violence Workforce Capability Frameworks.

They enable clarity of roles and responsibilities, expectations, and the ability to collaborate more effectively from a victim-centred and informed experience, prioritising the needs of whānau and families and their loved ones who have been, or are, entrapped and suffering due to their experience of sexual violence. 

Partner agencies represented in the Interdepartmental Executive Board for the Elimination of Family Violence and Sexual Violence(external link) will begin implementing the frameworks across their workforces. 

These frameworks offer a shared understanding of sexual violence, and sets standards, and essential knowledge and skills to guide and support people and organisations to prevent and respond to sexual violence in safe and effective ways.

Sexual Violence Workforce Capability Frameworks [PDF, 1.1 MB] – this includes the Organisational Standards, Essential to Expert Capabilities, skills and knowledge, and the Broad Benchmarking Tool to support understanding of appropriate levels according to role in the system violence services.
Sexual Violence Workforce Capability Frameworks Companion Guide [PDF, 2.6 MB] - this is designed to be a companion guide to the Sexual Violence Workforce Capability Frameworks.

Framework Principles

 

 

Kaitiakitanga – Giving expression to Protection and Accountability

Organisations and workers
are committed to equitable,
accessible and inclusive
opportunities and practices
for all people, groups and
communities while honouring
tāngata whenua as the
Indigenous people of New
Zealand.

 

Ora – Giving expression to Wellbeing and Restoration

Specialist organisations and
workers focus on increasing
the safety of people who are
impacted by sexual violence,
reducing the possibility of
further harm and holding
accountable the people who
use sexual violence.

 

Kotahitanga – Giving expression to Relationships and Inclusion

Organisations and workers
challenge systemic, social and
cultural factors that enable
sexual violence to exist in New
Zealand, and actively work in
collaboration to create safety
strategies and connections
for people impacted by sexual
violence.

 

Mahi Tahi – Giving expression to Collaboration and Advocacy

Organisations and workers
provide a holistic approach
shaped by and reflecting
the aspirations of all people.

 

Koi Mahi – Giving expression to Innovation and Learning

Organisations and workers
engage in growing
practice knowledge and
are responsive to new
approaches to end sexual
violence.

Who can use the workforce capability frameworks?

Any organisation can immediately begin applying these frameworks. Below are general descriptions of generalist and specialist workforces. These descriptions give examples for who would find these frameworks useful and are not exclusive.

Specialist sexual violence organisations, workforces and practitioners work towards eliminating sexual violence in New Zealand. They play a pivotal role in providing safe, effective restorative services and responses to people impacted by sexual violence, and to people who use sexual violence. Specialist organisations and workers have a primary focus on sexual violence intervention and prevention.

Skilled sexual violence specialists require trauma- and sexual violence-informed skills and cultural competence to provide responses that meet a diverse range of people’s needs. These skills and competencies should facilitate healing and the prevention of violence. They are specialist sexual violence leaders, able to respond to high levels of risk. They support agencies to build their capability and embed learning, using data, research and extensive experiential knowledge at the frontline of responses to sexual violence, to support and monitor good processes and practice.

Generalist organisations and workers are people whose core work is not sexual violence intervention, but they respond to people who may be victim-survivors or people who use sexual violence. Statutory workers provide statutory or legal responses, as part of their work, to victim-survivors or people using sexual violence, but their core work is not sexual violence intervention.

Government and community generalist workers must know how to identify if someone needs help. They should be equipped with tools and practices that ensure safety, and know how to connect to specialist services and make appropriate warm referrals as needed. They are aware of the difference between a specialist and generalist and essential, entry, enhanced or expert level responses. They practise within the boundaries of their own capability limits, using this capability framework to appropriately develop their practice at a generalist level appropriate to their role. They recognise that gaining in-depth specialist knowledge requires years of experience, along with appropriate training and ongoing professional development.

Using the Frameworks

The collaboratively-designed suite is intended to support organisations and workforces to improve their ability to prevent and respond to sexual violence safely and effectively, and enable healing.

The SVOS can be used by organisations to:

  • reflect, evaluate, review, design and continually improve their own structures, systems, processes and practices
  • promote the goal of safe, effective trauma- and violence-informed specialist services and initiatives.

The SV-E2E can be used by everyone from frontline staff and volunteers through to team leaders, managers, executives and board members to: 

  • promote safe, effective trauma- and violence-informed practices that are connected to family-centred and whānau-centred approaches and used by generalist and skilled sexual violence specialist workforces
  • guide career planning and determine professional development and training needs
  • shape generalist and sexual violence specialist workforce training, professional development programmes and qualifications to align with the sexual violence response capabilities set out in the SV-E2E
  • support greater recognition and validation of the knowledge and skill of workers who respond to sexual violence in generalist and specialist settings.

 

Feedback on the sexual violence capability frameworks

If you have any questions or feedback on these frameworks or suggestions about how we can support people and organisations to use them, please contact us at contact@preventfvsv.govt.nz.

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