annotated bibliography of new zealand research into family violence

within the Sensitive Claims Unit and how this can affect the way individual staff operate. Theauthor posits that in order to manage the care of sexual abuse victims effectively, thewellbeing of staff working with this client group must be ensured.Merkel-Holguin, L. (1998). Transferring the Family Group Conferencing technology from NewZealand to the United States. Denver, CO, USA: American Humane Association.See: www.nzfvc.org.nz/12221.pubTopic Areas: Child abuse and neglect, Physical abuse, Families, Care and protectionAbstract: This paper compares the implementation of Family Group Conferences in NewZealand, where it originated, with the experiences of US communities implementing familygroup decision making approaches, with a concentration on family group conferencing.Midson, B. (1996). How psychologists can assist in the recovered memory arena. Waikato LawReview, 4(1), 167-179. Retrieved February 9, 2006, from http://www.waikato.ac.nz/law/wlr/special_1996/7_midson.htmlSee: www.nzfvc.org.nz/13024.pubTopic Areas: Sexual abuse, Children, Justice, Prevention/intervention/treatmentAbstract: This article discusses how psychology can assist law in recovered memory casesconcerning childhood sexual abuse. Firstly, there is discussion on how psychology informslaw by providing information that is useful to the courts, both in specific cases and in general.The author examines the role of expert evidence from psychologists, discussing both theeffects of trauma on memory, and the complainant’s behavioural characteristics and history.The issue of court appointed experts and the possibility of court appointed interdisciplinarylegal training are also discussed. Secondly, the report looks at how psychology can attempt toinfluence law and policy. It is argued that recovered memory cases cannot be adequatelyresolved by the legal system working in isolation.Miller, D., Thow, N., Hall, J., & Martin, I. (2005). Documentation of family violence in New Zealandgeneral practice. The New Zealand Medical Journal, 18(1212). Retrieved December 6, 2005,from http://www.nzma.org.nz/journal/abstract.php?id=1382See: www.nzfvc.org.nz/12771.pubTopic Areas: Physical abuse, Psychological/emotional abuse, Sexual abuse, Families,Health, Mental health, Demographics/statisticsAbstract: The intent of this study was to determine the rate of family violence recorded bygeneral practitioners (GPs) during consultations. A sample of 447,809 consultations involving143,634 patients from 41 general practices across New Zealand was examined for thosedocumenting family violence issues. Three hundred and thirty-seven of the original sample of447,809 registered a family violence issue. The most common type of family violencerecorded by GPs was physical abuse (42%), followed by sexual abuse (26%). Mental healthissues, including depression and anxiety disorders, were noted in 18% of consultations. Theauthors conclude that there are low numbers of general practice consultations recordingfamily violence. However, GPs may not always record this information, or patients may notbe forthcoming in disclosing family violence. Recommendations include more training forGPs in recognising and responding to family violence.121