Humans of Family Court

Purpose

Parent group, Humans of Family Court Aotearoa (HOFCA), is calling for urgent transformation of the Family Court with a vision of zero tolerance to violence. They want to create public awareness about the issues that many families face withing the Family Court System, and put pressure on the decision-makers to implement meaningful change.

Plan

We developed a media relations campaign to leverage an attention-grabbing billboard campaign and a series on heartfelt parent narratives featured on the HOFCA website - both highlighting the serious issues within Family Court. To provide additional proof points we conducted a survey of parents with experience of Family Court. We also helped HOFCA launch a petition calling for change to create further awareness and gather public support.

Impact

Media stories about the HOFCA campaign and cause was featured across nationwide news networks. The HOFCA spokesperson was interviewed for stories on TV One News and Radio New Zealand and the media featured survey data in their reports. Justice Minister, Kiritapu Allan, acknowledged HOFCA for bringing their petition to the fore. The news stories generated strong support on the HOFCA social media channels and the organisation was scontactedby more parents keen to share their own lived experiences of Family Court.