Exhibit opens door on family violence

Photo: LUKE PARKER

STOP VIOLENCE: Sergeant Iain Chapman, left, and inspector Gary Davey with the police door in the Behind Closed Doors exhibition.

No more violence behind closed doors.

That's the message in an art exhibition running until November 27 at the Global Cafe gallery space in Alderman Drive, Henderson.

The Behind Closed Doors exhibition looks at family violence that goes on in private without ever being reported to the police.

It is a community initiative involving a range of agencies working with artists to transform old doors into works of art for the show.

Waitakere police joined forces with sign-writing firm Brave Design Ltd to produce one of the 10 doors in the exhibition.

"The police door represents the fact that family violence doesn't just happen in the home, but also in vehicles and public places," inspector Gary Davey says.

"We get a lot of people ringing to report seeing family violence in vehicles."

Problem solving family violence sergeant Iain Chapman says a lot of the highest at-risk families are the ones that never report incidents.

"These can be the most critical cases that we need to look at," he says. "We want to encourage people to report these incidents."

Police will be walking in the White Ribbon Day parade on Wednesday to show their support against family violence.

The doors will be displayed in libraries, schools, marae and community centres throughout Waitakere next year.

- © Fairfax NZ News