The violence stops now

NO MORE: Protesters against domestic violence outside the Kaitaia District Court yesterday.

A small group of women from Pawarenga's Te Uri o Tai hapu protested outside the Kaitaia District Court yesterday, demanding an end to domestic violence.

The protest was prompted by the appearance in court of a 47-year-old man on charges arising from what a senior Kaitaia police officer described as a vicious attack on a woman at Pawarenga on the night of January 3.

Richard Koa Pirini, who was expected to apply for bail but did not do so, was remanded in custody to January 28, without plea on charges of causing grievous bodily harm, wounding with intent, and an assault on another woman.

The attack behind the two major charges left the victim with a broken arm, broken hands, the suspected fracture of facial bones and a number of deep lacerations, inflicted with a large conch shell.

Lily Waipouri said yesterday's protest was delivering the message that Pawarenga whanau did not condone violence, although there was more to the issue of domestic violence than was publicly visible.

"Whanau need to stand up. There must be no more violence, no more doing nothing about it," she said.

"We have all been victims of serious violence, and and this is not what we want. It is not alright. We all need to be part of something real. We can't just forget about it.

"Violence might be all through our whanau, but it stops here."

Locking Pirini up in jail was not the answer, she added (although several placards called for imprisonment, and one for the restoration of public flogging). He had to be dealt with in a different way, but there had to be accountability, and the sort of violence he had allegedly inflicted had to stop.