Rotorua unites for E Tu Whanau and White Ribbon Community Day

The community came together for the E Tu Whanau and White Ribbon Community Day which acknowledged local kahukura (champions).

The community day was also a fun day out for whanau with free food, games, local talent, police dog displays and more.

Running to Stop It, White Ribbon Ride, Te Hahi, Zonta Club of Rotorua, Te Arawa , local rangatahi talent and Rotorua police were some of the groups which came together with the public and celebrated on the Village Green on Saturday.

The day promoted messages that aligned with E Tu Whanau and White Ribbon.

White Ribbon Day marks the national campaign against domestic violence towards women.

E Tu Whanau is a kaupapa Maori movement for positive change and a violence-free future.

Te Hahi was a new initiative launched at the community event, and is church leaders and volunteers getting together to support the police specifically in areas of family harm.

A domestic and sexual abuse survivor, Rotorua's Kahira-Rata Olley has been running under her own umbrella entitled "Running to Stop It - To Stop Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse".

She finished a transtasman run, which started in Brisbane and finished in Rotorua, at the event on Saturday.

Olley said she covered 260km with the run. This was her second year doing one, having completed a run from Rotorua to Flaxmere in 2015.

She said her Running to Stop It runs would take place biannually.

Olley said it was great to finish the run at the event and it was a humbling experience knowing there were people out there working hard to bring awareness to domestic and sexual abuse.

She said she was also humbled by the support she had received nationally and internationally.

She said the White Ribbon events were important because she was living proof awareness helped perpetrators or victims.

"We are in 21st century and it's time to talk about it, how we overcome all this."

Olley said awareness was important and she believed there needed to be prevention over rehabilitation.

She believed that if one person heard her story and made a change then their family reaped the reward for it, and in turn so did the community.

She said she enjoyed everything about the E Tu Whanau and White Ribbon Community Day.

It was great having the White Ribbon Riders there - "I think that's really powerful to have our men stand up and be at the frontline of these issues".

She said it was also good having the police and youth present.

"I just love the White Ribbon Days. I think it's a great event."