Join Wagga Women's Health Centre and Cockatoo Initiative for an empowering keynote session with Mataio (Matt) and Sarah Brown from She Is Not Your Rehab, as they share their groundbreaking approaches to tackling family violence. Their powerful message highlights the importance of community and collective healing to break the cycle of intergenerational trauma. Mataio and Sarah are passionate advocates for healthy masculinity, urging men to overcome shame, take responsibility for their healing, and become role models for change. Their inspiring vision calls for a cultural shift, challenging harmful norms to build a safer, more empathetic society.

“Wow just wow, this was probably the best presentation I have ever seen and boy did I cry!”

“This was exceptional, the highlight of the conference.”

“Beyond excellent. Life changing, eye opening and added a new dimension to the need for men to be in their children's lives, however, that can happen safely.”

“WOW! The highlight of the 2 days. This is wellbeing to its core. Selfless service to the community. Inspiring!”

“So powerful to hear about how one man can make a difference. I have come away understanding men's mental health and key issues.”

“Powerful, thought provoking, sad and necessary”

PRESENTER BIOS:

Taimalelagi Mataio Faafetai (Matt) Brown, is a New Zealand born Samoan author and renowned communicator who works to eradicate domestic violence by supporting those who perpetrate violence, to heal. A survivor of family violence and childhood sexual abuse himself, he originally started his domestic violence advocacy work by sharing his story with the men who frequented his busy barbershops as a way to foster vulnerability, healing, and connection. Matt believes his true calling lies in his work to redefine societies view of masculinity and to help end the cycle of domestic violence plaguing families all over the world.

For over a decade Matt has hosted free men’s anti-violence support groups from locations like barbershops, indigenous spaces, construction sites, and prisons. He has facilitated multiple programs inside men’s and youth prisons and was named a Corrections NZ patron in 2020.

A New Zealand Māori (Ngāpuhi/Te Rarawa) wāhine, Sarah is a writer and producer who is passionate about the mandate of ‘creating violence free communities’ and has worked alongside Matt to re-define the way we communicate about family violence with creativity and innovation.

Since 2018, Matt and Sarah have partnered with the NZ Ministry of Social Development as ambassadors for their ‘It’s not OK Campaign’ and were funded to develop and launch an app; InnerBoy to promote accessible healing for indigenous men. The couple are proud ambassadors for the work of Aviva Families, a family violence service centre in Christchurch, NZ and for MATE; a program that sits within a domestic violence research department in Griffith University in Australia.

Together the couple co-founded She Is Not Your Rehab and launched the concept in Matt’s 2019 TEDx talk. He says the movement is an invitation for men to acknowledge their own childhood trauma and to take responsibility for their healing so that they can transform their pain instead of transmitting it on those around them.

They released their first book; a NZ #1 Bestseller She Is Not Your Rehab, with the goal to encourage intergenerational healing in 2021, also raised funds and donated 10k+ copies of the book to refuges and all NZ prisons, simultaneously launching a successful book club program inside prison. In 2022 they opened the She Is Not Your Rehab art gallery which hosts the exhibition; ‘Who is She?’ in collaboration with Mr G; a renowned NZ artist.

Both Sarah and Matt became members of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2022 and were awarded a Commonwealth Points of Light award by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, as Head of the Commonwealth before she passed.

This event is supported by:

Wagga Women's Health Centre
Cockatoo Initiative