About Us
Kia Haumaru is a nationwide network of trained and accredited teachers of Empowerment Self Defence. Formerly known as the Women’s Self Defence Network – Wāhine Toa, we have been providing personal safety education to women, girls and members of the LGBTQIA+ community in Aotearoa for over 30 years.
Our work is informed by mana wāhine and feminist understandings of both the causes and solutions to the problem of violence in Aotearoa.
We are committed to working in partnership as Māori and Tau Iwi (non-Māori) and to honouring Te Tiriti through the work we do and the processes we follow.
Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini
My success is not mine alone, it is the success of the collective
Te Ara Whakamua | Our Vision
The Kia Haumaru vision is for a safe and respectful society free from violence. We believe that all people have a fundamental right to live in safety and that Empowerment Self-Defence is a significant step towards such a society.
Ō Mātou Waitohu | Our Logo
Our logo acknowledges the herstory of WSDN–WT and its sister organisation, Positive Action, and the role both organisations have played in the New Zealand women's self-defence movement. The overarching umbrella and protective circle reflect the central role WSDN–WT has played in our organisation. The middle figure is based on the Positive Action logo and acknowledges the contribution of this earlier group.
Māori elements are incorporated in the design to recognise and celebrate that we are a bicultural Treaty-based organisation. The five koru at the bottom of the circle represent our values: inclusion, empowerment, community, biculturalism and whanaungatanga.
