Sign the open letter here

Community groups have signed an open letter calling on the Government to properly fund prevention to reduce New Zealand’s rate of sexual violence, which is one of the worst in the developed world.

A study published in the Lancet estimated that among people aged 12 to 18, almost 30 percent of New Zealand women and one in five men experience sexual violence.

The open letter specifically calls for the Government to fund RespectEd Aotearoa, which faces closure in August.  RespectEd Aotearoa delivers specialist sexual violence prevention education to schools, workplaces, prisons, and communities – work that changes attitudes, builds skills, and stops harm before it happens.

The letter was launched following no new funding for sexual violence services being part of Budget 2026, and last week’s news, revealed by the PSA, that the Centre for Family Violence and Sexual Violence Prevention is proposing to cut a third of its workforce.

“It’s clear that preventing sexual violence is not a priority for this Government, said Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary of the PSA Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi.

“Reducing our appalling record on sexual violence requires sustained investment in prevention, yet the organisations doing that work are being forced to close,

“Organisations have signed the open letter because they know that failing to properly fund sexual violence prevention means more people will be harmed. That is what is at stake here.”

There is widespread concern about the loss of an organisation like RespectEd, and what it signals for the future of sexual violence prevention and community public services in New Zealand.

“PSA members at RespectEd have built deep community relationships and specialist expertise over many years, that cannot be easily replaced, said Fitzsimons.

“The breadth of support for the letter reflects deep concern across the sector about what comes next,

“The community public services sector is at breaking point. Funding opportunities are scarce. Longstanding, specialist organisations are being forced to close. The cumulative damage to communities will take years to undo.”

The letter calls on the Government to fund RespectEd Aotearoa, recognise sexual violence prevention as an essential service, halt cuts to the community sector, and honour its obligations under Te Aorerekura – New Zealand’s commitment to eliminate sexual violence.

The open letter has been sent to Minister Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children and for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence and is awaiting response.

Rally at Parliament to hand over the open letter - 1 July

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Open letter

Tēnā koe Minister Chhour,

Open letter to the New Zealand Government on the urgent need to fund sexual violence prevention

We, the undersigned, call on the Government to urgentlyrestore funding to sexual violence prevention and to RespectEd Aotearoaspecifically, which will be forced to close in August without intervention.

We are writing because we are alarmed. Not only at theimminent loss of a specialist organisation that has spent a decade buildingirreplaceable expertise and community relationships, but at what it represents.RespectEd Aotearoa is not alone. Across Aotearoa, community organisations doingvital work are being hollowed out by funding cuts. The loss is cumulative, andthe cost to communities will be deep and long-lasting.

Sexual violence is preventable. The evidence is clear. Earlyintervention and prevention education changes attitudes, builds skills, andstops harm before it happens.

It is also far cheaper than the alternative. ACC’s ownresearch estimates the cost of sexual violence in New Zealand at $6.9 billion.Investment in prevention is not a cost. It is the responsible, evidence-basedchoice.

New Zealand already has some of the worst rates of sexualviolence in the developed world. With growing concern about the influence ofonline misogynistic communities on young people’s attitudes, the need forprevention education has never been greater.

This is not the time to cut the organisations doing thiswork. It is the time to invest in them.

Halting funding for sexual violence prevention broke apromise to the sector and to every New Zealander who will now experience harmthat could have been prevented.

We are calling on the Government to:

• Urgently provide funding to RespectEd Aotearoa so they can continue their vital work
• Recognise sexual violence prevention as an essential service
• Halt the cuts to community sector organisations at a time when people and families across New Zealand are already struggling
• Honour its obligations under Te Aorerekura, the national strategy to eliminate family violence and sexual violence

Signed,

• Coalition for the Safety of Women and Children
• Counselling Services Centre - Ngā Whakahaymarutanga     o te Hauora
• Eastern Refuge Society
• Good Shepherd NZ
• Public Service Association
• Hui E! Community Aotearoa
• National Council of Women - Wellington Branch
• New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae     Kaimahi
• PSA Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi
• Tāhono Trust
• Te Wāhi Wāhine o Tāmaki Makaurau - Auckland Women’s     Centre
• The Backbone Collective
• Thursdays in Black VUW
• Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom,     Aotearoa Section
• Women’s Refuge | Ngā Whare Whakaruruhau o Aotearoa
• Women’s Refuge Tāmaki Makaurau
• YWCA Tāmaki Makaurau
• Atamira Platform
• Dr Merrill Simmons Hansen, MANZASW, Reg SW. PhD,     ISSC Therapy, IFS Informed, Supervision
• Dr Debbie Hagar, Disability portfolio, Tauiwi     Caucus, Te Ohaakii a Hine – National

• New Zealand Disability Support Network

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