Assertions not backed by facts
The Post reports:
Wellington is set to lose what is described as its only sexual harm prevention organisation, with Government funding cuts blamed.
RespectEd Aotearoa ‒ founded in 2015 by Wellington Rape Crisis, WellStop, and HELP ‒ has announced it will close in August. Three staff will lose their jobs. …
The Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi (PSA) said the closure would lead to preventable sexual violence unless the Government restored funding.
“Prevention works,” said PSA national secretary Fleur Fitzsimons.
“When you cut prevention funding, more people will be raped and subjected to sexual violence.”
Locking up rapists works also. Where is the proof that this particular organisation has been effective? Just because you have good intentions, doesn’t mean you are effective.
“Without a change of course, RespectEd Aotearoa will not be the last to fall,“ Fitzsimons said.
“The blame for this, and the consequences of rising sexual violence, sit squarely on the Government’s shoulders.“
RespectEd staff member Juliet Leeming said the closure came as sexual violence was on the rise.
It is not surprising that a former Labour candidate blames the Government for everything. But do we actually have rising sexual violence? The best data in the Crime and Victims Survey. The media just report claims without checking them, but we like to look at data. So what has been the annual prevalence rate for sexual assaults:
- 2018: 2.0
- 2021: 2.1
- 2022: 1.9
- 2023: 1.8
- 2024: 2.1
- 2025: 1.6
So the prevalence rate is actually lower than any time in the last seven years. An inconvenient fact.