Source: PSA
The closure of specialist sexual violence prevention organisation RespectEd Aotearoa will lead to preventable sexual violence, the PSA is warning, unless the Government provides urgent funding to keep it operating beyond August.
Wellington-based RespectEd Aotearoa delivers specialist sexual violence prevention education to local schools, workplaces, prisons and communities – work that changes attitudes, builds skills and stops harm before it happens.
ACC’s flagship sexual violence prevention initiative, the Hikitia! programme, was paused last year, cutting off funding that RespectEd had been relying on. A programme it delivered for wāhine Māori on remand in prisons was also cut by Corrections in 2025.
Since then, the organisation has pursued every available option to stay afloat but has now exhausted its reserves. Without urgent funding the ten year old organisation will be forced to close in August, impacting three workers.
“Prevention works. When you cut prevention funding, more people will be raped and subjected to sexual violence. That is the direct consequence of this Government’s choices,” said Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary of the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi.
RespectEd staff member Juliet Leeming said; “Too often sexual violence response is the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff. Prevention work is further upstream, stopping the harm before it even occurs. “RespectEd was founded because dedicated prevention work was critically needed. If we close, that work stops – at a time when sexualised violence is on the rise.”
A study published in the Lancet in 2025 found New Zealand’s rates of sexual violence against young people are among the highest in the developed world, above the global average and higher than Australia.
“There’s growing alarm about the influence of the ‘manosphere’ on young people’s attitudes,” said Fleur Fitzsimons. “This is exactly the time to be funding more prevention education, not cutting it.
“Across the community and not-for-profit sector, small organisations like RespectEd have spent the past two years absorbing funding cuts and drawing down reserves.
“Without a change of course, RespectEd Aotearoa will not be the last to fall. The blame for this, and the consequences of rising sexual violence, sit squarely on the Government’s shoulders.
“It all comes down to priorities. How can giving $3 billion in tax cuts to landlords be more important than funding the prevention of sexual violence?
“The PSA is calling on Minister Karen Chhour to provide the funding necessary to keep this critical prevention service operating.
“If the Government is truly committed to tackling New Zealand’s appalling record on sexual violence, it needs to act now – not after RespectEd has been forced to close its doors,” said Fitzsimons.
Background
RespectEd is the only specialist sexual violence prevention organisation in Wellington. Despite funding challenges, in 2025 alone RespectEd directly reached 788 people, including 240 young people, across 61 programmes. Over a decade it has built deep expertise and trusted community relationships that take years to develop and cannot be replaced overnight.
RespectEd’s expertise has been recognised by the NZ Defence Force, which engaged the organisation to support its Operation Respect programme.
RespectEd was established in 2015 by Wellington Rape Crisis, WellStop and the Wellington Sexual Abuse HELP Foundation to address a gap in sexual violence prevention services.
ACC’s Hikitia! programme was a $44.9 million community-led sexual violence prevention initiative, part of Te Aorerekura, the national strategy to eliminate family violence and sexual violence. ACC paused the programme in May 2025.
The Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi is Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest trade union, representing and supporting more than 95,000 workers across central government, state-owned enterprises, local councils, health boards and community groups.