Latest news with #RebeccaParish
RNZ News
28-05-2025
- General
- RNZ News
One in six New Zealanders experienced discrimination last year
A 2022 rally in Auckland protesting against Asian discrimination. Photo: RNZ / Kate Gregan About one in six New Zealanders experienced discrimination in 2024 according to data collected for the annual report of the New Zealand Crime and Victims Survey (NZCVS). The report explores data from the NZCVS key results 2024 (Cycle 7) report, based on interviews with New Zealanders conducted between October 2023 and October 2024. Seventeen percent of adults reported experiencing discrimination, with racial discrimination being the most common, reported by 11 percent of adults. Discrimination by gender and age were both next, each reported by five percent of adults. Around half of sexual assault victims (49 percent) thought that their victimisation was driven by discrimination towards gender or sex. Around a fifth of victims of threats and harassment (20 percent) thought their victimisation was driven by racial discrimination. Sector insights general manager at the Ministry of Justice Rebecca Parish said from 2018 to 2024, nine percent of Asian victims felt their victimisation was due to racial discrimination, three times higher than the proportion of European victims. "Research in the United States and Canada has also reported higher rates of discrimination against Asian people since the Covid-19 pandemic." People from different population groups reported varying experiences of discrimination. In 2024, 21 percent of women reported experiencing some form of discrimination, four percentage points higher than the New Zealand average, and compared with 13 percent of men. Māori and Chinese adults are more likely to report experiencing discrimination. Twenty-two percent of Māori adults reported discrimination, but the number was even higher for Chinese adults at 28 percent. Bisexual adults were almost twice as likely to report experiencing discrimination compared to the New Zealand average (30 percent to 17 percent). Discrimination within the criminal justice system was reported by seven percent of adults over their lifetime. Rates were significantly higher among Māori (18 percent) and Pacific peoples (12 percent). In 2024, nearly half of New Zealand adults (47 percent) came into contact with the criminal justice system, for reasons ranging from police vehicle stops (36 percent) to attending jury service (three percent). Most people who came into contact with the criminal justice system (67 percent) had a high level of satisfaction with the system but only 40 percent had high trust, which was lower than the New Zealand average (45 percent). "Contact with the criminal justice system is just one of many factors that influence a person's trust in the system. Perceptions of fairness, effectiveness, and bias within the criminal justice system can all influence trust outside of direct contact with the system. Studies with victims in other countries have also found low trust among victims of crime who have been through criminal proceedings," Parish said. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
28-05-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
More sexual assault victims making police reports, some experts credit Me Too movement
More sexual assault victims are making police reports, and a victims' advocate is crediting the Me Too movement. Photo: 123RF Warning: This story contains references to sexual assault. The proportion of adult sexual assault victims making police reports has more than quadrupled since 2018, and a victims' advocate is crediting the Me Too movement. In 2018, seven percent of sexual assault victims went to the police but that rose to 32 percent last year, the Ministry of Justice's Crime and Victims Survey data revealed. The number of victims reporting grew from 5000 to 28,000, and the number of assaults reported grew from 9000 to 51,000. Around two percent of adults have been sexually assaulted and that stayed steady in the last six years, it showed. The ministry's 'Key Stories' report - a deep dive into some of the survey results - showed more people perceived sexual assaults as serious crimes, said its sector insights general manager, Rebecca Parish. "We're largely putting that down to an increased awareness through campaigns like the Me Too campaign, White Ribbon, also reporting on some higher profile cases that are going through the courts ... understanding of exactly what sexual assault encompasses, and that it's not okay," she said. There is a caveat to the data: the trend over time is not consistent. "Reporting rates for sexual assault are relatively volatile and additional years of reporting data will be important for verifying this trend," the report said. While the increase in reporting of sexual assault was significant, it still meant 68 percent of victims stayed silent. Last year, 22 percent of victims who did not report an assault to police said they did not think police could do anything. "This belief is reasonable," the report said. It noted in 2021 police laid charges for only 40 percent of reported sexual assaults. Of those, 12 percent resulted in a conviction and nearly 70 percent of victims waited at least two years for an outcome in court. The executive director of sexual abuse prevention and survivor support organisation HELP Auckland, Kathryn McPhillips, said the rise in reporting was more than she expected. The country was "some years into a significant period of change", she said, thanks to campaigns like those Parish noted, and government investment. HELP Auckland executive director Kathryn McPhillips. Photo: Photo / Sarah Robson But McPhillips believed one of the reasons people did not report being assaulted was that they viewed the justice system as slow and adversarial. Waiting years to be heard, then taking the stand and being accused of lying was a tough ask, she said. "Lots of people ... if they report it, they don't start healing till after the process has ended because it's kind of like holding your breath. "You know you're still going to have to go through this re-traumatising process." A change in courtroom procedure for sexual assault cases would help by having the judge ask most of the questions and lawyers only pose supplementary ones, she said. McPhillips also said the successful pilot of specialist sexual violence courts in Auckland and Whangārei was due to be rolled out nationally, but she did not know where it had got to. "If that could happen, that would certainly make a difference." A June 2019 report evaluating the pilot said there was "unanimous support" for it to be extended to courts across the country. RNZ has asked the Ministry of Justice for further comment. A higher proportion of victims also needed to seek medical help after being sexually assaulted: 20 percent in 2024, compared to 5 percent two years prior (data was not available as far back as 2018). That was unsurprising, McPhillips said. "That's certainly in line with what we're seeing of the physical violence which is happening with sexual assaults associated with people meeting up from dating apps," she said. McPhillips put that down to pornography becoming more violent. "People are using that as their sexual education, if you like, and so thinking that the things they see on screen, that it's acceptable for them to do those things to other people, which of course it's not." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Perth Now
24-04-2025
- Automotive
- Perth Now
Man killed in Albany Highway collision, road remains closed
Major Crash investigators are examining the scene. Credit: Rebecca Parish / Supplied Melissa Sheil and Eliza Kavanagh PerthNow A 30-year-old man has died after his vehicle and another car collided on Albany Highway near Narrikup on Thursday morning. The man was driving a white Nissan Micra on Albany Highway near Red Hill Road at about 6.30am when he collided with a grey Holden Rodeo Utility. He died at the scene from his injuries. The 52-year-old driver of the ute was taken to Albany Health Campus with serious injuries. Police, St John WA, Albany Career Fire and Rescue Service and Mt Barker Volunteer Fire and Rescue Service attended. Major Crash investigators are examining the scene and appealing for witnesses to come forward with information or dashcam footage which can be uploaded online or reported Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. The part of the highway between Narrikup and Mt Barker remains closed with a diversion in place via Muir Highway, Denmark-Mount Barker Road and Spencer Road. Motorists are advised to avoid the area. If you or anyone you know has been affected by a road crash, contact Road Trauma Support WA on 1300 004 814. A detour is in place. Credit: Main Roads Western Australia
