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About Brave.

Brave Charitable Trust (Brave) is an official charity of New Zealand, founded in 2018 and works to raise awareness about sexual violence affecting young people in Aotearoa. We also provide the appropriate tools to help those affected through our community projects.  

Our Vision

We want to see all young New Zealanders feel empowered and brave enough to ask for help if they have been affected by sexual harm in any way. This includes anyone who has been a victim of sexual harm or anyone who feels worried about their own thoughts or behaviours. ​We would also like to see the stigma around sexual violence disappear so that the topic can be talked about more freely within our communities. 

Board of Trustees

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Jessica Tyson
​Te Ātihaunui-a-Pāpārangi

Brave was founded in 2018 by Jessica Tyson, Miss World New Zealand 2018 as part of her Beauty With a Purpose charity project. Each national Miss World titleholder will work on one charity project about one of the most pressing issues affecting young people in their country. Jess chose to focus sexual violence and helping young people affected.

 "As a child, I was a victim of sexual abuse and at eight years of age I went to court to fight the case in a trial against the perpetrator. Unfortunately, my family and I lost the case - but on the positive side, I was really lucky at the time to be surrounded by an amazing, supportive family and people who cared for me. With counseling and family support I healed really well following the experience and have gone on to live an amazing life. I know that the topic of sexual abuse or violence is hard for people to talk about or heal from and people are often too afraid or embarrassed to ask for help. I would like to share my story to young New Zealanders that if they have been victims of any type of sexual violence there is support available to help them heal from it and I want to be there to help them."​

Jessica also works full time as a journalist at Māori Television. She studied a certificate in Oral Proficiency in te reo Māori and continues to develop her skills in te ao Māori. ​
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Louise Tyson
Te Ātihaunui-a-Pāpārangi


​Louise works as an Operations Manager. She graduated from a Bachelor of Business at Auckland University of Technology and is currently completing a Masters of Business Studies at Massey University. She is actively involved within her iwi and studied a Certificate in Oral Proficiency in te reo Māori. Louise also has experience working in television as a presenter for rangatahi TV shows and is the proud mother of a baby boy, Te Puuwairua. Her experience in business in particular HR and Accounting and her experience with rangatahi brings valuable skills to the operational side of the Brave Charitable Trust.


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Anthony Thompson
Ngāti Hauiti, Ngāti Whitikaupeka, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Kahungunu, Tainui

Anthony has experience sitting on governance boards including Whakauae Research Services, Te Rākau Taonga Whenua Toopu Trust and Ngāti Hauti and Ngāti Whitikaupeka Rūnanga. He is studying a Bachelor of Science, with a double major in environmental and geo-spatial science. He also is involved at the National Iwi Chairs level in the rangatahi space and recently in the environmental sector. He has also studied a certificate in Oral Proficiency in te reo Māori and continues to develop his skills in te ao Māori. Anthony therefore brings strong leadership skills to the Brave Charitable Trust Board especially when it comes to organising our activities to support rangatahi Māori.​


Volunteer coordinator and ambassador

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Sydney Batters
​Ngāpuhi

Sydney is a full time student at Massey University in Auckland and is studying a Bachelor in Business, majoring in marketing. Sydney took up the role as the Brave volunteer coordinator after being an ambassador for the charity during her time as Miss New Zealand 2020.

Sydney's heart and purpose has always been with mental health, suicide prevention and sexual violence, which aligns with Brave’s purpose. Sydney is a survivor and has shared her sexual violence and mental health journey with multiple publications, including Woman’s Day and Lucky Break magazine, as well as her social media platforms where she openly expresses her advocacy for these issues. ​

Partnerships

Rape Prevention Education
The Brave Charitable Trust has had support from Rape Prevention Education Debbi Tohill to ensure the educational messages within our presentations are suitable and appropriate for the students. Jessica has also had disclosure training with Debbi to learn how to help youth who disclose to her about their own experience as victims of sexual harm.
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ABOVE: Jessica meets with RPE Executive Director Debbi Tohill in a workshop on how to deal with disclosures.
Safetotalk
Brave has teamed up with service provider Safe to talk.. The team at Safe to talk offers free, confidential and non-judgemental support from trained specialists. They can also connect you to support services in your community. ​​The best thing about Safe to talk is that you can contact them via text, chat, email or over the phone.
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Jessica teams up with Safetotalk to provide 24/7 support for people affected by sexual harm.
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  • About
  • 24/7 Support
  • BRAVE APPAREL
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  • News
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