Brave and Talk Peach present Cervical Screening Guide.
Cervical screening (whakamātautau waha kōpū) can be an uncomfortable process for anyone - but for people who have faced sexual harm, it can be
profoundly traumatising. Talk Peach and Brave have developed this guide to help people understand exactly what the process involves, what may be uncomfortable or triggering, and how to ensure a safe environment for your cervical screening.
We’ve also designed a form you can take to your screening appointment with some of the things you can tell your healthcare professional so that they can better support you.
profoundly traumatising. Talk Peach and Brave have developed this guide to help people understand exactly what the process involves, what may be uncomfortable or triggering, and how to ensure a safe environment for your cervical screening.
We’ve also designed a form you can take to your screening appointment with some of the things you can tell your healthcare professional so that they can better support you.
Cervical screening guide:
Cervical screening guide | |
File Size: | 815 kb |
File Type: |
Template to take to screening appointment:
Cervical appointment template | |
File Size: | 94 kb |
File Type: |
Statistics.
Sexual Violence in Aotearoa, New Zealand
We are grateful to have the support from Rape Prevention Education to provide you with the latest statistics and other information about sexual harm in Aotearoa.
Due to its hidden nature, it can be difficult to gather an accurate picture of the problem of sexual violence as it is often not reported, which means that statistics may fail to reflect the problem in full. There have been many research projects in Aotearoa New Zealand which show a high prevalence of sexual violence in our communities.
Research on sexual violence and its prevalence suggests that:
Research on sexual violence and its prevalence suggests that:
- In NZ, up to one in three girls will be subject to an unwanted sexual experience by the age of 16 years. The majority of those incidences would be considered serious, with over 70% involving genital contact (1).
- In NZ, up to one in five women will experience sexual assault as an adult (2).
- For Māori girls and women the likelihood of sexual violence is nearly twice as high as the general population (3). Pacific and migrant women are also at statistically greater risk of sexual violence (4).
- There are varying rates for sexual violence offences against males but large scale international prevalence studies have tended to find a figure of one in seven boys.
- Repeat sexual violence is a serious issue, with over 25% of adults in victimisation surveys reporting more than one incident, and qualitative research finding that survivors with a history of repeat victimisation are particularly vulnerable to sexual violence and have high and complex needs. For women, experiencing child sexual abuse increases the likelihood of revictimisation in adulthood of both intimate partner violence and sexual violence (5). There is currently a lack of comparable research in NZ on the experiences and effects of sexual victimsation of boys.
- Young people are statistically at the highest risk of sexual assault; the age group 16-24 years being at the highest risk of sexual assault in any age group (6).
- In opposition to widespread myths about stranger rape, it is estimated that 90% of sexual violence is committed by someone known to the victim/survivor (7).
- Reporting of sexual violence in New Zealand is very low, with an estimated 9% of incidents ever reported to police (8).
- Sexual violence has a very low conviction rate in NZ, with only 13% of cases recorded by the Police resulting in conviction (9).
- Media reporting on issues of sexual violence is often under-informed and defends public myths and misconceptions about the dynamics of sexual violence. This misinformation affects society’s shared understanding of and attitudes to sexual violence, promoting false narratives and rape-supportive attitudes in society (10).
- New Zealand has the fifth worst child abuse record out of 31 OECD countries (11).
What is sexual harm?
Sexual harm is the impact of abuse or assault involving unwanted sexual activity. It can result from one incident of abuse or more than one incident over time and can involve more than one abuser
What is rape and sexual violation?
(The information below is not intended as legal advice.) Sexual Violation is legislated in the Crimes Act 1961, Section 128. This legislation protects everyone in New Zealand against Sexual Violation (which includes rape and unlawful sexual connection) as well as other forms of sexual abuse.
Rape is defined in the Crimes Act 1961 as:
“Person A rapes person B if person A has sexual connection with person B, effected by the penetration of person B’s genitalia by person A’s penis,-
(a) without person B’s consent to the connection; and
(b) without believing on reasonable grounds that person B consents to the connection.”
This means that rape is defined as sexual intercourse without consent, although the slightest penetration is enough. Due to a penis and genitalia needing to be involved – rape is primarily aimed at being between a male and female, but also includes those surgically altered.
Rape is defined in the Crimes Act 1961 as:
“Person A rapes person B if person A has sexual connection with person B, effected by the penetration of person B’s genitalia by person A’s penis,-
(a) without person B’s consent to the connection; and
(b) without believing on reasonable grounds that person B consents to the connection.”
This means that rape is defined as sexual intercourse without consent, although the slightest penetration is enough. Due to a penis and genitalia needing to be involved – rape is primarily aimed at being between a male and female, but also includes those surgically altered.
What are the types of sexual violence?
Sexual violation occurs in many contexts. Find out more about date rape, drug rape, incest (family rape)or spouse/partner rape by clicking on the links. Please don’t hesitate to contact your local sexual assault support agency if you have any questions or concerns.
Click here to check out pamphlets from Rape Education on drug rape, date rape, partner rape and incest.
Click here to check out pamphlets from Rape Education on drug rape, date rape, partner rape and incest.
Healing.
Experiences of rape and sexual abuse can be very difficult for people to deal with. They are not usually things that people just ‘get over’ without putting effort and time into it. Instead, many people who have been raped or sexually abused consider their process of healing to be a journey.
By gaining some understanding of what happened to you and what you can do about it, you can begin your healing journey. Every person’s healing journey is individual to them. Some people choose to seek support from friends and family, some choose to tell non-abusing whānau and others choose counselling or other therapies. Some people choose different options at different stages of their lives as their relationship to the abuse changes. The key is that the healing journey you choose should be one which you feel in charge of and which suits your needs.
To find out about healing through support groups and counselling, check out our page 24/7 Support.
“Recovery is a process, not an event," - Anne Wilson Schaeff, Rape Survivors’ Legal Guide
By gaining some understanding of what happened to you and what you can do about it, you can begin your healing journey. Every person’s healing journey is individual to them. Some people choose to seek support from friends and family, some choose to tell non-abusing whānau and others choose counselling or other therapies. Some people choose different options at different stages of their lives as their relationship to the abuse changes. The key is that the healing journey you choose should be one which you feel in charge of and which suits your needs.
To find out about healing through support groups and counselling, check out our page 24/7 Support.
“Recovery is a process, not an event," - Anne Wilson Schaeff, Rape Survivors’ Legal Guide
What does the law say about consent and sexual violence?
Consent is another term for giving permission for something to happen. You do not have to verbally protest or offer physical resistance to show that you have not consented.
There are certain situations (which are outlined in the Crimes Act 1964 – Section 128A) when you may allow sexual activity to occur, but that doesn’t mean you have consented to it. These situations include:
There are certain situations (which are outlined in the Crimes Act 1964 – Section 128A) when you may allow sexual activity to occur, but that doesn’t mean you have consented to it. These situations include:
- If you are forced or threatened that something may happen if you, or someone else, if you don’t allow the sexual activity.
- If you are asleep or unconscious.
- If you are so affected by alcohol or some other drug that you cannot consent, or cannot refuse to consent.
- If you are affected by a intellectual, mental, or physical condition or impairment of such a nature and degree that you are unable to consent
- If you allow the sexual activity because you are mistaken about whom the other person is.
- If you allow the act because you are mistaken about its nature and quality, for example you have consented to a pap smear or prostate examination and the professional does something to you sexually that is not part of this examination.
1 Fanslow, JL., Robinson, EM., Crengle, S., Perese, L. (2007). Prevalence of child sexual abuse reported by a cross-sectional sample of New Zealand women.
2 Fanslow, JL. and Robinson, EM. (2004). Violence against Women in New Zealand: Prevalence and health consequences. New Zealand Medical Journal, 117 (1206).
3 Mayhew, P. and Reilly, J., (2009). Ministry of Justice, The New Zealand Crime and Safety Survey 2006.
4 Ministry of Justice. 2009. Te Toiora Mata Tauherenga: Report of the Taskforce for Action on Sexual Violence. Wellington: Ministry of Justice.
5 Ministry of Women’s Affairs (2012). Lightning Does Strike Twice: Preventing Sexual Revictimsation.
6 Clark, T.C., Robinson, E., Crengle, S., Grant, S., Galbreath, R.A. & Sykora, J. (2009). Youth’07: The health and wellbeing of secondary school students in New Zealand: Findings on young people and violence. Auckland: The University of Auckland.
7 Morris, A., et al. (2003) The New Zealand National Survey of Crime Victims 2001. Ministry of Justice, Wellington.
8 Ministry of Women’s Affairs (2009). Restoring Soul: Effective Interventions for adult victims/survivors of sexual violence. MWA: Wellington.
9 Triggs, S., Mossman, E., Jordan, J. & Kingi, V. (2009). Responding to Sexual Violence: Attrition in the New Zealand criminal justice system. Wellington: viii.
10 Wood, N. and Dickson, S. (2013). Reporting Sexual Violence in Aotearoa New Zealand. Tauiwi Prevention Project, TOAH-NNEST.
11 http://www.massey.ac.nz/massey/about-massey/news/article.cfm?mnarticle_uuid=C61AEFE4-B1D7-0794-48A1-CFA90FEDDEFF
2 Fanslow, JL. and Robinson, EM. (2004). Violence against Women in New Zealand: Prevalence and health consequences. New Zealand Medical Journal, 117 (1206).
3 Mayhew, P. and Reilly, J., (2009). Ministry of Justice, The New Zealand Crime and Safety Survey 2006.
4 Ministry of Justice. 2009. Te Toiora Mata Tauherenga: Report of the Taskforce for Action on Sexual Violence. Wellington: Ministry of Justice.
5 Ministry of Women’s Affairs (2012). Lightning Does Strike Twice: Preventing Sexual Revictimsation.
6 Clark, T.C., Robinson, E., Crengle, S., Grant, S., Galbreath, R.A. & Sykora, J. (2009). Youth’07: The health and wellbeing of secondary school students in New Zealand: Findings on young people and violence. Auckland: The University of Auckland.
7 Morris, A., et al. (2003) The New Zealand National Survey of Crime Victims 2001. Ministry of Justice, Wellington.
8 Ministry of Women’s Affairs (2009). Restoring Soul: Effective Interventions for adult victims/survivors of sexual violence. MWA: Wellington.
9 Triggs, S., Mossman, E., Jordan, J. & Kingi, V. (2009). Responding to Sexual Violence: Attrition in the New Zealand criminal justice system. Wellington: viii.
10 Wood, N. and Dickson, S. (2013). Reporting Sexual Violence in Aotearoa New Zealand. Tauiwi Prevention Project, TOAH-NNEST.
11 http://www.massey.ac.nz/massey/about-massey/news/article.cfm?mnarticle_uuid=C61AEFE4-B1D7-0794-48A1-CFA90FEDDEFF