Only 10 per cent of sexual assaults are reported: There’s a new plan to change that

Thursday, 27 November 2025

Former TV journalist Alison Mau says she has a new solution for the extremely low reporting rate of sexual violence in New Zealand.

One of the biggest barriers for victim-survivors of sexual violence to report their experiences is the fear that they won’t be believed.

Mau said that was one reason for the low reporting rate - it’s believed that just 10% of assaults are reported despite one in three women experiencing harm in their lifetimes.

“Fear of not being believed. That's a huge one, and that's something that has been talked a lot about [recently],” Mau said.

Other barriers include victim-survivors’ concerns that they’re unsure whether what happened to them is illegal, that they tend to minimise the seriousness of the harm, shame, self-blame and isolation.

Mau is preparing to launch an alternative reporting service called Tika which she hopes will lead to an increase in reports.

Adults would report experiences of sexual harm to Tika and they are connected to a free legal service.

The system will also build a database that can then identify repeat offenders. The long-term goal is to help victim-survivors take cases against individuals and understand patterns of repeat offending and build collective-action cases against serial perpetrators. Those cases could then be pursued through the criminal justice system or restorative processes.

Mau has looked to Australia, which has a similarly low reporting rate, roughly 8%. To address this several states have introduced additional reporting options to provide more empathetic, victim-centred systems for victim-survivors.

These tools allow people to disclose harm anonymously online without triggering a police investigation. Police say the reports have proven valuable for intelligence gathering and identifying serial offenders, though anonymity limits their usefulness.

New Zealand currently has no such system - all official reporting pathways lead directly to police, although victim-survivors can seek support from various agencies without making a complaint.

Mau hopes Tika will help plug this gap. She hopes helping police build stronger cases against serial offenders will lead to more early guilty pleas, sparing victim-survivors the trauma of a trial and encouraging more people to report.

One of the biggest structural weaknesses in New Zealand’s sexual-violence response was the lack of data, Mau said.

New Zealand has no reliable national data on how many sexual offenders are operating in the community, despite international evidence showing a small number of perpetrators are responsible for a disproportionate amount of sexual harm.

“We’re identifying serial perpetrators,” Mau said.

“If you've harmed one person once, you are not going to be picked up by the Tika system. If you have three or more victim-survivors created by your behaviour, then you are much more likely to be picked up.”

Mau is looking for funding in the hopes of speeding up the launch of Tika while sexual violence is in the spotlight.

Mau says the reporting of sexual assault complaints against former deputy police commissioner Jevon McSkimming offers one example with the issues with the existing system. Unproven sexual allegations against McSkimming - who has never been charged with sexual offending - were never fully investigated by police, according to an Independent Police Conduct Authority report, leading to police commissioner Richard Chambers apologising to the woman at the centre of the case for “repeated early failures” by police to follow proper processes.

Tika has met with Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence Karen Chhour, though the minister would comment on government funding was likely.

Chhour said there was an important distinction between reporting sexual-violence crimes and seeking help.

“Police and Oranga Tamariki are the main ways to report these crimes, but there are other options available to people looking for support or guidance,” she said.

“There is a single point of entry for people to get support and advice when dealing with any form of sexual violence, Safe to Talk. This service helps people connect with trained specialists 24 hours a day.”

Safe to Talk also helps people access the ACC sensitive claims process and provides information for friends, whānau and people concerned about their own behaviour.