Funding shake‑up strains support for sexual‑abuse survivors
Monday, 8 June 2026
Migrants sexually abused overseas, children unable to obtain parental consent for therapy, and victims of revenge porn are among those who may lose access to support following Government cuts to sexual abuse counselling contracts.
The Ministry of Social Development (MSD) will end contracts on July 1 with 13 providers that deliver crisis counselling to sexual-abuse survivors who need immediate support or are not eligible for ACC.
The $1.7 million in funding was redirected in last year’s Budget into a separate initiative aimed at teaching parents of ECE-aged children the warning signs of child sexual abuse.
Providers who spoke to The Post said they were working to maintain crisis support despite the funding cuts, to avoid cutting off patients mid-treatment, but would need to make reductions elsewhere.
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Midlands Sexual Assault Support Service general manager Melissa Davidson said she expected to turn away incoming ACC patients, reduce session numbers, and increase the service’s wait list as a result.
She described the decision as “short-sighted”, saying the support often helped victims in the immediate aftermath of sexual abuse and could prevent them needing long-term ACC assistance later.
She said there was an expectation that other services would pick up the slack, but organisations were already stretched with victims facing long wait times amid a “constant” stream of referrals from police and health providers.
While her service was contracted to counsel 105 clients, Davidson said they were seeing three times that number free of charge because of the demand.
Davidson said she was working to refer as many eligible clients to ACC as possible, but the agency had limited capacity to take on additional cases.
She said tough decisions were ahead with her service losing $100,000 a year from the cuts, and it would be difficult to retain staff.
HELP Auckland executive director Kathryn McPhillips said the need for sexual-abuse crisis counselling was so great the organisation was turning away five to 10 victims every day.
“The need is massive. We need to get to grips with the reality that we're talking one in three to four girls in this country and one in seven to 10 boys.”
he service had received some philanthropic funding to continue supporting a number of its 120 clients once its contract ended, but said it would be “much harder” for new clients to be seen.
“There's a whole lot of people who aren't eligible for ACC support … it creates a big inequity for them.”
Ōtepoti Communities Against Sexual Abuse has supported 92 clients this year, many of whom were either not eligible for ACC or were too overwhelmed by their trauma to immediately access its funding.
A spokesperson said the funding cuts meant they had reduced their client numbers to prioritise those most in need of counselling, and were working to transfer eligible clients onto ACC.
“Sexual violence counselling has always been underfunded, but losing the funding altogether places strain on an already underfunded sector and impacts on survivors who need the services most.”
They feared the loss of free, “no hassle” specialist support would discourage survivors from seeking help, ultimately placing greater strain on the public health system when unresolved trauma later required mental health intervention.
Minister for Social Development and Employment Louise Upston said the Government took the prevention of sexual violence seriously, as well as support for those who had experienced it.
She said preventing sexual violence before it occurred was a key part of the Government’s approach, as it reduced both the harm to victims and the need for crisis services.
Upston said 53 providers were funded to provide sexual harm services, 36 of which delivered crisis services, in addition to the sensitive claims service funded by ACC.
MSD’s safe, strong families and communities general manager Mark Henderson said the agency spent $42.7m a year on a range of specialist sexual-violence services and the funding cuts represented only about 4% of its total spend.
Providers were informed of the funding cuts in last year’s Budget, and were given two six-month extensions to prepare for the conclusion of the service.
Henderson said a range of support services continued to be available nationally for people affected by family and sexual violence.
The new initiative funded out of the reprioritised money would support parents and caregivers with training and education so they could identify warning signs and take appropriate action to prevent child sexual abuse.