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‘Huge’ concern over attitudes towards sexual violence amid rising resistance to gender equality

Friday, 19 September 2025

A survey by the National Council of Women NZ has revealed a growing cause for concern in the efforts to reach gender equality.
A survey by the National Council of Women NZ has revealed a growing cause for concern in the efforts to reach gender equality.

A third of young men think that gender equality has gone “too far” – and almost one in five people believe that if someone is raped when they are drunk they are least partially responsible, research shows.

Attitudes towards violence such as rape are “hugely” concerning, equality advocates say, and resistance against gender equality is getting stronger in some parts of society.

“It’s too high. These stats show that there is a core [group] of people who condone violence. It’s just mind-blowing,” said Suzanne Manning, president of the National Council of Women NZ (NCWNZ).

Suzanne Manning, president of the NCWNZ, says while the majority of Kiwis want gender equality, resistance is growing in some sectors of society.
Suzanne Manning, president of the NCWNZ, says while the majority of Kiwis want gender equality, resistance is growing in some sectors of society.

The latest Gender Attitudes Survey, carried out by the council every other year, found that although Kiwis want gender equality, there is still a group of people who are pushing back.

“We’ve got to acknowledge that predominantly New Zealanders want a gender-equal New Zealand … that has come through consistently in all the years that we’ve been doing this,” Manning said.

“[The] push-back appears to be very resistant. It’s not going down, in fact, it’s even growing in various pockets.”

This year’s survey, which questioned more than 1000 people over the age of 18, found 79% believe gender equality is a fundamental right.

However, the council said there was a “mistaken belief” that gender equality had already been achieved, with 46% of people thinking it had, and 40% no longer seeing sexism as a significant issue.

‘Job not done’ on gender equality

One in three young men, aged 18 to 34, believed equality had gone “too far”, the survey found, and about 17% of people questioned thought that if someone was raped when they were drunk, they’re at least partly responsible for it.

Four in 10 male respondents agreed that false rape accusations were common, compared with 27% of female respondents.

Agreement with the statement “rape happens when a man’s sex drive is out of control” had risen from 25% in 2017 to 36% in 2025.

And the proportion who agreed that “it’s understandable for a man to hit out when his partner tries to leave,” almost doubled from 8% in 2017 to 14% in 2025.

Jackie Edmond, chief executive of Sexual Wellbeing Aotearoa, said the results around violence and sexual violence were “depressing.”

“Just this week we’ve had a former politician make some startling comments about women – reducing them simply to body parts,” she said.

John Hope Muchirahondo was jailed for 23 years in March after being found of 17 charges against nine women.
John Hope Muchirahondo was jailed for 23 years in March after being found of 17 charges against nine women.

“The biggest concern is the sense that the job is done when I think the results of the survey show us that it’s not.”

There have been several high profile cases of violence towards women in recent years, including the campaign of abuse by brothers Danny and Roberto Jaz, who were found to have drugged and sexually assaulted numerous women at Christchurch’s Mama Hooch bar over three years.

In 2021, a survey of 725 Christchurch Girl’s High School students showed that more than half had been sexually harassed, with 20 alleging they had been raped.

And in March this year, John Hope Muchirahondo, one of NZ’s worst serial sexual predators, was jailed for 23 years after being found guilty of 17 charges against nine women, 11 of which were for rape.

Dr Kris Taylor has been researching the attitudes and behaviours of men in New Zealand for a number of years.

Minister for Women Nicola Grigg says improving equality and equity are at the heart of her priorities for women.
Minister for Women Nicola Grigg says improving equality and equity are at the heart of her priorities for women.

It did not surprise him that some survey respondents felt gender equality had gone “too far”, saying there was a growing “victimhood” mentality promoted online.

“Most people are aware of the impact of online influencers, the ‘manosphere’ type. A lot of the content relies on a grievance narrative, especially around things like men being under attack, men being falsely accused, and men being victims.

“I think that’s ramped up in the last couple of years, especially post-Covid.”

Manning and Edmond both said there was an urgent need to re-engage all Kiwis, especially young people, in conversations about equality.

“This is made worse when our country’s leaders make crucial decisions on pay equity, women’s health, education and climate policy that disproportionately affect women and which set us back decades on the progress we’ve already made,” Manning said.

“NCWNZ is not going to simply stand and watch this happen.”

She called for cross-party agreement on the general direction of gender issues such as pay equity, saying that progress would otherwise not be sustained.

Minister for Women Nicola Grigg said it was encouraging to see that the majority of New Zealanders saw gender equality as a fundamental right.

However, she said some “long-standing” attitudes persisted, reflecting unfortunate global trends.

“As a Government, we are committed to addressing these areas.

“This includes addressing the gender pay gap, increasing women’s representation in leadership and on boards, improving safety for women – particularly online – and launching new resources that support women’s health outcomes.”

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