Commissioned by The Ministry of Women's Affairs. By Venezia Kingi and Jan Jordan with Tess Moeke-Maxwell and Peggy Fairbairn-Dunlop

This report is one of five from the Ministry of Women's Affairs' Sexual Violence Research Project. It presents the findings of a study which aimed to explore help-seeking and pathways to assistance and recovery for adult victim/survivors of sexual violence from diverse population groups across New Zealand. The focus was on victim/survivors' experiences of engaging with formal and informal systems. For some, this included the criminal justice system. A mixed methods approach was utilised, comprising interviews with 58 victim/survivors and surveys completed by 17 victim/survivors. This was not a representative sample of victim/survivors of sexual violence either individually or geographically, so the author's note the findings must be interpreted with caution. The study represents the most comprehensive research into adult sexual violence in New Zealand for many years. The report is organized into 7 main areas, the experience of sexual violence, reporting sexual violence to the police, forensic medical exam, going to court, support systems, surviving sexual violence and the experiences of Maori victim survivors. The research uses case studies to illustrate the diverse experiences of women and to provide examples of the various effects of sexual violence and the pathways women traversed to health and well-being. The research findings also report on the impact of recent initiatives as well as raising continued key areas of concern. Concerns include the lack of consistently high-quality service provision, links between adult sexual violence and other forms of violence and the high incidence of repeat sexual victimisation. The report findings also highlight the benefits of implementing of specialised responses when dealing with sexual violence as these appear to provide clear advantages to victims/survivors. Use the Other reports link for other MWA reports about sexual violence and its work on increased safety for women.

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