Rape and sexual violation
Before 1985, most sexual assaults were divided into the categories of rape (and attempted rape) and indecent assault. Rape carried a maximum sentence of 14 years’ imprisonment, attempted rape 10 years and indecent assault seven years.
Someone you know
Sexual assault is often thought of as an attack by a stranger. However, interviews with 48 women who contacted police with a rape or sexual violation complaint between 1990 and 1994 found that 70% of those responsible were known to the victim. Interviewer Jan Jordan commented that perpetrators included ‘spouses and ex-spouses, boyfriends, family members (including brothers-in-law, future fathers-in-law), neighbours, acquaintances (including friends of friends or of partners, co-residents, fellow party guests), and those with whom the woman … had a professional relationship (such as a doctor, teacher, counsellor or masseuse)’.1
When rape became a significant public issue in the 1970s, politicians were lobbied by community groups such as Rape Crisis to change the law and policing practices. Women's groups criticised the focus on the sexual history of complainants during rape trials, and police procedures that discouraged women from making rape complaints – including the stress of medical examinations by police surgeons. Feminists argued that rape victims often experienced a ‘double violation’ if they laid a complaint.2
In 1985 there was a major amendment to the Crimes Act 1961. Rape within marriage was now a crime, and the distinction between rape and other forms of sexual violence was reduced. The new law focused on ‘sexual violation’, which included rape, and ‘unlawful sexual connection’ (other forms of non-consensual sexual penetration or sexual–oral contact). Sexual violation carried a maximum sentence of 14 years, increased to 20 years in 1993. Issues relating to consent to sexual contact were also addressed in this legislation.
Comparing sexual attack figures in the post-war era is complicated by legislative changes. Differences in recording methods following law changes in 1961 and 1985 also make long-term comparisons difficult.
The international #metoo movement, which began in 2017, resulted in more women coming forward to report sexual harassment and assault. Sexual assault complaints to the police rose from 3500 in 2017 to 4000 in 2020. The police struggled to cope with the increase and many cases went unprosecuted for many years. Claims made by survivors of sexual abuse and assault to the Accident Compensation Corporation doubled between 2016 and 2021.
Reported rape
The average number of rapes reported to the police each year has grown rapidly since the 1950s. Between 1950 and 1954 an annual average of 18 rapes was reported to the police. By the 1970s the figure was 253, and it was 330 in 1985 before the law change took effect.
Subsequent police statistics are unreliable, but Statistics New Zealand figures show that reported rapes were stable between 1994 and 2004, averaging 475 a year. In the following 10 years they averaged 620 a year. Reported rapes have grown steadily in the 21st century, from 457 in 2000 to 775 in 2014 – the highest figure on record. Police began recording data on sexual assault and related offences victimisations in 2014. These initially increased gradually, peaking at 7,738 in 2021 before dropping to 6,594 in 2023.
Auckland serial rapist
Malcolm Rewa had already spent four and a half years in prison for rape when he carried out more than 20 sexual attacks on women between 1987 and 1996. Forensic evidence and a blood sample provided by Rewa’s father led police to suspect that Rewa was responsible for the rape and murder of Susan Burdett in Papatoetoe in March 1992 and the rape of a woman in Mt Eden in 1996. After a three-month trial for 24 rapes in 1998, Rewa was sentenced to preventive detention with a 22-year minimum parole period. In December 1998 he was found guilty of Burdett’s rape, but not her murder, and received a 14-year sentence concurrent with the sentence he was already serving. In 2019, nearly three decades after the crime was committed, Rewa was also found guilty of Burdett’s murder. Another man had been convicted of this crime but then cleared after more than 20 years in prison.
Sexual attacks
Rates of reported sexual attacks other than rape also increased from the late 20th century. There were 908 reported sexual attacks in 1978, and a peak number of 3,222 in 1993. This data cannot be compared with data since 1997, when reported attacks which were classified after investigation as ‘no offence disclosed’ were removed from the record.
Between 1997 and 2009, the number of recorded sexual attacks was relatively stable, averaging more than 2,500 a year. There were 3,016 recorded sexual assaults in 2010 and 4,046 in 2014, the highest number on record. Only half of the sexual assaults reported in 2014 were resolved (an offender was identified and warned, cautioned, or prosecuted). Statistics since 2014 are not comparable with earlier data, but the number of victimisations for sexual assault rose from 5,167 in 2015 to 6,594 in 2023.
Despite the rise in the number of sexual assaults recorded, it is estimated that only about 8% of all instances of this type of assault are reported to the police. A review of 1,955 complaints of sexual violation offences involving adults made to the police between 1 July 2005 and 31 December 2007 found that 31% of all reported complaints led to prosecutions; 42% of these prosecutions resulted in a conviction. Thirty-four per cent of the complaints were classified as ‘no offence’ and of these, almost a quarter were defined as ‘false complaints’.3
Reasons for increases in sexual assault
Changes to the law in the 1980s made it easier to report sexual assault, and probably contributed to the increase in reported offences in the late 1980s and early 1990s. There was also an increase in reports of past sexual offences – nearly 60% all convictions for sexual offences in 1997 were for incidents that occurred at least two years previously.
Sexual violence and the criminal justice system
While rates of reported sexual violence increased after changes in the law in the 1980s, rates of prosecution of rape and sexual assault continued to be relatively low. In the 2010s, there was increasing attention to how the New Zealand criminal justice system responded to incidents of sexual violence reported to the police. Alternatives to the adversarial model used in trials for rape and sexual assault were presented. It was argued that the trauma of appearing in court and giving evidence discouraged women from reporting sexual violence. As a result, a two-year pilot project using specially trained judges for sexual violence cases in selected district courts began in late 2016. Complainants involved in the pilot found their cases progressed more efficiently and with less trauma and anxiety, and judges were more prepared to step in to stop inappropriate questioning. The trial was successful, and in 2019 it was recommended that specialist sexual violence courts should be set up across New Zealand.
Impact of sexual assault
Rape and sexual assault can affect people in different ways, depending on the circumstances of the assault and the relationship of the victim to the perpetrator. The impact can include increased fear and anxiety, lack of trust in personal relationships, loss of confidence, depression and anger. The experience of rape and sexual assault can have an impact on victims’ employment and study, which can affect their financial circumstances. Shame and embarrassment are often experienced. Girls and young women who have experienced sexual violence are more likely to engage in risky behaviours such as alcohol and drug abuse. The family and friends of victims may also be affected by their experiences of rape and sexual assault.