The fight to end sexual violence isn’t over as nightlife reopens

As we enter back into a sense of nightlife normality following the partying pause the Omicron outbreak enforced, our entertainment industry is slowly returning to its original state. Town has reopened and, with this, the chapter on safety when out and about in our city needs to be revisited.

From where we left off, the media drew attention to the surge in violence occurring in Wellington’s entertainment district (a.k.a ‘town’). This affects us all, whether we go out for just one drink or 10. At some point we are likely to find ourselves out in the city at night and we should feel safe doing so. At least safer than we do now, that’s for sure.

Last year, growing reports of assault and sexual assault provoked two students to make the most impactful Facebook post they’ve ever shared. Victoria University students Ella Lamont and Sophia Harrison turned their concern into action. Prompted by the “utter frustration and helplessness” felt towards the problem of sexual violence in our city.

Ella says we are seeing a massive increase in the discussion around safety and sexual violence. “I’ve heard this from people across all age groups and demographics.” Despite the fact we are still hearing of people not feeling safe in our city, change is in motion. However, ending this issue is a marathon, not a sprint.

“What’s most important about the increased discussion is that it's a marker of an ideological shift within the collective, which, to me, brings a lot of hope as the ideological shift can often be one of the biggest obstacles in the way of achieving major cultural change.” - Ella Lamont

The post which started it all was a survey posted on ‘Vic Deals’ collecting close to 3,000 responses detailing the feelings and experiences of individuals in regards to the level of comfort felt when out and about in the city. They were devastated to discover 99.54 per cent of respondents had in fact experienced sexual violence, assault or harassment in some form.

This depicts the issue of sexual violence as a deep-rooted, widely prevalent problem, not subsiding anytime soon in our community. The volume of responses acted as a stimulus for the subsequent formation of the Wellington Alliance Against Sexual Violence. The Alliance has been working closely alongside the Wellington City Council to action the change called for by the community. Significant systems and strategies have been promised through the Council’s project titled the ‘Pōneke Promise’, allocated to target sexual violence, alcohol harm and overall city safety.

Along with this, Ella and Sophia have been pushing for consent education in schools, believing the biggest changes stem from planting the seed at an education level. “When people get educated around these things, it’s a chain reaction really, that the behaviour begins to improve massively as people start to get a fuller understanding.”