There’s A New Way to Report Sexual Harm in NZ, With Free Lawyers

There’s A New Way to Report Sexual Harm in NZ, With Free Lawyers

Tika is making it easier for victims to report sexual harm.

shit you should care about

Oct 27, 2026

96

6

9

Share

What if I told you that there’s a place in New Zealand where you can report sexual harm, AND get access to free lawyers?

Would you think I was joking? That this isn’t possible?

It’s possible. It’s happening. And it’s run by two women that I love and trust.

Tika

is combating the fact that

more than 90% of people who experience sexual harm never report it.

There are so many reasons people don’t report sexual assault. We feel like we won’t be heard. Won’t be believed. Won’t be helped. We’re scared - walking into a station to tell someone the worst thing that’s ever happened to you, knowing that you’re going to be alone, and might not even be believed? It’s scary!

We have a system that gives the victim the whole job of speaking up and fighting for themselves, when they’ve already been through the worst thing imaginable.

Well, now there’s a new way of doing it.

Introducing Tika.

Tika

is a free, confidential way for anyone 18 or over who’s experienced sexual harm in Aotearoa to make a report.

It could be last week or twenty years ago - it doesn’t matter.

You also don’t need to know what to call what happened or which legal category it fits into.

If it felt wrong, you’re welcome to report it.

Who’s behind it?

It was founded by journalist Ali Mau and barrister Zoë Lawton, and it’s both a registered charity and an incorporated law firm. That second part matters, because the second you register, you’re a client, which means a lawyer-client relationship and legal privilege over what you share.

Tika

won’t tell anyone you’re a client, won’t share anything that could identify you, and won’t contact anyone about your case without your say-so. Signed an NDA? That doesn’t stop you from registering either.

One thing to be clear on: reporting to

Tika

is not the same as reporting to the police. You’re telling a law firm. What happens next is your call, and you can pause or pull out at any point.

It also finds repeated perpetrators

Serial perpetrators exist because the people they harm are kept isolated from each other.

Tika

is built to break that.

When three or more registered clients independently name the same person, a Tika lawyer contacts each of them.

If you’re one of the people who’s reported them, you’re told how many people are in the group, but nobody finds out who anyone else is.

Everyone gets independent legal advice, then decides what to do.

These options could be:

Reporting to Police

A civil claim

A complaint to a regulatory body like the Medical Council or Teachers’ Council

Restorative justice

Mediation

Nobody is forced down a path they don’t want.

What it won’t do

Tika knows they’ll be up against a multitude of concerns (of course, this is an incredibly sensitive cause), so let me be upfront.

If nobody else names the same person, nothing happens straight away. A match could take weeks, months or years, depending on who else registers. In the meantime, your information stays securely stored, and if you want to move things along yourself, you never have to wait on Tika to go to Police or get independent legal advice.

Tika also doesn’t investigate or decide guilt. Police and courts do that. It doesn’t provide counselling either, and it’s not a crisis service. And no organisation can promise a cyber attack will never happen, which Tika says itself. They say security was built in from the start.

Who’s using it?

Ali told me what the early numbers look like, and they’re both devastating, and filling me with hope.

The biggest group registering is 25 to 35 year olds.

It only takes an average of 18 minutes to register and report.

Most people are doing it between 6pm and 9pm.

A higher percentage of non-binary, trans male and intersex people are reporting than you’d expect from population share alone. This is for everybody.

TIKA

If You Need Someone Right Now

Tika does not exist to replace the system we have. It’s here to aid it. Please, if you’re in danger, call 111. If you need to talk to someone, Safe to talk is free, confidential and open 24/7 on 0800 044 334 or text 4334. When you’re ready to report, Tika is at tika.org.nz. And if you’re not ready, that’s fine too.

Nearly 84% said no to the only door they were offered. Tika is a second one, and it’s yours to use whenever you want ♡

Luce xx

96

6

9

Share

Previous

Next