Venu Menon
Wellington, July 25,2024
Victoria University of Wellington students feel unsafe in central city nightclub venues, a recent campus survey finds.
The survey, conducted by student magazine Salient, cites over 75% of the 140-plus respondents as saying Wellington city bars are unsafe.
But bar owners on Courtney Place, the city’s entertainment hub, say enough is being done to ensure students are safe on their premises.
Salient editor Phoebe Robertson says the survey results are not surprising. “It is well known that ‘student culture’ includes the understanding that town is unsafe for many students. It’s also evident that they don’t feel comfortable or protected by the venue or police to report these assaults,” she is quoted by media as saying.
The survey, carried out in June, follows another online survey done in 2021, with similar findings.
The Wellington City Council (WCC) has a plan in place to check sexual violence which it acknowledges is prevalent in Wellington central city.
Its data shows a majority of victims are females aged between 15 to 24.
The council’s Sexual Violence Prevention Roadmap and Action Plan defines sexual violence as “any act (physical, verbal or digital) of a sexual nature that is directed towards a person without their consent.”
The document stresses the “inherently violent and violating nature of non-consensual sexual behaviour (of any type).”
The WCC website says around 94% of sexual violence goes unreported because of shame, stigma, and “systemic barriers to reporting.”
It says a majority of the perpetrators are European males aged between 20 and 34 years.
It shows 90% sexual violence is perpetrated by someone known to the victim, (including those met over the preceding 48 hours).
In Aotearoa, sexual violence affects 1 in 4 women, 1 in 6 men, and 1 in 3 trans/non-binary people.
Maori women and girls are more likely to experience harm than Pakeha, as per research.
Disabled people are more likely to experience harm from a stranger.
The data shows 1 in 3 students experience sexual harm.
The WCC data stems from the 2021 online survey, conducted by the Wellington Alliance Against Sexual Violence, which drew around 3,000 responses over 48 hours.
Of those respondents, 90% say they experienced harm in the central city, with 61% reporting sexual harm.
The drive has spawned the $7.7 million Poneke Promise, a community-driven programme working in tandem with the council’s Sexual Violence Prevention Roadmap and Action Plan to make Central Wellington safe.
Robertson, who ran the recent campus survey, says bar owners need to take responsibility for the environment they create and actively work on promoting safety and support for students.
“This could involve hiring more security staff, but it could also mean believing patrons the first time they say someone is making them feel uncomfortable, rather than waiting to see what happens.
“Ultimately, if bars run solely for profit, what incentive do they have to kick out a patron spending a lot of money at the bar, but [who is] also making women uncomfortable?” she was quoted as saying.
But police say there are more boots on the ground at nights and on weekends when more people are in town.
Bar owner Greg Wilson says bars are going the extra mile to keep patrons safe by “scanning everyone’s ID at the door after 10pm.” Those who misbehave are banned from the premises.
Mayor Tory Whanau says long-term changes don’t happen overnight, and points out the council is committed to making the city centre safe via the City Centre Precinct Plan and the Golden Mile project, which would “make the CBD a more friendly and attractive space.”
Venu Menon is an Indian Newslink reporter based in Wellington
