Lee Melissa: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeLee Melissa: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 18 June 2014. Volume:699;Page:18610. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]4.MELISSA LEE (National)to the Minister for Social Development: What recent announcements has she made about campaigns to prevent sexual violence amongst young people?Hon PAULA BENNETT (Minister for Social Development):Last week I was pleased to launch the Are You That Someone? Let’s Stop Sexual Violence campaign an initiative aimed at preventing sexual violence amongst young people. One in three women and one in 10 men will be victims of sexual violence at some point in their lives and 16 to 24-year-olds are at a higher risk of sexual assault than any other age group. Central to the campaign is a series of four posters showing situations that could lead to sexual violence such as an intoxicated young woman being led into a bedroom by a man at a party and a man paying unwanted attention to a woman in a bar. The posters encourage people to step in and intervene when they see someone in potential danger or to even just ask them whether they are OK.Melissa Lee: What was revealed about young people’s attitudes and experiences of sexual violence when the campaign was being developed?Hon PAULA BENNETT: What some of the young people revealed during focus groups to develop this campaign was quite shocking. They said that sexual violence was common at parties and in bars but that there was a culture of standing back and not doing anything about it. Often they do not intervene because they are scared of being made fun of by their friends. Some of the comments that focus groups received included: “Because we have got a drinking culture these things just happen.” “Sexual violence definitely happens. There’s at least one creep at every club.” “I have seen situations when guys are all over girls and they’re clearly not into it but the guy doesn’t seem to care.” and “If you get it wrong”—intervening that is—“then it’s you who looks like a dick.” Their feedback told us that what we needed to do was to empower them to know how to intervene and when to intervene.Melissa Lee: What success has the campaign had so far in reaching its key audience?Hon PAULA BENNETT: We launched it just last Friday and as well as the posters the campaign is being promoted heavily on social media such as Facebook in order to reach its target which is young people. Its reach is already wider than we expected with 163000 people already viewing activity on the Facebook page.Carol Beaumont: What are the reasons for the Government’s failure to act on the recommendations of the Task Force for Action on Sexual Violence that it received in 2009 which would have meant over 5 years of focus on preventing and dealing with “the appalling rate of sexual violence in this country”?Hon PAULA BENNETT: We certainly have picked up some of the recommendations from that task force and from that report. What we have also done of course is just this year put another $10.4 million into sexual violence services for those at the coalface which is making a huge difference. Also ACC has stepped in and is also providing another whole lot of information. Actually if you spoke with people in the sector they would say there is more going on in terms of the support for those front-line social services than ever before and that they have had their money doubled.