Global Issues

New Zealand

• Source country for underage girls subjected to sex trafficking.

• Reportedly destination country for women from Asian countries, such as Hong Kong, Thailand, Taiwan, and China, and Eastern Europe trafficked into forced prostitution.

• Foreign women recruited by labor agents and handed over to brothel owners, who confiscate their passports and force them into prostitution for up to 18 hours a day.

• Child trafficking victims found engaging in prostitution illegally in brothels and off the street, some closely controlled by local gangs.

• 30.2% of women in New Zealand report intimate partner physical violence in their lifetime.

• 14.1% of women report sexual intimate partner violence in their lifetime.

 

Advocacy:

• New Zealand Prostitutes Collective is an organisation of past and present sex workers and allies advocating for the human rights, health and well-being of all sex workers.

• Government partially funds women’s shelters, rape crisis centers, sexual abuse counseling, family violence networks, and violence prevention services.

 

Sources: UN Women Violence against Women Prevalence Data:  Surveys  by  Country 2011; U.S. Department of State 2010 Human Rights Report; U.S. Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report 2011