Comedian shines light on government attacks on violence prevention in schools

AWC Media release 25 March 2026

A comedian with a history of supporting expert-led relationships education is supporting calls from Auckland Women’s Centre and others for the government to stop attacking a key tool for the prevention of bullying and violence credited as life-saving.

Comedian Michèle A’Court has joined with experts in education, health and violence prevention in raising concerns the government wants to replace expert-led, inclusive relationships and sexuality education (RSE) in schools with a curriculum that removes all mentions of te Tiriti o Waitangi and LGBTQI+ identities, as well as almost all overt mentions of Mātauranga Māori.

“Experts tell us these attacks on RSE will likely lead to increase family violence and sexual violence,” said A’Court. “This government is breathtakingly contemptuous of the safety of women and LGBTQI+ people, in a world of increased online and offline hate and misogyny.”

The attacks on RSE come after the government last year halted ACC sexual-violence prevention programme Hikitia! For Our Future, stopped funding women’s self-defence organisation Kia Haumaru and dismantled a key Māori expert group in violence prevention. “And after dismantling pay equity agreements, this government yet again shows disrespect for women, among other targeted groups,” said A’Court.

Auckland Women’s Centre spokesperson Leonie Morris said: “Young people have a right to enjoy safe, supportive social connections free from violence. Culturally-relevant and inclusive RSE is the nation’s key tool for preventing stalking, bullying, and violence.”

One young person who has signed the Auckland Women’s Centre’s current petition to bring back Tiriti-based, inclusive RSE noted RSE had helped enormously in “real world situations”: “a friend recognized abusive behavior purely because we spoke about it in health under the RSE stuff and I feel like it saved her life.”

Sexual violence is widespread and increasing among New Zealand teenagers, with one fifth of girls, just over one fifth of young people attracted to the same sex, and nearly one third of transgender young people being victimised in most recent data available.

“We need to be strengthening and updating RSE to better protect our rangatahi from norms that make violence against women and other targeted groups acceptable,” said Morris. “Instead, the government are disrespecting Te Tiriti o Waitangi and also literally erasing acknowledgement of lesbian, bi, gay, trans and non-binary identities. It’s like 1986 homosexual law reform never happened.

“For ideological reasons of racism, transphobia and homophobia, the government wants to replace RSE with a narrow, regressive, exclusionary, monocultural curriculum which will reduce teaching respect for differences, placing our rangatahi at higher risk of experiencing abusive behaviour.”

A’Court hosted one of the first government-funded sexual education videos in 1990, “Choice Not Chance”, about contraception. “So I’ve been passionate about this subject for a long time,” she says. “School is the right place for rangatahi to get expert information on all the things to do with sex and sexuality.”

The government’s “relationships and sex education” proposal (with “sex” replacing “sexuality” in the title) for Years 1-10 is out for consultation until 24 April.  Auckland Women’s Centre is running a petition on Action Station calling for the government to bring back Tiriti-based, inclusive Relationships and Sexuality Education in Schools.

Others such as medical specialists, and the Mental Health Foundation, Rape Prevention Education and Post Primary Teachers’ Association have previously raised concerns with the government’s plans. Sexual Wellbeing Aotearoa has called the government’s proposal “regressive” and “fractured” and says it will “put young people’s safety at risk.”

Most recently, a consortium of 34 education organisations led by the primary teachers’ association, NZEI Te Riu Roa, have also criticised the government’s entire school curriculum overhaul in a joint statement.