Aotearoa Free From Stalking

Nau mai, haere mai!

Our vision is an Aotearoa where women, children, whānau and all of us can happily and confidently go about our lives, free from fear caused by stalking.

He Pānui: CLICK HERE to see our resources & news

Our campaign, funded by the Clare Foundation from 2024 to 2026, is to encourage:

      • Better, safer social norms regarding relationships, violence and stalking, including laws and government actions which support those social norms
      • Strengthened, women-empowering, Tiriti-led advocacy communities connecting wāhine Māori and tauiwi women in anti-violence advocacy, to enhance tauiwi support for Māori aspirations.

See our dedicated team below. We’re hosted by the Women’s Centre, inspired by the Coalition for the Safety of Women & Children and include the AVA Anti-Violence Action grassroots group.

CLICK HERE to meet the Coalition & AVA
CLICK HERE to visit our Safety Not Stalking news feed.

And to get updates in your inbox, sign up to the Women’s Centre newsletter at the bottom of this page.

He mahi – Get involved! All women and non-binary people welcome. We would love for you to join us, whether that’s as an AVA Anti-Violence Action Group member and/or a wahine Māori advisor. Email Layba or Awatea to find out more.

illustration of a whānau - kuia, mums and tamariki - having a cuppa tea in a living room in front of a window of trees and light, smiling

The Aotearoa Free From Stalking Team

Leonie Morris
Project Lead

Leonie Morris
Leonie started work at the AWC in 2001 as the Projects Coordinator and shifted into the Centre Manager position at the end of 2005. She has a Diploma in Social Work and an MA in Social Policy. Leonie has worked in community work for many years including the unemployment rights movement and many different campaigns for women’s rights. Her two main concerns are finding solutions to violence against women, and poverty amongst mothers and children in Aotearoa/New Zealand.

Email Leoni

Awatea Mita
Kaiwhakatuhono

Awatea Mita
Alongside her role as Women’s Services Coordinator, Awatea (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Pikiao) [she/her] is also working as Kaiwhakatuhono for Aotearoa Free From Stalking to connect with whānau Māori and Kaupapa Māori experts.
Awatea is a justice advocate and scholar with lived experience of incarceration, bringing empathy to wāhine and women in crisis. She sees firsthand the importance of community empowerment to increasing whānau and community wellbeing – and if you’re looking for a Chinese costume drama recommendation, you know where to find her!

Email Awatea

Layba Zubair
Community Organiser

Layba [she/her] is a law student at Waipapa Taumata Rau (University of Auckland). With a background in sexual violence prevention and intersectional feminism, she is also the founder of Consent Law Reform – a campaign built on the premise that Aotearoa’s current legislation is failing to keep young people safe. In her spare time, she loves to read, nap, and rewatch Gilmore Girls for the hundredth time.

Email Layba

Janet McAllister
Communications Specialist
Janet (Pākehā) advises the team re strategy and communications.