about us

Aims and Objectives

Victim Support has two primary objectives:

• To provide information, support and assistance to individual victims, witnesses, their families and friends.
• To raise public awareness and recognition of the effects of crime and promote victim's rights.

Victim Support provides 24-hour emotional support, personal advocacy and information to all people affected by crime and trauma throughout New Zealand. By striving to meet these objectives we aim to provide a comprehensive, flexible service to reduce the effects of crime and trauma.

Our Vision

"Victims of crime and trauma are in control of restoring their lives."

Our Mission

To be recognised in New Zealand as the leading organisation:

• Providing 24 hour, seven day a week access to an integrated, personalised, professional support service to all victims of crime and trauma
• Advocating for the rights and interests of these victims

In order to meet this mission we provide a 24-hour, 7 day a week emotional support, personal advocacy and information service. This is freely available to anyone affected by crime and trauma throughout New Zealand.

By being responsive to vicitms needs, we aim to provide a comprehensive, flexible service to reduce the effects of crime and trauma. To read about some of the ways we can fulfil victim’s needs click here.

A Brief History

In 1985 the United Nations adopted the Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power, inspiring New Zealand two years later to pass the Victims of Offences Act. This new law placed obligations on officials to treat victims in certain ways. To compliment the new Act a Victims Task Force was also created to work with judges, government departments and community organisations to develop guidelines and assess existing services and gaps.

In 1990 a national co-ordinating body for Victim Support Groups was developed to cope with the increasing needs of victims and their local Groups – thus giving birth to the New Zealand Council of Victim Support Groups (NZCVSG) or ‘Victim Support’ as we are commonly known.

While the concept of providing professional support to victims of crime, accident and emergency is a relatively new one, New Zealand has experienced an enormous growth in the understanding and need of such support over the past 18 years. In that time, the number of Victim Support offices has risen from just one to 77 across New Zealand. The geographic spread of these locations means that almost every community in New Zealand now has immediate access to the 24-hour nation-wide Victim Support service.

In 2002 the new Victims Rights Act replaced the Victims of Offences Act 1987. This new legislation vastly improved provisions for the treatment and rights of victim of offences and finally put victims rights at the top of the agenda. To date, Victim Support works closely with the New Zealand Police in accordance with the 2002 Act to ensure that a victim may exercise their rights under the act, irrespective of whether anyone is arrested, charged or convicted of the offence concerned.

Geographical Locations

For a list of Victim Support Offices click here.