The Promise New Zealand Still Owes Victims

When a drunk driver tore through a quiet road one night, three brothers were also heading home.

Two were rushed to hospital with serious injuries. One son never made it home.

“How am I going to live?” their mother, Sina* asked our Support Worker, Melissa, sitting beside her. “How am I going to go on?”

In the days and months that followed, Victim Support walked alongside Sina and her family. Melissa was there through police statements, court dates, and moments of acute grief.

Sina couldn’t understand why the man who killed her son wouldn’t face her. “Why didn’t he come and apologise?” she asked.

Melissa helped Sina make sense of the process – explaining his bail conditions and why he legally couldn’t contact her family. “She really struggled, because culturally, that’s what they would have done,” Melissa says.

When the case finally reached restorative justice, Sina met the man who killed her son.

“They prayed. They sang. They forgave him,” Melissa remembers. “They even asked the judge to send him home so he could be a father to his own children.”

“It was one of the most extraordinary acts of compassion I’ve ever witnessed.”

That family’s story is one of thousands that Victim Support hears every year.

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A legal right few victims see

Sadly, while Sina’s family had someone to walk beside them, many victims in New Zealand never get that opportunity. They’re not given access to the listening ear, the crucial information, or the guidance to make sense of the justice process.

Under New Zealand law, victims of crime have a right to access support services and be informed of those services promptly.

The Victims’ Rights Act 2002 makes that clear.

Yet each year, around 232,000 victims are recorded by Police, and only about 50,000 connect with Victim Support.¹

That means thousands more people may not be getting the help they’re legally entitled to.

Not only are victims reporting the crime slipping through the cracks without the automatic offer of support, but unreported crime leaves even more victims invisible.

For the 75% of New Zealanders who never report the crime to Police, they may never know that they have access to such support.²

“I was in darkness, and my Support Worker was a flicker of light that helped guide me.” - victim, family harm

This isn’t simply a missed opportunity for compassion. It is a breach of rights and a failure of our justice system to uphold its own law.

Victim Support’s Chief Executive James McCulloch says the issue is less about goodwill and more about design.

“Access to support is a legal right under the Victims’ Rights Act,” he says. “But the way our system works means most people never actually experience that right.”

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The hidden cost of no support

When victims go without support, the harm may multiply.

Without help, many lose faith in the justice system. Some stop engaging altogether.

When that happens, prosecutions falter, offenders go unpunished, and communities may lose trust in the institutions meant to protect them.

An independent evaluation shows that 41% of victims would likely have dropped out of the justice process without Victim Support.³

But, in contrast, 94% of victims who received victim support feel safer,more informed, and better able to cope with the aftermath of crime.³

“My Support Worker was one of those people that came with common sense advice. Like an aunty I didn’t have. She enabled me to move forward with everyday life.” – victim, fatal road incident

Research by ImpactLab found that for every $1 invested, Victim Support delivers $5.60 in social value. This includes improved mental health, reduced offending, and increased participation in the justice system.

“Supporting victims is key to making New Zealand safer,” says James McCulloch.

“We’re told that victims are supposed to be at the heart of the justice system but, in reality, very little justice system money is spent on them.”

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A promise worth keeping

When crime or traumatic events happen, the impact ripples through families, whānau, and even entire communities.

“Without Victim Support I wouldn't be where I am today. I would still be living in a grey area not being able to move forward.”

If victims are not supported in some way early on, no later initiative can undo the harm or rebuild trust once it has been lost.

The promise of the Victims’ Rights Act can still be kept.

Supporting all victims of crime isn’t just the right thing to do. It’s a proven driver of safer, stronger communities and a powerful form of secondary crime prevention.

But until every person can access support, thousands of New Zealanders will continue to face their hardest days alone.

“New Zealand has the opportunity to make good on the promise it made 23 years ago,” says James.

“Every victim, in every community, deserves to feel heard, safe, and supported. That’s what real justice looks like.”

“We’ve evolved to meet the increased demand, which has grown by 73% since 2013,” James says. “But the pressure is still on. There’s still a significant gap between what victims are entitled to under law, and what current funding delivers.”

With the right investment, New Zealand can do better than support 50,000 victims each year. It can help ensure all 5 million of us feel safe and supported.

Victim Support is currently the only organisation capable of delivering 24/7 support for all victims of crime across the country.

Victims don’t need to report the crime to get our help, and our service is completely free and confidential.

But we can’t do it alone. Together, we can make sure every person in New Zealand has that same chance to be heard, supported, and safe.

Your donation helps our trained Support Workers be there for people going through some of their darkest times.

Every victim deserves support. Let’s make sure they get it.

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*Name changed to protect the victim.

¹Ministry of Justice. (2025). New Zealand Crime and Victims Survey: Cycle 7 (October 2023–October 2024) key results [Report]. Ministry of Justice.

²Ministry of Justice. (2020, April). Victims' Rights Act 2002: How was the Act implemented and how is compliance with the Act monitored? Issues paper for the Chief Victims Advisor to Government. Ministry of Justice.

³Mossman, E. (2025). Victim Support consumer evaluation 2024/25 [Report]. Victim Support New Zealand.