WARNING: This story contains talk of sexual violence.

Advocates have long demanded reform to New Zealand's consent laws, but what would a move to an "affirmative consent" model used in Canada and parts of Australia actually mean?

Professor Anna High is part of the Faculty of Law at the University of Otago and a lead researcher for the Helen Clark Foundation's 2025 report Addressing Sexual Violence in New Zealand.

She said the Crimes Act didn't currently define consent, instead, it listed circumstances where consent was not present, such as when someone's asleep, unconscious or too intoxicated to consent.

"The law still allows consent to be inferred, even if a person hasn't done anything or said anything to actively communicate their agreement. That's a problem because research shows that many victims have a freeze response to unwanted sexual contact.

"Other victims have been so ground down by years of coercive control and abuse that they just passively submit to unwanted sex on a regular basis."

Affirmative consent at its core simply means consent must be communicated rather than assumed to be legally valid, she said.

It wouldn't mean that consent has to be verbal, she said, consent could be communicated non-verbally through actions.

"So we're really not making anything more complicated, we're not making sex more complicated or chilling people's freedom. It's just bringing the law into alignment with these really basic norms of mutual respect and communication."

Law reform would be helpful for victims, even if they're not engaging with the justice system, by showing a legal definition that was crystal clear it could be helpful for people to make sense of their experiences, she said.

"I'm not arguing that changing to affirmative consent will get us out of the crisis of sexual violence, it won't. It's not a silver bullet. There's a huge problem with attrition from sexual violence occurring through to conviction. The statistics are really disheartening and alarming, and this is one piece of the puzzle."

High said affirmative consent did not in any way affect the presumption of innocence or the burden of proof, it was still on the prosecution to prove the elements of the crime.

One of the key recommendations from the addressing sexual violence report was that the government should expand current funding for restorative justice programmes, fund more providers and in more areas, and particularly to fund the development of kaupapa Maori models, she said.

"The problem of sexual violence runs really deep and wide. It affects an alarming number of people.

"We've probably all heard these sorts of statistics, for example, that nearly one in four adults will experience sexual assault in their lifetime. Māori are disproportionately affected by sexual violence, so any reform that improves prevention, education, the justice response is likely to be particularly important for Māori communities."

In July the National Party Justice spokesperson Paul Goldsmith promised that if re-elected the government would modernise sexual consent laws.

Both Labour and the Greens criticised the government for waiting on an issue that had cross party support.

"How we precisely go about achieving that in terms of the elements of sexual violation, I think there can be room for discussion there down the track. But it's really heartening to see all of these major parties saying, yes, we agree with that basic premise that there should be communicative consent in New Zealand law," High said.

Law reform overdue

Te Ohaakii ā Hine, the National Network Ending Sexual Violence Together (TOAH-NNEST), the national body representing more than 40 specialist sexual violence support and prevention organisations, said reform was well overdue.

Ngā Kaitiaki Mauri board member within TOAH-NNEST, Russell Smith (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahu ki Whangaroa), told RNZ the current laws put survivors of sexual assault under distressing courtroom scrutiny.

"Meanwhile, the person who's done the harm can sit there in silence, they don't have to answer anything, they have their rights and all that.

"In fact, in this system, they seem to have more rights than what victims do, and the court, or the jury, or the judges get to determine what the outcomes of what is assumed consent.

"What we want is a definition of consent that's free and voluntary agreement in the Crimes Act. That's exactly what we're looking for, an affirmative, communicative model of consent in which only an expressed yes is sufficient for consent to sexual activity."

In the past advocates have also asked for specialist courts to manage cases of sexual assault, he said.

"Protecting people from sexual violence shouldn't depend on political cycles or political entities, you know. What we need to understand is that sexual violence is indiscriminate, it doesn't care who you vote for or what party you belong to. It doesn't care, sexual violence affects everyone.

"This is about creating a fairer justice system and safer communities."

Smith said other countries have pushed ahead with affirmative consent laws and New Zealand needed to "get with the programme".

"If you're generally concerned about how difficult positive consent is applied in everyday relationships or in court, you're actually missing the point. When consent isn't clear, therefore consent hasn't been given. That's pretty simple, if you don't understand it then consent hasn't been given. But for some reason, people who do this type of harm don't have to answer to how they gain consent, and that's why this is critical."

Smith said a move to affirmative consent would be a big step in the right direction.

"If governments are serious about saving money, in any area, they should seriously look at the sexual violence sector, because it currently costs between $6 to $9 billion per year to our country just to manage the burgeoning crisis."

Where to get help:

• Need to Talk? Free call or text 1737 any time to speak to a trained counsellor, for any reason.
• Lifeline: 0800 543 354 or text HELP to 4357.
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• Depression Helpline: 0800 111 757 or text 4202.
• Samaritans: 0800 726 666.
• Youthline: 0800 376 633 or text 234 or email talk@youthline.co.nz.
• What's Up: 0800 WHATSUP / 0800 9428 787. This is free counselling for 5 to 19-year-olds.
• Asian Family Services: 0800 862 342 or text 832. Languages spoken: Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese, Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, and English.
• Rural Support Trust Helpline: 0800 787 254.
• Healthline: 0800 611 116.
• Rainbow Youth: (09) 376 4155.
• OUTLine: 0800 688 5463.

If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.

Sexual Violence

• NZ Police.
• Victim Support 0800 842 846.
• Rape Crisis: 0800 88 33 00.
• Rape Prevention Education.
• Empowerment Trust.
• HELP (Auckland): 09 623 1700, (Wellington): 04 801 6655.
• Safe to talk: 0800 044 334.
• Tautoko Tāne Male Survivors Aotearoa.
• Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) 022 344 0496.