The groundbreaking report on experiences of sexual violence amongst tertiary students from Thursdays in Black Aotearoa is out.

The report, ‘In Our Own Words’, is the first fully gender minority inclusive research report on sexual violence in this country.

In Our Own Words shows elevated levels of sexual violence toward every minority gender population.

An overwhelming 100% of transgender women respondents, transgender men respondents, takataapui gender minority respondents, and intersex respondents, reported experiencing sexual violence; including sexual assault and/or sexual harassment during their time as a student.


minority gender SH
trans women and men SH

sexual assault all women
*Note: in the graphs above, ‘trans’ means self identifying as trans.

With over 1,400 respondents over all, In Our Own Words provides a solid evidence base from which to advocate for inclusive sex education, service provision, and resource allocation.

We are honored to have worked with Thursdays in Black from start to finish, throughout the development of the survey questions and the analysis of the data gathered. We commend TiB’s deep and active commitment to ending sexual violence against gender minority students.

In Our Own Words is an exceptional report that sets the standard for inclusive research, and will continue to be useful for many years to come.

You can read Thursdays in Black’s list of recommendations, by Clicking here (uploaded to our site as the TiB site is down at the moment)

[Image: A black banner with a red outline illustration of a wahine with moko kauae  shouting into a megaphone. Text in the image reads: Student experiences of sexual violence prior to and during tertiary education 2017.