Breaking the silence: New Pasifika resource for child sexual abuse prevention

Le Va is breaking the silence surrounding child sexual abuse (CSA) with new resources to help community upstanders prevent sexual violence in Pasifika communities.

The series of online resources, developed by Le Va’s Atu-Mai violence prevention team, will cover topics such as Pasifika Values, Talanoa to Protect, Protecting our Pasifika Children, Knowing Who is in Your Village, and Be Courageous and Act.

Dr Elizabeth Mati, Le Va’s general manager who is also a clinical psychologist, and Atu-Mai primary prevention manager, Taituuga Mataafa-Komiti, spearheaded a year-long community engagement initiative to explore how we can help prevent CSA within Pasifika communities in Aotearoa.

Dr Elizabeth Mati presenting at the 2024 TOAH-NNEST sexual violence conference

“We need to stop the silence and start talking about child sexual abuse to protect our children. These resources are the first step in our journey towards supporting our families and communities to address child sexual abuse,” Dr Mati said.

“We know these resources will help Pasifika parents in particular to stay vigilant and learn to identify the signs of potential harm to our children.”

For many Pasifika people, topics related to sex or sexual harm are viewed as too taboo to discuss openly. Le Va’s co-development of resources forms part of ongoing efforts to help Pasifika communities identify and stop child sexual abuse.

“Sexual violence is an uncomfortable topic, but it has significant, ongoing impacts on our communities,” said Paul Tupou-Vea, senior manager – violence prevention for the Atu-Mai programme.

“There aren’t enough Pacific-specific resources, so we hope these resources help our communities in a culturally sensitive way.”

The collaborative effort brought together representatives from various sectors and Pasifika community groups, including faith leaders, educators, parents, subject matter experts, youth and members of the Rainbow and disability communities.

All of their insights and contributions helped to shape the development of educational resources for parents and caregivers.

Le Va released the first of these resources in November to coincide with Dr Mati’s presentation – ‘Nurturing our Children: Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse in Pasifika Communities: Insights from the Atu-Mai programme’ – at the 2024 TOAH-NNEST National Sexual Violence Conference in Christchurch.

Learn more about our Nurturing our children resources.

Te Tāmata Tipu – TOAH-NNEST conference