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Defence Force Sexual Assault Prevention Team's Future Uncertain
Rachel Helyer Donaldson, Journalist
- Armed forces staff working to stop harmful sexual behaviour in their ranks could lose their jobs, in the wake of a Defence Force cost cutting exercise.
- Within the NZDF, the SAPRA team are termed "frontline subject matter experts" who are hired to prevent and respond to rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment in the military.
- SAPRA staff were brought in as part of Operation Respect in 2016.
- The Defence Force will start a consultation process with its civilian workforce and unions, from Thursday, 20 March.
The Defence Force insists it remains committed to preventing harmful sexual behaviour in its ranks, despite putting its entire Sexual Assault Prevention Response Advisor (SAPRA) team on notice.
It is understood that the team, who were brought in as part of an action plan to eliminate inappropriate sexual behaviour, were told last week that they could be made redundant, following a consultation period.
An NZDF spokesperson confirmed the Defence Force would be starting a consultation process with staff and unions on "proposals for change across its civilian workforce" from Thursday, 20 March.
They said the Defence Force "remains committed to preventing harmful sexual behaviour and ensuring that those NZDF members who experience it, whether at work or elsewhere, can seek support within the NZDF".
Within the NZDF, the SAPRA team are termed "frontline subject matter experts" who are hired to prevent and respond to rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment in the military.
In December, the NZDF was reported to be battling with a $360 million deficit despite a year of "austerity" measures, and it confirmed 145 civilian staff had accepted voluntary redundancy.
While no changes were planned for uniformed personnel, more cuts were tipped for its civilian workforce as it tried to stay within its allocated budget.
If the SAPRA team is made redundant, there are fears that there will be no more sexual violence expertise in the NZDF.
The move would also go against a 2023 recommendation from the Office of the Auditor General that there needed to be an upscaling of resource and a SAPRA at every camp or base, following its audit of how effectively NZDF was implementing its commitment to dealing with and preventing harmful sexual behaviour in the armed forces.
Operation Respect came about in 2016 in an effort to eliminate inappropriate sexual behaviour, discrimination, harassment and bullying. But a 2020 independent review found the Defence Force had failed to address harmful behaviours in the four years following the introduction of the action plan.
The NZDF spokesperson said they could not comment on "any specific details... or effects on specific roles" until the consultation documents were released, but said that staff in roles "that will show as proposed affected in the consultation documents" would be notified in advance, "as part of the NZDF change protocol".
"A role that is proposed affected is a role that is proposed to be disestablished or changed to the extent that it cannot reasonably be considered to be the same position.
"It's important to note that this is a consultation process with staff and unions, and no final decisions have been made, including on redundancy."
'Cannot afford to go backwards'
Public Service Association national secretary Fleur Fitzsimons said the military still had problems with bullying, sexual assault and harassment, and "cannot afford to go backwards".
"Sexual assault prevention work at the New Zealand Defence Force has been groundbreaking and it's made a difference.... Operation Respect must be retained and expanded, so that the Defence Force is genuinely safe and inclusive.
"Operation Respect is about preventing harmful sexual behaviour but also dealing with it appropriately when it occurs. It is fundamental and necessary work in our defence force and it must be expanded and retained."
Fitzsimons said the defence force could not cope with more cuts, particularly in the current "complex global environment".
The prime minister needed "to come clean" about how much funding was available for the entire armed forces, she added. Last month Christopher Luxon promised to spend more on defence as New Zealand scrambles to meet US calls up spend to two percent of GDP.
"The government needs to front up with cash not cuts, because our defence force is in a complex global security situation and it needs to be properly backed, properly supported and funded."
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