PRISM: Human Rights issues relating to Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression, and Sex Characteristics (SOGIESC) in Aotearoa New Zealand - A report with recommendations The internet has the potential to both support and harm users.79 It provides access to information and community support for many minority groups independent of a person’s geographical location.80 Conversely, cyberbullying is an alarming phenomenon allowing online violence and abuse to be brought into the home. Netsafe, New Zealand’s independent, non-profit online safety organisation, undertook first-of-its-kind research on online hate speech in New Zealand in 2018.81 It found minorities more likely to be targeted with hateful content online, with 26% of non-heterosexual people targeted compared with 9% of heterosexual people. The findings mirror international research regarding the prevalence of online hate against vulnerable groups.82 Further research by Netsafe on image based sexual abuse (IBSA) showed threats of IBSA were 8% for nonheterosexual people versus 3% for heterosexual people.83 Rates of sharing intimate content online without consent was 10% for non-heterosexual respondents compared to 3% of all respondents. A recent survey on the health and wellbeing of transgender and non-binary people in Aotearoa New Zealand reported 39% of participants had been sent nasty or threatening messages through the phone or on the internet.84 Counting Ourselves was a survey on the health and wellbeing of 1178 trans and non-binary people in Aotearoa New Zealand conducted in 2018.85 It presents the biggest and only data set on trans and non-binary populations in New Zealand ever collected. The results showed high levels of discrimination, with 67% of participants having experienced discrimination at some point. 44% of respondents had been discriminated against in the past 12 months compared with 17% of 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 18 respondents in the General Social Survey, but Asian and disabled people had even higher rates of discrimination; both 60%. Counting Ourselves respondents had higher rates of discrimination than the general population in every specified situation in the survey, including on the street (25% vs. 6%), in a shop or restaurant (14% vs. 3%), and trying to get a job or at work (12% vs. 3%). Respondents reported avoiding places due to fear of discrimination; most commonly at a gym or pool (58%) followed by a sports club or team (50%). They further reported high rates of harassment and discrimination when using the bathroom. 43% had been told or asked if they were using the wrong bathroom, and 70% had avoided using a public bathroom in the last 12 months. Rates of sexual violence against trans and non-binary people were two to three times higher than that for women in the general population and seven to 12 times higher than for men in the general population. Statistics New Zealand’s 2018 General Social Survey measured rates of discrimination amongst adult respondents aged 18 and over. Those who had a gay/lesbian (34.1%) and bisexual (39.3%) sexual orientation faced higher rates of discrimination in the past year compared with heterosexual adults (16.3%).86 The recent Ministry of Justice New Zealand Crimes and Victims Survey showed that people with diverse sexual orientations were more likely to become the victims of crimes.87 Gay/lesbian (40.3%) and bisexual people (49%) were more likely to be victimised, compared to heterosexual people (29.1%) (Figure 3).88 ActionStation The People’s Report on Online Hate, Harassment and Abuse (Wellington, 2019). Ruth Pearce Understanding Trans Health (Policy Press, Bristol, 2017). Edgar Pacheco and Neil Melhuish Online Hate Speech: A survey on personal experiences and exposure among adult New Zealanders (Netsafe, 2018). Amnesty International #ToxicTwitter: Violence and abuse against women online (London, 2018); Amy Walker “Online hate crime against disabled people rises by a third” The Guardian (online ed, London, 10 May 2019). Edgar Pacheco, Neil Melhuish and Jandy Fiske Image-based sexual abuse: A snapshot of New Zealand adults’ experiences (Netsafe, Wellington, 2019). Jaimie Veale and others Counting Ourselves: The health and wellbeing of trans and non-binary people in Aotearoa New Zealand (Transgender Health Research Lab, University of Waikato, Hamilton, 2019). Ibid. Statistics New Zealand “Wellbeing statistics: 2018” (26 June 2019) <http://www.stats.govt.nz/>. Ministry of Justice New Zealand Crime and Victims survey: Key findings cycle 1 (March – September 2018) Descriptive statistics (Wellington, May 2019) at 33. Survey questions about respondents’ sexual orientation and gender identity were located in a selfcomplete section, so the answers were confidential and not known to the interviewer (M. Slyuzberg, personal communication to T. Polkinghorne, August 9, 2019). Ibid. Due to a small sample size, this difference was not statistically significant.