Support Our Survivors, NO MEANS NO

Thousands of Kiwis are set to protest around the country today against rape culture in the wake of the Roast Busters sex scandal. Event organizers have public support via social media sites addressing the group of West Auckland males, understood to be aged 17 and 18, who boasted online about sexual exploits with drunk and underage females. Organizer Anne Russell estimated between 1000 and 2000 people had joined today's march. Victims would "come away with the knowledge that they have more of a community" and sexual violence support agencies would benefit from donations collected during the demonstration, she said. Andrea Creighton from Wellington Sexual Abuse HELP Foundation said action was needed around rape culture in New Zealand and the Roast Busters needed to be prosecuted. She said it was an emotional time for victims who had turned up to the march in Wellington, which began at 2pm on Cuba Mall bound for Civic Square. Three women tied together by rope said they had "tied their legs together" in response to a lawyer's statement in court this week regarding an alleged rape. "We always have to be prepared so we've tied out feet together in case we get raped here in the street," protester Ayelet McDonald said. "We are keeping our legs closed." Russell spoke to the crowd from the station steps and condemned the police for mismanaging the investigation and ''not having a vested interest in ending rape culture.'' She also criticized the government, which she said did not value the ideal of sexual consent. A statement written in chalk on the pavement outside the station criticized the police for victim blaming and not supporting the victims of sexual abuse who often had to fight ACC for adequate healthcare. One victim of rape spoke at Civic Square, saying she had first been sexually assaulted as a preschooler. Since then she found it difficult to get access to funding for help services. Students from Wellington High School feminist group read aloud a letter from students West Auckland Avondale School, where some of the Roast Buster members attended. The letter attacked the school for its lack of support for victims and its acceptance of rape culture. There was "rape humour" and "victim blaming" in the school's culture, the letter said. "Students who perpetuate rape are given positions of leadership and responsibility." A protest march in Auckland featured an even spread of men and women and took place from Britomart, near the waterfront, up to Myers Park, upper Queen St. Last week it was revealed that police had received at least one formal complaint from a victim, despite previously stating that no girl had been "brave enough" to make a statement. A child-protection specialist was heading a special "multi-agency team" investigating the issue while Police Minister Anne Tolley has asked for an independent investigation into the police handling of the sex case. Hamilton mother Jessie Hume, 36, started a petition last week demanding action against the Roast Busters and improved services for rape victims. So far more than 95,500 people have signed the document. Hume was part of a group called Bust Rape Culture Now, which formed out of concern of police handling of the Roast Busters case. The group was to march in Auckland this afternoon as part of the National Day of Action Against Rape Culture. Demonstrations were organized for Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin, Palmerston North, Hamilton, and Nelson