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To: Wellington City Council

Protect our youth: Make Wellington’s streets safe!


We call on Wellington City Council to implement a community co-created, intersectional project to increase youth wellbeing and safety in the inner city as part of the new City Safety Plan.

Why is this important?

Aotearoa New Zealand should be a place where young people can experience life and make memories while being safe and protected. Wellington should be a city where our young people can have fun in a safe environment, without the fear of harm. 

Sadly, that’s not the case. A recent Salient survey revealed 75% of students have felt unsafe in a Wellington nightclub, and many highlighted concerning safety issues they'd faced travelling to and from the city at night and the lack of safe transport options. [2,3]

“I can’t walk on Courtney without feeling like I need to constantly be watching my back”
-Rachel (22)

Young people and our communities know what the issues are and what solutions will work for us. That's why we want WCC to work with us - especially those that are often the target of harm such as our ethnic communities, queer communities, disabled communities and more. 
We are asking them to:
  • Commit to a project for young people's safety and wellbeing
  • Centre young people's leadership by co-creating it with us
  • Provide funding to enable young people's involvement and participation in the process 
  • Funding pathways for intercultural cohesion through education and community building

We truly believe that a wide-scale cross-community project would be a great first step for youth wellbeing and safety. We would start by engaging with communities on things that impact our safety - like transport, de-escalation skills, nightlife culture, safe spaces, accessibility, and cultural attitudes. 

In the meantime, there are already some solutions the WCC could action now, such as:
  • Increase funding for Take10 to include more safe spaces in and around Cuba street - Courtenay place area
  • Require all liquor licence holders to ensure their staff are trained in de-escalation training
  • Create teams of trained professionals that can go from venue to venue and make sure that people in need are cared for, including providing drug and alcohol harm reduction information and support
  • Train up more wardens from affected communities to be present in the inner city areas over the weekend nights, to help increase safety
  • Free and accessible transport 
  • Free wi-fi and public accessible charging stations 


Why now?

Mayor Tory Whanau has asked for a refreshed city safety plan now that the Pōneke Promise is coming to an end.[6] We want to make sure the new plan includes a project focussed on the wellbeing and safety of our young people, and reducing harm in the inner city. 

In late 2020, local communities raised concerns about the safety in central Wellington. At the start of 2021 the Wellington Alliance Against Sexual Violence - a coalition of youth-led organisations hosted a rally on Courtney place calling on WCC and its partners to prioritise sexual violence prevention. [3,4] WCC listened and created Pōneke Promise which widened its focus on making ‘central Wellington safe, vibrant and welcoming”[5]

Now that a new plan is being made, we need to make sure WCC listens to our communities again and delivers what we as young people need - Safer streets!

Join us and together we can create a better future for young people!

Acknowledgment
We would like to acknowledge Luke Smith. Who we lost too early and who brought us all together to fight for a better future for our young people. Because of Luke Smith we are demanding that the wellbeing and the safety of our young people are put as priority by the Wellington City Council. 

This petition we created in consultation with Luke Smith’s family. If you would like to support the family in bringing their son back home to South African for his funeral please click here for their givealittle.

References

  1. https://www.salient.org.nz/post/safety-and-harassment-in-wellington-s-clubs
  2. https://www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/350352650/unwanted-groping-part-student-culture-city-bars 
  3. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/there-is-no-excuse-hundreds-turn-out-to-protest-against-sexual-violence-in-wellington/7AEJB5VQY7BJ6VB67MEFU47BVU/
  4. https://wellington.govt.nz/-/media/community-support-and-resources/community-safety/files/sexual-violence-prevention/sexual-violence-prevention-roadmap.pdf
  5. https://wellington.govt.nz/community-support-and-resources/safety-in-wellington/the-poneke-promise 
  6. https://www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/350356298/inner-city-safety-plan-be-updated-after-students-report-feeling-unsafe
Wellington, New Zealand

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Updates

2024-10-29 07:30:52 +1300

500 signatures reached

2024-10-23 13:12:33 +1300

100 signatures reached

2024-10-22 18:51:57 +1300

50 signatures reached

2024-10-22 15:49:55 +1300

25 signatures reached

2024-10-21 15:11:16 +1300

10 signatures reached