Opinion - The price of silence: why 'never again' keeps happening
14th of May, 2026
by Eve Wingerath
Some of us know the story of Cassandra. She’s the figure in Greek mythology who could predict the future but was treated as hysterical. Popular retellings often leave out that the reason Apollo cursed her to never be believed was because she refused him sex.
It’s an apt metaphor for how it can feel trying to convince society at large about the reality of sexual violence.
Moving from education to action
For the last four years, every April, I have had the privilege of running Aviva’s Stop It campaign, urging Kiwis to play their part in preventing sexual violence. At its heart, Stop It is built on faith – faith that when most people know how to make a difference, they will. Initially the campaign sought to address the gap in people’s understanding of sexual violence, and answer the question, “how can we all play our part to prevent sexual violence before it happens?”
However, as the campaign enters its fifth year, our approach is to make more of a direct approach, with images which challenge people with the question, “what are you willing to look away from?” and “who pays the price for your silence?”
Because going by the data, we – collectively – are failing victims of sexual violence. But, unlike Cassandra, we’re not predicting the crisis. It’s here, we’re pointing to it; our only prediction is that if nothing changes now, the crisis will continue or worsen. Yes, we’ve made some progress, but in the backlash, we’ve seen the rise of “manosphere” influencers; wealthy and powerful individuals avoiding accountability; and the emergence of deepfakes as a common form of sexual violence.
A crisis in plain sight
If I sound frustrated, it’s because I am. But the good news is, frustration is not resignation – it’s far from it. Because sexual violence is not an inevitability. I know this because when widespread sexual predation dominates the headlines, most people react with shock and horror. As a society, we don’t want to live in a world where sexual violence is so widespread. And as a society, when we want to change things, we do.
Yet with each new scandal, trial, victim’s story, society avows “never again” or “not on our watch”. Then it happens again, on our watch. And in between each scandal, people who are unaffected don’t learn anything beyond the headlines.
What we teach by staying silent
But there are people who do learn from these stories. Those who choose to use violence not only learn what lead to the identification of others; they learn that, once the news cycle moves on, society at large goes back to turning a blind eye. Survivors notice this too; survivors are very adept at pattern recognition.
So, if our campaign makes you uncomfortable; if you abhor sexual violence; if the headlines turn your stomach, this is a challenge for you. When you see something that makes you want to look away, don’t. Take action instead.
If you don’t know what to do in the moment, take the action of learning. Knowledge is power. It costs you nothing, but it could mean everything to someone else.
Visit www.stopit.nz.