Dying 16 Year Old’s Final Wish

Dying 16 Year Old’s Final Wish is for Kiwis to Stand up Against Sexual Violence

16 year old Eva is dying of cancer and her final wish is to make New Zealand a safe place for her loved ones before she leaves. Many of her friends have been sexually assaulted.

Eva wants New Zealanders to show they support sexual abuse survivors by asking the government to create an online crisis service for survivors and to get behind her donation campaign to get the long-term support needed for women & children who have been sexually assaulted.

Eva has been battling an aggressive cancer for the last year and a half: “Sadly, the doctors have told me that anything we do medically will only delay the inevitable,” says Eva. “When I first knew that I didn’t have long to live, people kept asking me what was on my bucket list.”

“What I really want to do is something that will be helping people after I am gone. To give more than what I have been taken.”

“What I am most passionate about is stopping sexual assault, and getting help for survivors. This may shock you, but more of my friends have been assaulted than not. One of my friends sits across from her rapist in class every day. That really breaks my heart.” says Eva.

“New Zealand, without your help, 1 in 3 girls will be sexually assaulted, and 1 in 7 boys. I’m not OK with that. Are you?”

When her friends were assaulted, what shocked Eva was that there was no help that met young people’s needs. “My friends had no money for transport to get to therapy, and they often didn’t want to ask their parents to take them there, or were too afraid to ask.”

To make Eva’s wish for a safer New Zealander come true, Eva has teamed up with HELP. HELP is an Auckland-based not-for-profit that helps women and children heal from the often traumatising affects of sexual assault. They offer 24/7 crisis support, and long-term therapy for assault survivors.

Minister Anne Tolley has recently announced funding for a 24/7 nationwide crisis phone line for sexual assault survivors. Eva is excited that there will be more support for survivors, but she doesn’t think that a phone line is what teenagers like her need: “Young people like me don’t want to talk to a stranger on the phone. We want to talk to a trained counsellor online, where we feel safe.”

Eva has published an open letter and video on HELP’s new website for young women. Eva is asking for New Zealanders to show that they stand behind her by sharing with their networks with the hashtag #EvasWish.

Eva knows that just getting online support in times of crisis isn’t enough to help survivors reclaim their lives. So she is also asking the public to show their support by donating to give vulnerable women and children the long-term support they need to heal and recover at HELP. You can donate at https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/evaswish. Eva hopes raise $50,000 for women and children survivors.

“For some children, teenagers and women, it can take years before they can really reclaim their lives after such a traumatising experience. We simply couldn’t be there for people as long as they need us without passionate people like Eva speaking up for us, and generous Kiwis supporting HELP,” says Kathryn McPhillips.

“Eva is an incredibly passionate young woman, and we’re so proud that we can be part of making her wish come true,” says Kathryn McPhillips, “We’re asking New Zealanders to come together to show Eva that Kiwis do care about the blight of sexual abuse in our nation. The more that we talk about sexual abuse, the more likely it is that victims will step forward and ask for help, and that people will start to look at themselves and realise that what they’re doing is wrong.”

Eva is asking New Zealanders to show that they look after sexual assault survivors after she is gone by sharing her video at www.dearem.nz, and by donating to her campaign to raise $50,000 for survivors at https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/evaswish

ABOUT HELP:

HELP is an Auckland-based not-for profit working to end sexual abuse in New Zealand for good. HELP provides crisis and therapy services, covering a population of 1 million. Sadly, sexual abuse is all too common in NZ, with 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 7 boys likely to be sexually abused before their 16th birthday, and 20% of women having experienced sexual assault.

HELP is there to support survivors. HELP provides a 24/7 crisis line and emergency call-out service for recent assaults, police interviews and medical examinations. HELP also provides face-to-face individual & family therapy for as long as needed. HELP supports survivors who choose to go through the court system, and also supports survivors through restorative justice processes.

HELP are also leaders in developing innovative digital campaigns to reach all of NZ, including newly launched www.dearem.nz to reach the 180,000 young women between 13 and 18 in New Zealand who may have been sexually assaulted. Learn more at www.helpauckland.org.nz

ENDS

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