Wrap up for our Atu-Mai community mobilisers

June marks the end of term for our current Atu-Mai community Upstanders following a season of trainings, workshops and community activations. 

Le Va’s Atu-Mai violence prevention team engaged local leaders in the community to help educate and raise awareness about sexual violence prevention and stopping child sexual abuse, and has produced a series of Stories of Change to highlight their efforts. 

Our busy team has continued to support each community mobiliser to run their exciting community activations, working in different spaces including events, men’s groups, schools, women’s refuge and churches. 

Fale Pasifika Women’s Refuge Practice Lead, Sharee Sauni, says she wanted to be an Atu-Mai community mobiliser because there’s still more work to be done to change the thinking around sexual violence prevention – especially with the elderly and older generation. 

“I want to find ways that I can raise awareness or normalise conversations with community, within our families, about sexual violence,” she says. 

She has shared the Atu-Mai training with mothers and staff at her work. 

Pelea Fruean interviewing students at Polyfest 2025

Pelea Fruean, who interviewed people at Polyfest 2025 and during Le Va’s Global Pacific Solutions conference, said it was about breaking the stigma and silence for youth by having conversations. 

“I really enjoyed the activation training I went through to be able to put me in a position to mobilise safely, and I think it’s helped me in my own personal relationships and even at work,” she says. 

Aisina Olo-Tulaga with Deans from her school

South Auckland school counsellor, Aisina Olo-Tulaga, says being an Upstander was a great opportunity. She arranged for her school Deans to come to Le Va for an Atu-Mai training session. 

“Building my kete of knowledge in child sexual abuse and prevention is really the key to preventing child sexual abuse,” she says.

And Josh Macfarlane from Man Alive says the Atu-Mai programme has had a lasting impact on his life and the lives of those around him. 

“Transformative impact for me – massively yeah and I’m noticing the people that I work with it having an impact and it’s being taken home and actually being put in place – which has got to be transformative, hasn’t it?”, he says. 

Our Atu-Mai primary prevention programme supports community mobilisation as a suitable way raise more awareness in the community about sexual violence and share about prevention measures in an effort to change attitudes, hearts and minds about a topic many Pasifika people find uncomfortable topic to even talk about.