"The war is won" - Louise Nicholas

Rape victim advocate Louise Nicholas says she feels a war has been won with the release of a sexual violence report.

Justice Minister Simon Power released the Taskforce for Action on Sexual Violence (TASV) report today, saying it confirmed sexual violence was one of the most costly crimes for the health, social and justice sectors.

Mr Power said there were a number of recommendations to consider, but the process would not be rushed and the Government was unlikely to respond before the end of the year.

The report recommended legislative amendments, work on alternative pathways to the criminal justice system and monitoring the recommendations to ensure action was properly targeted.

Te Ohaakii a Hine -- National Network Ending Sexual Violence Together (TOAH-NNEST), which was represented on the taskforce, thanked those who had contributed to the report, in particular sexual violence survivors who gave their time and knowledge.

TOAH-NNEST said the taskforce was created in response to the public outpouring of concern for rape survivors going through the criminal justice system, following Mrs Nicholas' high profile case in 2006.

Mrs Nicholas was the complainant in the historic rape case against former police officers Brad Shipton, Bob Schollum and Clint Rickards, who were all acquitted.

It was revealed later that Shipton and Schollum had been convicted in 2005 of the pack rape of another woman in Mt Maunganui in 1989.

Today, Mrs Nicholas said the report's release was a cause for celebration for survivors.

"As a survivor of childhood and adult rape my journey alone has been one filled with too many injustices, too many questions and not enough answers," she said.

"I have been through the judicial system seven times in the past 15 years seeking those answers but have always come up against barriers...

"From the age of 13 I found I had lost many battles, but today I feel a war has finally been won."

Mrs Nicholas said the report was a huge step towards ensuring that what she and many others had had to endure would now help future victims.

"Thank you to all members of the TASV, who have shown amazing commitment and dedication to this report and for finally bringing hope and allowing our voices which have been silenced for too long to finally be heard."

Along with taskforce recommendations TOAH-NNEST made others, including:

* a whole-of-government group to work with TOAH-NNEST on ongoing prevention;

* funding for specialised sexual violence prevention services and programmes;

* a focus on six key areas -- including protecting children and Maori-led solutions;

* legislative changes to ACC to support the best practice of rehabilitation and treatment;

* government funding for a Maori offender pilot programme.