Ko wai mātou
About us
Hohou Te Rongo Kahukura is the specialist Takatāpui and Rainbow violence response and prevention charity in Aotearoa. We take a community development and research-based approach to prevent violence, improve responses after people have experienced violence and promote wellbeing for people in Takatāpui and Rainbow communities across the lifespan.
We offer a national sexual violence support service for Takatāpui and Rainbow survivors, regional support in the Waikato for Takatāpui and Rainbow whānau after family violence, community programmes and online and in-person training for social and healthcare services to better respond to Takatāpui and Rainbow people and communities. Our work is underpinned by the honouring of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and acknowledging the impact of colonisation on understandings of sex, sexuality and gender diversity in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Hohou Te Rongo Kahukura asks us to cultivate peace through strengthening our connections and invites our communities to respect one another for all that we are. Outing Violence names all kinds of violence towards Takatāpui and Rainbow people as unacceptable. We offer training, advice and support for violence response agencies and policy makers.
Our Board
Scarlet Bennett
co-chair
Scarlet Bennett (he/him/they) identifies as queer and is based in Christchurch. They have worked in the education sector since 2008 and has been volunteering in the health and support sectors since 2017. Scarlet is passionate about social justice and equity, with a particular interest in supporting people living with HIV. Scarlet became involved with Hohou Te Rongo Kahukura in 2021, becoming the first Tauiwi co-chair. They have also facilitated Club Kahukura.
Oriana Brown
BOARD
Oriana Brown identifies as demisexual (she/her/they/ia) and is of Māori descent.
She is passionate about issues affecting the rainbow community.
Oriana has been part of developing the Hohou Te Rongo Kahukura kaupapa since 2021 and enjoys being involved with the invaluable work and research, including the respect and embrace of ngā mea Māori.
She participated as an interviewer for the Elder Voices project and also helps facilitate Club Kahukura.
Adena Mackin
Treasurer
Adena (she/her) is originally from the South Island but has called the Waikato home for over seven years. She is a Chartered Accountant and runs a boutique advisory firm focused on “Building Better Businesses.” Her work is driven by a passion for providing business owners with practical support that adds real value. Outside of work, Adena enjoys traveling and the perspective it brings, while always appreciating the beauty of New Zealand.
She is proud to serve on the Hohou te Rongo Kahukura Board, believing that diversity strengthens communities and that violence, in any form, is never acceptable.
Anna Tashkoff
board
He uri tēnei o ngā hekenga whakapapa nō Te Tai Rāwhiti, nō Te Tai Tokerau, nō Kōtirana, nō Purukāria, nō Hōrana anō hoki.
Ko Āniwaniwa tōku ingoa. Ko Ana, ko Anna rānei ōku ingoa kārangaranga.
Ana identifies as a wahine takatāpui (ia/she/her), neurodivergent, and a survivor, who enjoys working in spaces that centre the wellbeing of our people, particularly in her role as a trainer and researcher with the Hohou Te Rongo Kahukura whānau since 2023, and now as board member. As a researcher and kaimahi in the education sector, her work spans a decade of belief in the transformational nature of education and the power of community, especially honouring the potential of wānanga, pūrākau, and other forms of information to create change for the better in our society. Mō ngā mokopuna te take – mauri ora!
Sandra Dickson
board
Sandra Dickson (she/they) is a Pākehā gender non-conforming bisexual woman of Scottish, Canadian and English descent. She has more than 30 years’ experience working in Takatāpui and Rainbow communities and violence prevention at local, national and international levels. She is also autistic, a bogan, and a survivor. To bring a specific focus on Takatāpui and Rainbow people’s experiences of violence, Sandra informally founded Hohou Te Rongo Kahukura in 2015. Today, Sandra offers supervision, holds an advisory role for Vine, and is Tauiwi Research Lead for Hohou Te Rongo Kahukura.
Our kaimahi
Bex Fraser
Kaihautū / Executive Lead
Bex Fraser (they/them) is a Pākehā non-binary trans bisexual person who has worked as a facilitator, manager, and volunteer in community organisations for 20 years. Their focus is social justice, intercultural practice and violence prevention for marginalised people, including former refugees and migrants, single parents and queer people. Bex organised the 2015 Waikato hui for Hohou te Rongo Kahukura, and then co-developed the first healthy relationships programme for adults newly exploring gender and sexuality when coming out was identified as a particularly vulnerable time. They bring their wide experience and skills to Hohou Te Rongo Kahukura in many ways.
Jasper
Sensitive claims co-ordinator
Jasper Ririnui (Ngāti Awa, Ngāi Te Rangi) is a Takatāpui person based in Ōtepoti. After working in event management and theatre, Jasper took some time away to focus on trauma recovery and comes to us with intimate knowledge of the importance of these therapeutic services. Jasper joined Hohou Te Rongo Kahukura in July 2025, and is dedicated to supporting our kiritaki access the kind of care that has helped them so much.
Crystal Walters
registered social WORKER
Nō Waikato, Ngāti Maniapoto ahau. Ko Crystal Walters tōku ingoa. I am a wahine Māori and Takatāpui/Lesbian. “He aha te mea nui o tēnei ao, he tangata, he tangata, he tangata”
I am closely connected to my own whānau and grateful to be able to support others in the community to improve their life and circumstances no matter what their challenges are as I understand that life can be hard at times.
I am from Kirikiriroa and worked for over 20 years in both Hamilton and the Huntly communities in the social services in several roles working with tamariki, rangatahi and their whānau.
I have knowledge and experience in the education sector, care and protection of our tamariki and in the family violence space.
Bailey Roma
Kairuruku
Ko whareorino te maunga
Ko mangawhitikau te awa
Ko waipatoto te marae
Ko maniapoto te iwi
Bailey (she/her) has a varied mahi background in customer service, child-care, and the pharmacy sector. She worked with Hohou te Rongo Kahukura as an intern before becoming Kairuruku and feels driven to be a part of the continued growth. She brings a unique set of skills and a love for helping others.
“I look forward to supporting Hohou te Rongo Kahukura’s vision.”
Mauri ora!
Emma Forrester
sensitive claims intake support
Emma Forrester (Ngāti Porou, Ngāi Tahu) is based in Ōtepoti. She has a background in Sociology and Gender studies, and is passionate about violence prevention and social justice. Emma is working with Hohou Te Rongo Kahukura alongside her post graduate studies, where she has an interest in feminist/queer/post-colonial theory.
Our contract kaimahi
Hamie
TakataApui Trainer
Tēnā kōutou e te whānau,
He uri tēnēi no Te Aupōuri, Ngāti Maru (ki Hauraki), Kōtirana (Clan Horn), me Aerani (Clan Murphy).
Nei rā te mihi kia kōutou e tautoko mai ana i te haumarutanga me te whakaoranga o tātou hāpori Takataapui me te whanau Kahukura o Aotearoa nei.
Mauri ora e te whānau.
“Ki te kahore he whakakitenga ka ngaro te iwi” Nō Kingi Tawhiao Pōtatau te Wherowhero.
Hamie helped develop Club Kahukura in 2017 and became Takataapui trainer for Hohou Te Rongo Kahukura in 2023.
Sarah Court
TakataApui Trainer
Sarah Court is of Ngāti Maniapoto and Ngāi Tahu descent, as well as being descended from Irish and Scottish colonial immigrants. Sarah’s pronouns are she/her. She started training with Hohou Te Rongo Kahukura in 2023. The thing she loves most about working with Hohou Te Rongo Kahukura is the feeling of family and community that we in the rainbow whānau often do so well.
Julia Tawa
Takataapui trainer
Julia Tawa (they/them) was born and raised in Utah, USA where their maternal pioneer heritage family is rooted. Their daughter holds whakapapa of Diné (Navajo) and Southern Paiute tribes in North America. Julia’s whānau in Aotearoa hail from Ngaati Paaoa, Ngāti Ranginui and they now call Tauranga Moana home. As a Takatāpui cultural anthropologist and creative artist, they are invested in preserving Indigenous knowledge, advocating for the restoration of sacred lands both physical and spiritual, and seeking justice for all marginalised peoples of the world. Julia has been working as a trainer for Hohou Te Rongo Kahukura since 2023.
Vivian Chandra
Tauiwi trainer
Kei te noho ahau kei roto i te taumarumaru o Te Pane o Mataoho – I sit in the shadow of Māngere Mountain
I tipu mai ahau i ngā tahataha o te moana o Manukanuka o Hoturoa – I grow better on the shores of Manukau Harbour
Nō Mārehia ahau – I am from Malaysia
Ko Tāmaki Makaurau te rohe, Kei Te Piriti o Māngere ahau e noho ana – I live in the area of Auckland, specifically Māngere Bridge
Vivian Chandra (she/her) is a queer cis woman who has been a trainer for Hohou Te Rongo Kahukura since 2023.
Carole Fraser
Club kahukura facilitator
Carole (she/her) is non-binary/trans/asexual and Pākehā. She is an experienced facilitator of trans women support groups and LGBTQ+ addiction recovery in both individual and group sessions, and began facilitating Club Kahukura at the start of 2023. Carole enjoys seeing people grow in authentic connection with themselves and others. Carole first identified as queer in 1976 while living and working in France, before terms such as transgender and gender-fluid existed. She taught adults and adolescents, retiring in 2008 to give more time to visual art practice. She and her wife have four children and actively grandparent their nine grandchildren.
Our funders and supporters
