Alison Mau Reflects On Early Career Harassment And Launches Tika

Journalist Alison Mau reflects on a career spanning major media milestones, including an incident of workplace harassment at age 23 and her current work co-founding Tika, a free legal service and reporting platform for sexual harm survivors backed by the Clare Foundation.

Decades before becoming one of New Zealand's prominent voices in the #MeToo movement, journalist Alison Mau worked in a media industry where inappropriate workplace behaviour was not reported. Now 61 years old, Mau is confronting those memories while running Tika, an innovative technology platform and free legal service designed to help survivors of sexual harm share their experiences safely.

Early Career Realities and Unreported Incidents

Recalling her early days in television at age 23, Mau described an environment vastly different from today’s corporate standards. She recounted an incident where a boss she thought she respected drank too much and lunged across the backseat of a taxi to try and kiss her. Mau reacted with shock, and while the behavior never recurred, she kept the incident to herself for nearly 40 years.

That experience mirrored a broader culture of blatant, open harassment she later encountered during her time at Channel 9 in Melbourne, details of which she documented in chapter 12 of her memoir. Mau noted that what was said and done openly in the newsroom toward most women then would routinely lead straight to human resources today.

Building Tika With Co-Founder Zoë Lawton

The catalyst for change in Mau’s own life came in 2018 when her sister called to share that she too had been abused as a child by a family member, breaking Mau’s sense of isolation. That realization inspired the community-focused foundation of Tika, which Mau co-founded alongside lawyer Zoë Lawton.

The platform operates as both a formal legal service and an informal space for survivors to unburden themselves of trauma. Behind the technology is a large language model designed to securely review reports and search for matches where multiple individuals have reported the same perpetrator—a feature that often draws astonished reactions from first-time observers.

Overcoming Funding Hurdles and Startup Pressures

Developing Tika required perseverance through financial precarity, with the co-founders working unpaid for the first year of the three-year project. Momentum shifted when the initiative secured seed funding in 2024 from the Clare Foundation, allowing Mau and Lawton to dedicate themselves to the startup full-time.

Despite the operational hurdles, the co-founders drew resilience from a simple fact: across three years of development, not a single person told them the concept was a bad idea. This sustained backing coincided with unexpected personal milestones, including her memoir becoming a surprise bestseller and earning an audiobook of the year shortlist nomination.

Rethinking Support Beyond Traditional Police Avenues

Mau’s public advocacy also addresses the limitations of conventional reporting channels. While acknowledging that supportive police teams assist survivors well through criminal processes in various parts of the country, she points out that historical handling and certain instances of criminal reporting have fallen short.

Reflecting on the hundreds of survivors who have messaged her over the past year sharing heavy personal stories, Mau emphasizes a specific approach to listening. She practices compassion rather than empathy to avoid absorbing others’ pain, ensuring she can continue supporting survivors while driving Tika’s mission forward.