The rape jokes told by an Australian comedian due to perform in the South encourage sexual violence and make light of survivors' pain, Rape Crisis Dunedin says.
Spokeswoman Michell Reddy was concerned about the jokes Jim Jefferies has made about survivors of sexual abuse.
A New Zealand tour by the comedian in October includes stops at the Regent Theatre in Dunedin and the Civic Theatre in Invercargill.
Rape jokes were a form of harassment and inappropriate in a society with a high prevalence of sexual violence, Miss Reddy said.
A joke by Jefferies refers to the women allegedly sexually assaulted by comedian Bill Cosby.
He states the penalty for Cosby raping the women would be the same for any number more than 30, so he should "just go for it''.
"This disregards the impact of the trauma that the women involved have lived through and encourages sexual violence. It treats women as just a statistic,'' Miss Reddy said.
In another joke, Jefferies calls rape a compliment.
"It is not and never will be. It is a serious criminal offence that can, and does, have long-lasting effects physically, psychologically, and spiritually,'' Miss Reddy said.
Jefferies needed to ask himself who was benefiting from his jokes.
"By portraying sexual violence as something that should not be taken seriously, he affirms perpetrators by turning their actions and the lack of consent into something that should be laughed about.''
Rape jokes were neither "edgy, new or subversive'' and were a key driver of rape culture.
"People are beginning to seek the support they need because we're moving somewhat closer to acknowledging that rape is a serious crime, never the survivor's fault, and never something they want, contrary to what Jefferies has stated on stage.''
Rape jokes set back the work of Rape Crisis Dunedin and "invalidate people's trauma, and turn their pain into something laughable'', Miss Reddy said.
Regent Theatre director Sarah Anderson declined to comment about the show and referred all questions to the promoter.
Frontier Comedy spokesman Andrew Taylor, Jefferies' Australian promoter, declined to comment or pass on questions to Jefferies.
"Everyone is entitled to their opinion and us buying into the discussion doesn't help anyone or anything. Jim will not be commenting, nor will Frontier.''
Jefferies did not respond to questions posed on his social media sites.
No-one at the Civic Theatre could be contacted for comment last night.
