Bev Lawton – Elimination of Cervical Cancer in our Lifetime

Professor Bev Lawton (ONZM)

Professor Bev Lawton, named the 2025 New Zealander of the Year, was appointed an Officer of the NZ Order of Merit by the Queen for services to women’s health in 2005 and was made a Distinguished Fellow of the Royal College of General Practitioners in 2017.

She is the founder/director of Te Tātai Hauora o Hine (the National Centre for Women’s Health Research Aotearoa) at Victoria University of Wellington and was awarded the Royal Australia and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Māori Women’s Health Award in 2020; the 2021 Women of Influence Award (Innovation, Science and Health); The Beaven Medal by the Health Research Council in 2023; and The Maarire Goodall Award by Te Ohu Rata o Aotearoa in 2024.

Bev previously worked as a general practitioner in Wellington for 17 years and co-founded the Wellington Menopause Clinic. She has made a significant contribution to advancing Māori health is in the field of cervical cancer prevention, particularly her advocacy and research in HPV self-testing aiming to increase cervical screening uptake for wāhine Māori.