Child Abuse - What is it

NEWS
Rape - New Zealand

Support for Louise Nicholas Queen St March 30 April 2006

Although the Louise Nicholas trial has spurred this march, Louise and most of us here know that this march is about a much wider issue.

From national and international research we know that approximately 1 in 3 women and 1 in 6 men are likely to experience some form of sexual violence in their life-times.

We also know from international research that approximately 1 in 10 rapes are reported.

Of those reported rapes perhaps only 5% will achieve a prosecution.

Is it possible that 95% of the crimes of sexual violence did not happen?

If the majority of these crimes did happen but there is no consequence to the offender then, from what we know about the pattern of sexual offending, without intervention, many sex offenders go on to offend many times over during their life-times.

The low reporting rate and low conviction rate of sexual crimes has a number of consequences that require our attention as a society if we hope to keep all of us, including our children, safe from sexual violence.

First of all, we need to ensure that there are sufficient, effective prevention education programmes to help young people, particularly boys, to have the skills to avoid sexual offending.

Secondly, we need to ensure that there are well-funded and supported specialist treatment services for both survivors and offenders. Working with the consequences of sexual violence day after day is extremely taxing and specialised work. Those who do this work require our support.

Thirdly, we need to review the processes by which sexual crimes are tried.

Rape survivors are voting with their feet and are avoiding or are dropping out of the criminal justice system. One of the reasons survivors of sexual violence are not participating in the criminal justice system is because of the adversarial process. They know that the adversarial process is often as destructive as the rape itself.

The adversarial system is a battle between two sides. The adversarial process does not work for crimes of sexual violence. It is a cruel and barbaric system that does not seek the truth of the matter.

One side has to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the crime happened. With crimes of sexual violence there is always going to be doubt because, very rarely are there witnesses or physical evidence. Often the battle is then over credibility.

The adversarial system is a system where one side tries to destroy the credibility of the other. In this context, the survivor has to relive in public, in graphic detail, humiliating and degrading acts perpetrated against her or him.

The survivor’s evidence is tested by a hostile defence lawyer whose job it is to attack her or his credibility.

The accused has the right to silence and does not have to have their account of what happened tested.

There are many more options for dealing with crimes of sexual violence including a restorative justice model and an inquisitorial system. In an inquisitorial system the right to silence is removed, there is no jury and the Judge is able to inquire of both parties a narrative account about what happened. Each party may have a support person with them as they give evidence.

Most survivors of sexual violence know the person who abused them and do not want them to go to jail for many years.

Most survivors want the offender to acknowledge what happened and apologise for it. They also want to be sure that the offender will not offend again and so will have some treatment. Some also want some form of reparation.

As a result of this march we will ask for cross Party support from the Government to set up a specialised Task Force to review the processes by which sexual crimes are tried.

Rape Crisis Auckland and Auckland Sexual Abuse Help Foundation are working with a group of lawyers to put a proposal to government with a request for this specialist Task Force to be set up.

We want a humane process for both survivor and offender.

We want a justice system that aims to make all of our communities safer from sexual offending by ensuring that the voices of both the survivor and offender are able to be heard in a more constructive environment - one where opportunities for treatment and healing are possibilities.

You would be making a difference for survivors of sexual violence if you were willing to support our call for this proposal.

Thank you to each and every one of you for taking the time out of your day to try to make a difference for survivors of sexual violence.

Thank you for helping to launch Rape Awareness Week 2006.