There's a small space for women's voices
I've started on the report. There's actually a lot of other interesting stuff on the website, which I will be writing about as well (the short version is that the process was apalling).
There has been some good media, which allowed women who to have a voice. Close Up had Louise Nicholas and Judith Garrett, who were suitably scoffing of Howard Broad's blitherings.*
Nine to Noon dedicated the first hour to the report, and had Louise Nicholas, and a woman who had given evidence to the inquiry. I'm not going to link to Morning Report's coverage - because one of those misogynist fuckwits suggested to Judith Garrett that since the man who raped her was acquitted then the police did the right thing by covering it up.
Last night Close Up had another woman who had been raped by Rotorua police in the 1980s. She was so incredibly strong and clear in the interview.
* Warning this video may lead feminist viewers to think positive thoughts about Helen Clark. These will probably be unfamiliar, rest assured that they will pass reasonably quickly.
I saw part of Close Up's interview with Louise Nicholas and Judith Garrett. I missed the beginning though, so I'm not sure who Judith Garrett is. Never heard her name mentioned before. Can any one enlighten me?
ReplyDeleteJudith Garrett was another woman who was raped by police officers, who then covered it up. She lived in Kaitaia.
ReplyDeleteMaia - I am so glad you spotted the fatal flaws in the Commission of Inquiry's operation and results. It was prevented at every turn from uncovering the truth and its a miracle it even got as far as it did. Louise Nicholas and Judith Garrett were important in that they were the two women whose stories led Helen Clark to set up the Commission.
ReplyDeleteThe reason for this is that both of them had actually been through legal battles in the nineties; the complaint and 'investigation' process and they had the paper trail - documents of disclosure - in their possession that if revealed to the Commission would show how the police dealing with their rape complaints had tampered with evidence, forged documents, lied under oath,allowed members under suspicion to PERF for large sums of money rather simply be sacked for misbehaviour at the low end. Criminally prosecuted at the high end.
This damning paper trail which would have shown a clear link of covering up from the offenders up to the Commissioners office could not be allowed to be revealed to the Commission or the public and therefore neither Nicholas nor Garrett were allowed to have their stories told through the Commission. Because THEY COULD PROVE that the cover ups were not isolated incidents but a well oiled cover-up machine swinging into action from the offender to the top - the "concerted system of cover up" which Dame Bazley could not find.Not her fault. It wasn't allowed to be found. The legal term for it is conspiring to pervert/defeat the course of justice. A serious crime.
That is the reason that the two women who were described as courageous by the Prime Minister were not allowed to tell the commission what had happened to them and once again the only people 'investigating' their tragedies were the organisation that caused them - the Police!! No wonder they were angry, scared and upset, even more so when they were subjected to farcical, humiliating Trials where the truth was so suppressed they had to fail. The word historical was used a lot. They lost.
The numbers are interesting Maia for many reasons. The 300 odd cases investigated were only those which had made their way onto POLICE FILES.The true numbers of women raped by police officers will never be known as the Commission could only look into those existing in police files. I would venture a guess that the worst cases never made it onto paper, the women being bullied and coerced into silence and never making a complaint. Still that's enough of a rant. Go on reading it all please. Its very very important that the 5 million $ inquiry is not just buried. Its important that people aren't taken in by the "very small number" of bad cops - "only about 5 a year" spoken of by the top brass. There are hundreds more out there whose stories will never be told.