On Sunday, Stuff published a months-long investigation by Alison Mau detailing allegations of harassment and exploitation within the local music industry. The piece, ‘Music industry professionals demand change after speaking out about its dark side’, includes allegations of inappropriate behaviour and abuse of power by male artists, international acts and executives; the men named are … Read more
Every story in Bug Week clacks and hums with the anger of women. Here, the author explains why. Content warning: this article references sexual assault and family violence. It seems like a bit of a self-indulgent exercise writing about the genesis of a book. Books are texts, separable from their authors and the biographical circumstances … Read more
A new Twilight book launches today. Its author told Catherine Woulfe about gender politics, anxiety, and the challenges of writing the Twilight story from Edward Cullen’s perspective. Midnight Sun is the original Twilight story, except instead of Bella Swan narrating it’s her vampire love, Edward Cullen. It’s a book that I and the rest of … Read more
With Sprigs, Brannavan Gnanalingam delivers a great New Zealand novel, writes Uther Dean. Since 2011 Brannavan Gnanalingam has pumped out Major Work after Major Work. Every two years brought another book: Getting Under Sail; You Should Have Come Here When You Were Not Here; Credit in the Straight World; A Briefcase, Two Pies and a … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Collins announces major reshuffle after two leading MPs quit, horror story of migrant worker abuse revealed, and Auckland’s emergency budget passes. So, there was a bit of incorrect information in yesterday’s Bulletin about departures from National. It turns out Amy Adams will also be quitting, meaning … Read more
The On the Rag team assemble to dissect the previous month in news, media and feminism. It’s somehow the end of February so we’re here to look back at the month in Women’s Stuff. Uniform shorts are sending young women into counselling sessions at a a local high school, but why? How the hell did … Read more
‘I finished This is Pleasure at about 4am on a Sunday. I hadn’t been able to sleep – I’d had an uncomfortable interaction with a powerful person, and it was keeping me awake …’. Pip Adam on a book that challenged and changed her. From where I’m typing this, I can see a copy of … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Long term consequences from heavy weekend weather, hospitality giant apologises for many mishandled complaints, and Auckland traffic chaos looms. There will be long term consequences from the weather that hammered the country over the weekend. Chief among them is a massive slip cutting State Highway 6, … Read more
As the Labour party prepares to release the findings of an investigation into its handling of sexual assault allegations, another ex-volunteer, who approached The Spinoff after the publication of Sarah’s story, shares her experience. The Labour Party’s response follows. I was heading home from work in March, 2016 when I saw my sexual assault in … Read more
Countless stories from women who have a right to be safe on campus still go unanswered, writes Kate Hannah, deputy director equity and inclusion, Te Pūnaha Matatini Despite the hashtags and the headlines, universities in New Zealand seem to have largely avoided facing up to their own “#MeToo moment”. It is not for the want … Read more
Cave à Vin founder Zane Kelsall says he has been in ‘intense therapy’ following sexual misconduct claims in Halifax. Last week, The Spinoff published a story about Cave à Vin, a new wine bar on Auckland’s North Shore. The story hailed the vision of its owner, Zane Kelsall, who had recently emigrated from Canada with … Read more
A ‘wake-up call’ has been issued to businesses and the health and safety sector. A system that puts the onus on victims to come forward and face an intimidating complaints process needs a fundamental overhaul After decades of preventable workplace accidents and deaths caused largely by the nation’s ‘she’ll be right’ attitude, New Zealand’s health … Read more
Foxton author Anne Hunt backgrounds the legal challenges she faced when she published her book about a woman who accused her therapist of rape. Content warning: suicidal ideation and rape My 2003 book Broken Silence was published too long ago to capture a readership mesmerised by the complexities of the #MeToo movement. It documented the … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Phil Goff confirms he’ll run for another term as Auckland mayor, Greens unveil members bill with sweeping electoral changes, and real estate agents are giving up. Auckland mayor Phil Goff has finally confirmed he’ll be seeking another term, and hasn’t shied away from the challenges Auckland … Read more
Protester and performance artist Jazmine Rose Phillips talks to Anke Richter about the assault and police inaction which led to her naked protest on Karangahape Road. NB: The following images contain nudity Last week, performance artists Kyah Dove and Jazmine Rose Phillips stood naked and covered in fake blood in front of St Kevin’s Arcade … Read more
Until New Zealand Cricket addresses the Scott Kuggeleijn situation, Black Caps superfan Michelle Langstone will no longer be watching her beloved team. Here she explains why. A letter to New Zealand Cricket chair Debbie Hockley, and to the board of NZ Cricket – You don’t know me at all, but I’m one of the biggest fans … Read more
Vague and antiquated legal language undermines complainants in cases of sexual assault, writes New Zealand Law Journal editor Brenda Midson. One of New Zealand’s most notorious sexual misconduct cases re-emerged recently when a ringleader of the Roast Busters, a group of teenagers who were investigated five years ago for alleged sexual offences against underage girls, gave … Read more
A new survey of 1,025 New Zealand women found that 82% had experienced either sexual violence or harassment. Compelling evidence – but will men ever believe it, asks Emily Writes. Content warning: This column describes instances of rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment. I read in resigned horror about Bauer Media’s survey of sexual violence against … Read more
Allegations raised today by four women about the conduct of rogue MP Jami-Lee Ross, and the response to complaints, send a bleak message to women in Aotearoa, writes Morgan Tait. Remember that time a senior political figure was the subject of a long and sustained pattern of allegations of sexual harassment and abuse of women … Read more
Controversial American academic and writer Christina Hoff Sommers is coming to New Zealand in 2019 for #FEMINIST, a talk with Roxane Gay about 21st century feminism. Alice Webb-Liddall spoke to her about what it means to be a self-styled ‘equity feminist’. With the self designed nickname “factual feminist”, Christina Hoff Sommers has defined her brand by … Read more
As Russell McVeagh hits the headlines again for inappropriate behaviour by a senior staff member, former lawyer Sacha Judd says time is up on the bullying, macho, sexist culture of the legal profession. This speech was given last night at the Auckland University Law Review Alumni Dinner. I was an editor of the Auckland University … Read more
The duo behind the fashion and lifestyle blog Rally discuss working in the fashion industry and life as women of colour in Aotearoa. There are some numbers that register immediately for anyone working in the fashion and modelling industries. 32, 24, 34. 5 ft 10 in. The ‘ideal’ measurements for models. Leilani Momoisea, a self-described … Read more
How will history remember Donna Awatere Huata? Saraid Cameron hopes it’s for her feminism. Donna Awatere Huata will be speaking on a panel discussing the #MeToo movement at LATE at Auckland Museum on Wednesday 15 August. I spent much of last summer (for theatre-geek reasons) in the New Zealand Women’s Archives, an almost forgotten collection at … Read more
Wyoming Paul is grossed out and engrossed by the new novel by English humourist Caitlin Moran. I love a book that isn’t afraid to make people squirm through sheer grossness. There are so many things that are usually sanitised or hidden away — female masturbation, naked parents, bad sex, apartment filth, inter-species sex fantasies — … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: National party tries to both change and stay the same at conference, meth-scare Housing NZ properties reopened, and could The Opportunities Party be saved? The National Party have had their weekend in the spotlight, holding their first conference in opposition in a decade. But who, or what, … Read more
In the third part of the new podcast series Venus Envy, Zoë Lawton and Hayden Wilson discuss how the culture and corporate structure of law firms created a fertile environment for sexual assault. While #MeToo was born out of the Hollywood film industry in the US, the legal profession has been at the centre of … Read more
In the second part of the new podcast series Venus Envy, Parris Goebel, Karen Walker and Rosanna Raymond discuss beating the boys, the shoulders they stand on, and haircuts. It’s been a constant battle against the perception of what women should be, and what they can achieve in comparison to their male counterparts, for globally recognised … Read more
“Both the board and college leaders have been crystal clear this behaviour cannot continue.” Otago University halls of residence Selwyn College has shut down its controversial tradition of second years secretly voting on and publicly awarding nicknames to freshers at their AGM after previous recipients accused the awards of being “sexist and bullying”. Among the … Read more
In an interview to launch the new podcast series Venus Envy, the prime minister calls for more ‘conversations around consent and healthy relationships’ in the wake of the global outrage sparked by the Harvey Weinstein revelations. The New Zealand prime minister has called for the energy of the #MeToo movement to be translated into action. … Read more