In an email to the Spinoff, Barney McDonald says In Plain Sight investigation misrepresents the magazine, the men at its helm, and amounts to ‘sensationalist click-bait’. Barney McDonald, the former editor of Auckland culture magazine Pavement, has written to the Spinoff renewing and expanding upon his earlier response to In plain sight: behind the pages … Read more
Bridie Chetwin-Kelly talks to Sarah Thompson of the Melbourne-based band Camp Cope, who have called out festivals for male-dominated line-ups and led a campaign against sexual misconduct at concerts. Trying to calm my inner fangirl and act cool, I jumped on a call with Sarah Thompson, also known as ‘Thomo’ the drummer of the Melbourne-based … Read more
Jogai Bhatt talks to Broods’ Georgia Nott on her all-female produced solo project The Venus Project, gender representation in the music industry, and why this time she’s gone for a more stripped back sound. Georgia Nott will be familiar to most as one-half of synth-pop sibling-duo Broods. With their signature sounds making waves globally and … Read more
Public conventions like Armageddon Expo allow cosplayers to celebrate their biggest pop culture passions. But, as Alex Casey found out, they can also be an opportunity for unwanted photography, groping and harassment. When I was at university, I did some extremely fun part-time work for a team building company that required me having to dress … Read more
The Side Eye is a monthly non-fiction comic by Toby Morris, supported by NZ On Air. Read more comics here
Nearly a week on from the publishing of In plain sight, we collate a selection of responses from people involved in the fashion industry and the Pavement scene at the time. Since The Spinoff published In plain sight: behind the pages of Pavement magazine last week, more than 20 people from the New Zealand fashion world … Read more
In this podcast companion to the Spinoff investigation into the NZ magazine Pavement, two of the women at the centre of the story speak with Noelle McCarthy about their experiences. Today the Spinoff published a story, five months in the making, which details multiple claims of predatory behaviour by men who owned and worked for Pavement, … Read more
Three women recount their experiences with the men who ran Pavement magazine and photographed for it, including allegations of sexual harassment, drugs and alcohol on set and sexual relations with a 15 year-old model. By Alex Casey and Noelle McCarthy. This story was made possible by The Spinoff’s Longform Fund for investigative journalism. It was May … Read more
From State Services to Russell McVeagh, from the Human Rights Commission to the Labour Party, a clear pattern emerges in sexual harassment stories across NZ, and it reveals we just don’t take the issue seriously, argues Catriona MacLennan. Sexual harassment is still not regarded a serious issue in Aotearoa. That is what we have learned … Read more
The legal profession has done a lot of soul searching since the revelations about widespread sexual harassment at the law firm Russell McVeagh. But, asks commercial litigation lawyer Ana Lenard, why have we heard from so few men? It has been nearly a month since Newsroom exposed sexually inappropriate behaviour by senior male lawyers at … Read more
Dating apps have made meeting people to date and have sex with simpler than ever, but with their ease of use comes risks. Is it time we had a #MeToo conversation about Tinder? PLEASE NOTE: this article includes graphic descriptions of sexual assault. When the #metoo social movement emerged from the Harvey Weinstein fallout, I … Read more
New developments have emerged surrounding sexual assaults that took place at a Labour Party youth camp, how it happened in the first place, and how the party subsequently dealt with the allegations. Scroll to end for a timeline. Yesterday, when Newsroom broke the story about sexual harassment and assault taking place at a Labour Party … Read more
First came the bizarre witch hunt cartoon, and then the indignant tutting. Jess McAllen considers the responses to the #metooNZ investigation launched a fortnight ago by Alison Mau. Mike Hosking called it “tacky and tabloid”. David Cohen asked about a “sense of professional justice – or ideological fantasy”. Tim Beveridge decried a “trial by media”. On Newstalk ZB … Read more
Michele A’Court grapples with an uncomfortable truth about the Rose McGowan memoir – it’s a diatribe that tells us how to think. It is a tricky thing to review a memoir, particularly one as dark as this. What you want to do is talk about the book – the writing, the storytelling, the structure and … Read more
As New Zealand prepares to mark 125 years of women’s suffrage there is plenty to celebrate – but as the #metoo movement shows, there is still much to be done, says Governor General Dame Patsy Reddy On the 19th of September, 1893, my predecessor Lord Glasgow, officially signed the bill giving women the right to … Read more
New Zealand’s burgeoning tech industry may be dodging some of the systemic issues plaguing traditional corporate culture, but Victoria Crockford discovers it’s also developing within the same structures that resulted in the #MeToo movement. As a kid, I often imagined what would happen if the world was turned upside down and shaken. Animals from the … Read more
Charlotte Graham-McLay talks to acclaimed Australian author Charlotte Wood – who is appearing at the New Zealand Festival this weekend – about sexual harassment, sexual abuse, and ‘angry women’. A journalist launches a national enquiry into sexual harassment and is accused of doing it “for clicks”. The Australian media decides to name the woman who … Read more
Two witches at The Spinoff respond to Al Nisbet’s terrible cartoon this morning, one which is not only confused about the meaning of ‘witch hunt’ but could also work to silence women emboldened by #MeToo. What in the name of Anjelica Houston’s wig is this?! Look, we honestly don’t know. We’ve tried burning it at … Read more
It’s the biggest scandal to rock the legal profession in years. Yet the official response to the Russell McVeagh revelations has been woefully inadequate, says special counsel Linda Clark. I work with a group of simply terrific young women. They are bright, engaging, hard working and professional. These women – and so many others like … Read more
Revelations of alleged sexual harassment by a former partner at Russell McVeagh underscore the unique privilege of the legal profession. “Abusers don’t need to tear through the law because their very relationship with the law protects them,” writes Danyl Mclauchlan. A lawyer at a party told me. I couldn’t remember where he worked so I yelled … Read more
Auckland artist and influencer Andrew Steel recently debuted a major work about consent. The post blew up then, just as quickly, disappeared. On January 22 Auckland artist Andrew Steel announced his latest work “Safe From Harm”. It debuted as a series of photos on his Instagram account, with accompanying text which encouraged women to talk … Read more
After being sentenced for indecent assault, the actor issued a statement that seemed noticeably short on self-awareness and genuine contrition, writes Madeleine Holden. Last week, once-prominent New Zealand actor Rene Naufahu was sentenced to a year of home detention for six charges of indecent assault against young women who attended his acting classes. The court … Read more
We’ll be here from 12 pm to cover the highs and lows of the 2018 Golden Globe awards, for all of those who are stuck in the office pretending to work. This television content is brought to you by Lightbox, home of Golden Globe-nominated shows such as The Handmaid’s Tale, Outlander, Mr Robot and Better … Read more
The #metoo campaign to publicise the extent of sexual assault and harassment has taken social media by storm. But it’s not anything new, writes Lucy Kelly. For most girls, sharing stories of sexual abuse is part of growing up. So what are the stories that boys tell themselves? Content warning: this article contains discussion of … Read more