A graduate of a women-only startup incubator is using crowdsourcing to gather usable data about patterns of sexual assault. Whereas once the female of the species was expected to deal with ‘creepy’ behaviour from men as best she could, the #metoo movement has empowered women to speak out about sexual harassment and violence in our … 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
When doctors, teachers, police and care workers take advantage of society’s most vulnerable, the results can be devastating. But how are public employers responding to reports of sexual assault and harassment? Not well enough, writes researcher Carrie Buckmaster, who offers some recommendations for change. November 7 2018 was New Zealand’s first ‘Public Service Day’: a … Read more
A controversial speech by a school principal who said students skipping school are more likely to get raped speaks to a failure to understand the complex issues teenagers face, writes Waikato youth worker Jared Ipsen I wagged school a lot as a teenager. Dealing with heavy anxiety and depression, trying to juggle the enormous social pressures … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Something major is going down in Australia today, two stories of troubling inaction on sexual assault, and m. bovis fears at massive feedlot. In Australian politics today, something will happen. Sorry, I can’t really be any more specific than that, because the events of yesterday were so … 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
NZME journalist Georgina Campbell has created a new podcast about the #metoo movement. She speaks to Alex Braae about how media coverage of sexual harassment and abuse has changed in the months since the Weinstein stories broke In the first episode of Speaking Secrets, a new podcast series about the Me Too movement, journalist Georgina … Read more
XXXTentacion, a controversial rapper, was awaiting charges of aggravated battery of a pregnant woman, domestic battery by strangulation, false imprisonment and witness tampering when he was shot and killed yesterday. Excusing his behaviour and showing support for him because he has passed away tells survivors in your life that you don’t care, writes Pearl Little. Content warning: … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Meth pamphlet at high school sparks furious debate, historical police inaction on sexual assault revealed, and NZ misses out on steel tariff exemption. Massey High School in Auckland has come under fire, for distributing a meth education pamphlet that some parents believe condones drug use. The NZ Herald reports … Read more
As the Labour Party goes into overdrive in an effort to acknowledge its woeful response to sexual assault claims at a youth camp, RNZ’s political editor Jane Patterson looks at the political mess that’s been left in its wake. No one disputes victims of sexual assault should be treated with respect and confidentiality, and offered … 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
Whenever the media covers a high profile case of sexual assault or sexual harassment, there’s a chorus saying the survivor should have gone to the police or their parents. The latest example: the sexual assault allegations in relation to last month’s Labour Party youth camp. Writing anonymously, a survivor explains why such comments are so … Read more
Teaching boys about sexual health, consent, and developing a culture of respect is vital to keeping all children safe. Frank Wilson McColl looks at the ways she’s trying to teach her sons about consent and respect. I used to be a young hip activist once upon a time (well, maybe I was never hip). But … Read more
With public outcry over sexual violence at music festivals increasing, Bianca Fileborn and Phillip Wadds have launched a research project to show how prevalent sexual violence at festivals is beyond the high-profile, anecdotal cases that have been picked up by the media. This year’s summer music festival season has again been marred by several incidents … 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
Following local actor Rene Naufahu’s guilty plea to charges of indecent assault, Madeleine Holden looks at the pattern that occurs when prominent men are accused of sexual abuse, and the role that both the media and the public play in perpetuating rape culture. Lee Rene Naufahu, of “ambulance driver Sam from Shortland Street” fame, pled … Read more
The attitudes expressed by a group of Wellington College schoolboys are depressing and infuriating – but not surprising, says sexual assault campaigner and 17-year-old Wellingtonian Eva McGauley. “Fuck women. Not even drunk, pass her out then fuck her job done.” “If you don’t take advantage of a drunk girl then you’re not a true WC … Read more
Regardless of today’s verdict, the assumptions made and line of questioning pursued by Kuggeleijn’s lawyer Philip Morgan over the course of two trials were extremely troubling, writes Madeleine Chapman. A jury of six men and six women has found Scott Kuggeleijn not guilty of raping a woman in May 2015. Many have expressed relief at … Read more
From the 70s through the 90s, Auckland’s inner-city streets hosted a population of trans sex workers who were not only outside the protection of the law, but often at the mercy of those who enforce it. Those who survived that era tell Julie Hill about the sexual acts demanded by police, and how they made … Read more
With its ‘consent contracts’, frank broadmindedness and emphasis on communication, the BDSM scene can sometimes seem like a paragon of equality and sexual safety. But as Chloe King explains, sexual assault is as much an issue in the BDSM community as anywhere else. Content warning: Contains explicit content and references to sexual assault and rape, … Read more
Its ostensible subject was rugby’s recent sex scandals, but yesterday’s op-ed by Northland Age editor Peter Jackson seemed more concerned with criticising the sexual behaviour of Warriena Wright, the New Zealander whose death led to Gable Tostee facing murder charges in a Brisbane court. An appalled Kristina Hard responds. Yesterday nzherald.co.nz republished a vitriolic screed … Read more
Readers’ responses on Māui and Moana, millennials and Mike Lee – and one powerful first-person essay. Madeleine Chapman’s defence of Disney’s full-body Maui costume for kids – since withdrawn from sale – attracted outrage and applause in equal measure. “Takes all the context & comes up with a sensible conclusion. Refreshing to read in an … Read more
All week this week we revisit the Mervyn Thompson Affair – the strange, powerful 1984 incident when six women abducted an Auckland university lecturer, chained him to a tree in Western Springs, burnt his flesh with lit cigarettes, threatened to castrate him, and labelled him a rapist. Today: an essay by Thompson’s friend, novelist Stephanie Johnson. Trigger warning: … Read more
The trial of cricketer Scott Kuggeleijn has sparked another round of debate over sexual assault, victim blaming and consent. Melanie Spencer* tells the story of her rape, and explains why online outrage leaves her numb. Content warning: This essay contains a description of sexual assault, along with its mental health implications, which may be triggering … Read more
Rosemary McLeod reviews I Will Find You: A Reporter Investigates the Life of the Man Who Raped Her (Fourth Estate, $34.99) by Joanna Connors. Women used to read romantic fiction, the kind in which everyone lived happily ever after, following tribulations such as which dress to wear, and whether or not to surrender to a masterful … Read more