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The Press
June 26 2007

Hold her peace
Letter to the Editor
Gordon Waugh, Whenuapai, Auckland

Matt Philp surely stirred a bit of a hornet's nest with his article (June 23) on Prof Freda Briggs, an Australian academic who was sternly criticised for making comments about  sexual abuse matters in New Zealand that were seen by some as misleading.

He wrote that she portrays her critics as a handful of Ellis supporters. I doubt that an Australian commentator such as Briggs is able to properly gauge the widespread support for the innocence of Peter Ellis and the associated miscarriage of justice.

Regardless of one's field of endeavour, it is accepted that a hallmark of intellectual honesty is the solicitation of opposing points of view and open debate about them. There are many matters in Briggs' claims which need rational debate, one simple example being her repetition of the opinions of school counsellors who claim a sexual abuse rate of 44 per cent. That is inaccurate and unscientific hearsay.

Briggs seems unwilling to debate such matters, but has brought upon herself an obligation to produce credible, testable evidence to support her claims about sexual abuse - and about her publications. Absent that evidence, she must forever hold her peace.