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Allegations
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Bay of Plenty Times Two news reports this week neatly illustrated the dangers of speech - and silence. It may be no surprise that missing Christchurch woman Tisha Lowry had gang connections, since she was living in a tough neighbourhood where that might not be unusual. Although she may not have hung out with gangs lately, her previous address was a known Mongrel Mob house in Porirua and that could never be a positive sign for any woman. Ms Lowry was last seen on September 25, in the company of a man and some beer. Things are not looking good, since she took nothing with her to suggest she had any intention of vanishing. Police divers have been searching the Avon River for her body. The silence from possible witnesses in this case opens up an aspect of gang behaviour that's as repulsive as its incessant violence, its refusal to speak about what its members know, however bad the crime. Maybe this disappearance has nothing to do with gangs; maybe it does. Police inquiry head Virginia Le Bas says: ``It would be helpful if there were a few more people that came forward. It's a little bit frustrating that we haven't got inundated with sightings and information.'' That silence certainly has the ring of gang values. In that world, there'd be a number of people who'd know exactly where Ms Lowry was, if gangs were involved, and how she got there, but loyalty is strong enough to help these people cover up anything, even murder, and to intimidate others who might help police. What kind of people are they, who'd feel silence was more important than justice for a missing woman and her family? It's hard to feel anything like respect, let alone acceptance, for them. And it's sad to think that yet another young Maori woman may have disappeared into that void where violence makes sense of everything and is a reasonable response to any impulse. If only women wouldn't go there but some are drawn to that life like moths to a flame and perish the same way. It's a too- familiar story, each woman thinking she's different and special, and learning the hard way that she's not. People who don't speak up when they know something important are as guilty as the perpetrators of crimes, because their silence actively helps them. So a crime - and this looks like a serious one - breeds ripples of more crime around it. When no one will help, not even with the small effort of opening their mouth, it has to be society's worst nightmare. Then again, when some people open their mouths they, too, make for nightmares. The High Court in Wellington heard last Friday how a woman - whose name is suppressed - made a false accusation of paedophilia against her former husband. The woman, 47, had repeatedly tried to get him to drop an assault complaint against her new boyfriend. When he didn't give in, she threatened to tell his neighbours he was a paedophile. And when that threat didn't work either, she did what she promised. Police retrieved eight of her letters from his neighbours and from businesses in Lower Hutt. She has been sentenced to community service and a year's supervision. Her name is suppressed on the grounds that it would identify her former husband, and that makes sense, in this case, because an accusation of paedophilia is so grossly damaging. That's why her crime was more serious than it might at first appear. Once spoken, such words can never be convincingly withdrawn, and to have her former husband's name linked with the accusation to a wider public would hurt him, however innocent he may be. The harm doesn't end with him, either. She trivialised the truth of what happens to so many children, at the hands of real abusers, by using the claim as part of her own private arsenal. Every woman who uses this weapon falsely - and this applies to false rape allegations too - makes it harder for those reporting genuine cases. The unnamed woman has done her share in encouraging unjustified doubt, which is a truly dirty trick. Every man accused of that crime maintains his innocence, and thanks to her, now has one more reason to avoid reality. If silence hurts, then, how much worse are lies? |
