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The Dominion Post
February 7, 2004
The realities of being raped
Letter to the Editor
Name Withheld, Lower Hutt
I congratulate Louise Nicholas for her bravery and
Philip Kitchin for his fine piece of investigative journalism into historical
rape allegations against three policemen. As a rape victim, I know only too
well the sheer courage it has taken for Mrs Nicholas to reveal her experience
to the public and the immense relief that someone actually believed her and
(most importantly) did something about it.
Over the past few years, I have met some very fine police officers who are
well aware of the damage rape causes and who want to do more to prevent it.
The officer in charge of my case was a kind, caring and very professional
detective. He could not have done more than he did to support myself and my
family.
Police and the justice system still have a long way to go before the
institutional barriers to all rape complaints are removed. A senior policeman
told me recently that if a person makes a rape complaint to police and then
withdraws the complaint because of emotional stress or fear of a court case,
this is recorded in the statistics as a "false complaint".
This might explain why so-called "false complaints" are on the
rise.
I hope the inquiries in this case will lead to a wider review of rape
inquiries in New Zealand.
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