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Shipton, Schollum vs Jane Doe Page 5 - Further Reaction to
Not Guilty Verdict |
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An astonishing claim by the lawyer
of suspended Assistant Commissioner Clint Rickards that half of New
Zealanders had engaged in group sex has led to scepticism among Herald readers
- although many experts concede the kinky practice is increasing. When Mr Rickards was asked on
Thursday if he thought group sex was an appropriate activity for a serving
police officer, his lawyer, John Haigh, QC, interrupted, saying the question
was irrelevant and "half of Yesterday, Mr Haigh backed down
from his comments made outside the court. He described them as a
"throwaway remark" made when he was caught up in the emotional
scenes after the verdict. Reflecting on his comments, Mr
Haigh said he was tired after the trial. He said the comment did not have
any substance and should not have been taken as anything other than
"facetious". He did not believe that half of "What I was meaning was that
what goes on behind closed doors and is consensual sex should not affect
someone's position." Yesterday, the Herald did its own
investigation into group sex - or swinging - to establish whether Mr Haigh's
comments had any basis. The latest Durex Sex Survey shows
that 26 per cent of New Zealanders spoken to admitted to having group sex, a
result that puts us on level pegging with One Experts claim couples fall into
two camps including adventurous people in their mid-twenties or those in their
40s or 50s looking to put more spark into their relationships. The number of swingers clubs is
also on the rise with two opening their doors in However, the Kit Kat's manageress,
Loulou, says her establishment is more about "flirting, showing off ...
and touching". Most group sex is done in
privately held meetings or arranged through a myriad of often
"tacky" websites. New Zealand's most popular
website, NZ Dating, declined to comment but categories on its membership page
include one for heterosexual or same-sex couples looking for another person. Nic Beets, a clinical psychologist
specialising in relationship problems and sexual issues, said he had noticed
an increase in the number of couples admitting to having or wanting group sex
since he began practising 12 years ago. Traditionally it had been men who had
floated the idea but increasingly women were raising it as a possibility, as
people begin to feel more comfortable about playing out their sexual
fantasies, he said. But Mr Beets said introducing a
third person to a couple's sexual relationship is a high-risk activity. Most relationships come to grief
emotionally because people wonder if their partner still finds them
attractive or feel insecure about their own performance in bed when compared
with another person. Those who do belong to the
swingers set have rules including the couple agreeing not to have sex with
the same person more than once and not establishing an emotional attachment
to that person. Mr Beets does not think the
suburbs are "writhing with enormous numbers of swingers parties". - STAFF REPORTER |