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Allegations of Abuse
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Home / police allegations / Rickards,
Shipton, Schollum vs Jane Doe Page 7 - Further Reaction to
Not Guilty Verdict |
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A march against rape and violence
in the capital turned ugly, when a small group of masked protesters took to
the court building with a can of spray paint. They sprayed slogans
across the front doors, and damaged tiles with a burning effigy of a
policeman. It coincided with International
Women's Day and another protest march in Police are calling for angry
protesters to practice what they preach. Area Commander for the Wellington
City Police, Inspector Peter Cowan, says the women acted hypocritically with
their semi-violent display. He says police support the pleas for an end
to violence and are disappointed by the women's actions. Cowan says police will use CCTV
footage to track the offenders. Supporters of the march are
demanding a change in the culture of what they label the biggest and best
equipped gang in Several hundred people marched
through central city streets carrying placards slamming what they call a
corrupt and violent police system and demanding justice for rape
victims. They blockaded the Central Police Station, before marching
down Lambton Quay to the high court. Most want the police held
accountable for what they claim is their role in victimising women. An organiser of the march says the
response has been bigger than she ever imagined. Lenka Rochford says it shows the
community is fed up with the justice system and its lack of support for rape
victims. She says it was overwhelming and emotional to hear one rape victim
tell her story on the steps of the police station. Rochford hopes all the people who
have experienced rape or sexual violence hear the voices of support from the
march. In Many were angered at the
suppression orders placed on former officers Brad Shipton and Bob Schollum's
previous rape convictions in the latest police trial. One woman covered herself in a
black veil and refused to give her name to symbolise the ridiculousness of
the suppression orders. She is calling for a clean justice system with
police we can rely on. Leonie Morris from the Auckland
Women's Centre says the present justice system is completely unfair for
women. She says the whole system needs to
be changed from an adversarial system to an investigation into the truth of
what really happened. Morris says it is the victim who
is put on trial rather than the alleged offender. In Organiser Jo Paine says the card
thanks the women for their courage, describing them as brave, strong and
truthful. It says they were not given justice through the court system,
but they did all they could. It finishes by saying the women will be an
inspiration for many lives.
Meantime, a programme run by Rape
Prevention Education for secondary school students has shown 82% would change
the way they think or act in a high risk situation. The Bodysafe programme is run in Manager Veronica Marwitz says many
young people do not believe they have the right to decide how their body is
treated by other people before they go on the course. She says a big
part of the programme is letting people know that what happens to their body
should be in their control. Marwitz says it would be nice to
have some government funding so they could reach more young people. |
