Marchers demand rape trial changes
01.05.06 NZ Herald
Hundreds of Louise Nicholas supporters marched down Queen St yesterday demanding justice for victims of rape.
The crowd of about 400 gathered at the bottom of Queen St and marched to Aotea Square chanting, "Two, four, six, eight, we want justice for victims of rape," and "What do we want? Justice. When do we want it? Now."
The organiser of yesterday's march, Helen Wiseman-Dare, said it was also about calling for change in the way rape cases are tried.
Mrs Nicholas accused three men of raping her between 1985 and 1986 in Rotorua. They were found not guilty of all charges they faced earlier this month.
Rape Crisis Director Kim McGregor read a letter written by Mrs Nicholas to the crowd gathered in Aotea Square.
Mrs Nicholas wrote that for 25 years she had lived day to day.
"I can now remove my safety net, hold my head high and with my husband Ross and three daughters finally look towards a bigger, brighter and safer future," the letter said.
Dr McGregor said a specialised task force had been set up involving Rape Crisis, Auckland Sexual Abuse Help Foundation and lawyers to prepare a proposal for Government on how sexual crimes are tried in New Zealand courts.
Yesterday's march coincided with Rape Awareness Week, which starts today.
30.4.06 Sunday Star-Times
The solicitor-general is yet to decide whether people who breached suppression orders in the Louise Nicholas case will be prosecuted.
Last month, assistant police commissioner Clint Rickards and former policemen Bob Schollum and Brad Shipton were acquitted of raping and sexually assaulting Nicholas in Rotorua 20 years ago.
After the verdict, suppression orders relating to the case were breached by emails, internet chatroom users and Nicholas supporters who handed out leaflets.
Schollum's lawyer, Paul Mabey, laid a complaint with Solicitor- General Terence Arnold QC about the leaflets, suggesting their distribution was contempt of court.
Arnold is deciding whether a prosecution should proceed.
Supporters of Nicholas are marching in central Auckland today, and say they do not intend breaching the suppression orders.
Despite the apparent deliberate flouting of the law, National MP Richard Worth believed a prosecution was unlikely because the information was so widespread.
He said New Zealand's suppression laws needed to be reviewed and one option was suppression orders for victims only.
Auckland University law professor Mike Taggart said Arnold had to weigh up whether prosecuting would lead to the information being further disseminated.
A prosecution could lead to "cascading suppression" where the fact of its existence might have to be suppressed in order not to trigger more speculation.
The situation was "very, very unusual", he said. "There is a catch- 22 aspect to this and the people who think they know don't know for sure (all the information)."
Louise Nicholas Links
The PamphletCollection of links to related media articles, Blog posts etcMega Blog - Alas (Great discussions - one post has over 200 comments)
The Blog that started it allGood collection of articles about the Mt Maunganui caseCops given legal aid as cost of case runs into millionsRotorua police rape cultureWoman relives 16-year-old rape nightmare "I am reliving this event as I sit here," a woman who alleges she was pack-raped at Mt Maunganui 16 years ago told the High Court at Wellington yesterday.
"You have no idea what I am going through right now. I feel like I am back there."
The Justice System you have when you're not having a Justice System
There is something wrong with a justice system that does not allow a defendant's previous convictions to be considered as evidence. Interesting to come across the
Commission of Enquiry into Police Conduct (2004) which mentioned rape complainants Judith Garrett (Kaitaia) and Louise Nicholas.
Media Statement
