Public Address | Cafe | Speaker: Three times over, and never again

Lindsay Vette

Wed, 13 Apr 2016 15:57:30 +1200

The plight of victims of crime is appalling and made worse by the justice system. It's not the lawyers' fault, nor is it the fault of the judges, it's legislation that must change for things to change. Defence lawyers unfortunately are duty bound to do all that they can to…

Nightwyrm

Tue, 12 Apr 2016 15:55:08 +1200

Thank you for your courage in sharing, June. Arohanui.

Rachel

Wed, 08 Oct 2014 11:01:19 +1300

I am about to head off to Jury Service for the first time. While trying to sort out the household and childcare arrangements so I can do this, I have found my thoughts coming back to your story quite often. I am sorry for your experience, but grateful for your…

Mireille

Sat, 27 Sep 2014 20:07:18 +1200

I wish I could give you a hug, June. For what you've been through, and for your extraordinary moral courage.

Dave G

Thu, 25 Sep 2014 22:51:26 +1200

I just registered to say thanks for sharing. It's heartbreaking to read about the court process you endured.

I was part of a jury a few months back for a sexual assault case. The trial was a horrible experience and I was completely shattered at the end of it. The…

Rebekah Holt

Thu, 25 Sep 2014 18:47:31 +1200

June, I went through a shorter version of what you did. Only one trial six months after the first aborted one and 8 years after the initial complaint. I was naive about the trial process because I thought I knew about courts. I had worked in news and for the…

David Herkt

Thu, 25 Sep 2014 14:36:26 +1200

I can only echo everyone’s thanks, June. There is nothing quite like communicated experience to allow other people to consider things. I can feel the ordeal – and its awful repetitions.

I sat on a jury in a sexual case two years ago. It was vastly different from your own.…

Russell Brown

Thu, 25 Sep 2014 10:51:40 +1200

My experience is different, I thought that I was a criminal, because what was going on was illegal ( gender) ... And here I am now, openly mentioning it on the internet. But at my own pace.

Good for you, Steven. I'm pleased that you've been able to share your…

Lissa Saint Claire

Thu, 25 Sep 2014 10:13:09 +1200

I registered today to say: THANK YOU.

I imagine a lot of readers are finishing this article in stunned silence.

Many will be reading, nodding their head, in tears.

Either way, this is an important piece, and I stand with you in solidarity and anger. So many of us do.…

Sue

Thu, 25 Sep 2014 07:29:03 +1200

I wish we did have the answers right now victims have 2 choices
say nothing, keep it quiet to yourself and the world and know it might happen to someone else and feel unresolved forever
say something and have it happen to you over and over again

no matter what…

June-

Thu, 25 Sep 2014 00:01:04 +1200

I wasn't going to comment on here but really wanted to acknowledge the amazing comments that have been posted – Thank you – Having a truly supportive community to play host to material like this make writing and publishing it a lot easier.
I'm also sorry to all those that…

Sue

Wed, 24 Sep 2014 23:51:10 +1200

thank you june

Bart Janssen

Wed, 24 Sep 2014 18:09:59 +1200

I can see why the police discouraged me from laying a complaint.

Oh Heather, that made me cry even more.

Bart Janssen

Wed, 24 Sep 2014 18:07:53 +1200

It’s interesting that that this post is getting plenty of views (and 50-plus retweets on Twitter) but only a few comments.

What can we say except we are sorry the system has failed so badly?

Our sympathy and tears are real.

But what changes?

Heather Goode

Wed, 24 Sep 2014 17:29:10 +1200

Oh June, I'm so so sorry you had this experience. The childhood abuse, the rape, and the dreadful court process. You are very very brave. Much braver than me. I can see why the police discouraged me from laying a complaint.
I hope you did make a difference to his…

Joe Wylie

Wed, 24 Sep 2014 16:50:56 +1200

Thank you for doing this, June. If you ever asked yourself – ’Will writing this make any difference?” … well, it has.

Hilary Stace

Wed, 24 Sep 2014 16:20:32 +1200

Thank you for writing this June. I just hope that writing such as yours, and the bravery of all the other women who have told their stories, such as Louise Nicholas, helps people understand the injustice of it all a bit more. Judge-only trials might be an improvement. But a…

simon g

Wed, 24 Sep 2014 16:14:13 +1200

It's interesting that that this post is getting plenty of views (and 50-plus retweets on Twitter) but only a few comments. Because it's hard to know what to say.

So true.

Thank you for doing this, June. If you ever asked yourself – 'Will writing this make any difference?" ...…

Rob Stowell

Wed, 24 Sep 2014 15:45:20 +1200

Thanks June. That was so brave – and so horrible for you. And must be for many many women. We have to change this mangled way of attempting to find ‘justice’. Judge-only trials would be a start. A judge could ask questions without accusations and shouting. Far too often it…

WaterDragon

Wed, 24 Sep 2014 15:43:52 +1200

June thank you for this-I can only guess how wretchedly awful and plain eviscerating the whole experience/s must have been. Like a number of others I find myself angry-almost shakingly so. I'm still uncomfortable at some incoherent level, (and I think it has much to do with my concerns about…

tussock

Wed, 24 Sep 2014 15:24:14 +1200

Given the numbers I keep finding, it seems the problem will usually be the jury has an unacknowledged abuser on it. It's their personal ability to dominate the feelings of others toward blaming the victims, something they get a lot of practice at, which either hangs or sways the jury…

Moz

Wed, 24 Sep 2014 15:18:11 +1200

Russel, I'm pretty sure you've published people's pieces on this subject before. I remember reading one before I made a submission to a select committee on this subject. IIRC that report has been put in the "things for the next review to consider" pile. I'd love to be wrong and…

Deborah

Wed, 24 Sep 2014 14:40:22 +1200

It's taking me a while to think this post through . Some of things I want to say are quite political, so I don't actually want to say them here. Because that seems wrong to me.

But you made me realise that I need to acknowledge this post, and to…

Russell Brown

Wed, 24 Sep 2014 14:34:40 +1200

It's interesting that that this post is getting plenty of views (and 50-plus retweets on Twitter) but only a few comments. Because it's hard to know what to say. I could have posted this yesterday when June sent it to me, but I felt like I needed time to process…

Jeanette King

Wed, 24 Sep 2014 12:33:50 +1200

Arohanui June, and hugs. Thank you so much for writing about your experience. It's incredibly valuable for us to get a powerful inside glimpse of the dreadful process you've been through.

Euan Mason

Wed, 24 Sep 2014 11:30:22 +1200

It's good that you tried to get him convicted, and ghastly that it was so terrible for you. While reading this piece made me angry, it also left me admiring your courage and determined to try to change things if I get the chance.

Thanks for speaking the truth.

Bart Janssen

Wed, 24 Sep 2014 09:30:15 +1200

Thank you. That was hard to read but must have been much harder to live.

You have my deepest sympathy.

But you made me angry as well, angry at every single lawyer in New Zealand.

Our legal profession have a lot to answer for, they are so self righteous and…

Lucy Telfar Barnard

Wed, 24 Sep 2014 09:09:39 +1200

You speak the truth, and the truth is awful.
Love, strength and hope.
<3

Downbeatdan

Wed, 24 Sep 2014 08:56:55 +1200

June, thank you for sharing.
Sat on a jury for a trial like your last year, and I can at least report a guilty verdict.

Public Address

Wed, 24 Sep 2014 08:56:55 +1200

Discussion from blog post.