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notices and features - Date published:
5:30 pm, May 29th, 2023 - 10 comments
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https://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/survivor-mama-hooch-sex-attacks-breaks-silence
This young lady deserves to be on next year's honors list for bravery
What disgusts me is the way women have to "prove" all the time they are telling the truth. The looks you get from the questioners… the humiliating questions… when you have to describe something explicit. The embarrassment is profound and the fear you are not going to be believed is terrifying.
After all that, to go public with your experiences takes a very special kind of courage.
The part I find disgusting in rape and sexual assault trials – is that the defendants can opt not to go on the stand.
So the complainants have to go through the harrowing experience of describing what happened to them, AND have to have all of their past sexual history raked up by the defendant's lawyers (remember Grace Millane's parents having to sit through muckraking lawyers trying to smear her sexual behaviour; and a 12-year old being asked if she gave consent to being raped).
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/horrifying-laws-allowing-consent-as-a-court-defence-for-sex-with-a-minor-need-reform/4Y6DOFVSK3BXZUT5FGJ4DZTVDY/
My personal belief is that the current adversarial system is totally unsuited to sexual and family court matters.
I'd like to see judge-led questioning. And having it limited to matters of 'fact'. I'd also like to see that defendants are either required to take the stand, or both sides can simply give written submissions, and counter submissions (with a word limit!) – and there is no need for a formal trial at all – straight to the judge's decision. Judges should also be able to take refusal to testify into consideration both in deciding the case, and in delivering a sentence. An alternative would be that, if the defence opens the question of sexual history, so can the prosecution – including any other sexual assault or rape claims, or convictions, or witnesses to past behaviour (currently all of those are excluded, in the interests of a 'fair' trial).
I know it is a bit of a hot potato and a can of worms, but some TS readers & commenters may have an interest in this.
Jan Rivers had made a complaint to the NZ Media Council about an article on Stuff about puberty blockers.
The ruling was published today.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/about-stuff/complaints-and-corrections/300888684/nz-media-council-finds-stuff-story-about-puberty-blockers-unbalanced
https://www.mediacouncil.org.nz/rulings/jan-rivers-against-stuff-3398/
Interesting. It looks like some attempt at fairness may be happening somewhere, but my perception of Stuff on this issue is that everything they print is in accord with trans activism preferences.
I guess they're out of practice, but journalists are supposed to be competent to parse difficult issues.
You could search the rulings for complaints against Stuff to see whether reality matches your perception or not …
Budgeting advice is needed more and more.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/490808/nelson-budgeting-service-expands-as-cost-of-living-crisis-deepens
Obviously, those people going through tough times and enduring financial hardship are not stupid, so under no circumstances give any tips on how they might save $500 pa off their power bill!
The last few years have been tough, and another leader is standing down from exhaustion. Mark McGowan did a reasonably good job in WA.
Here's his presser.
In other news – How scummy are the gas and coal companies? Getting laws passed right around the western world to criminalise peaceful protest. Actually even saying this on any form of the internet will be a crime soon enough.
But then again, not sure this is the best forum for a defence of free speech, free association, and freedom of movement as so many commentators here are opposed to it.
Oh well if you need a laugh here a honest government ad on the topic.
A two-for-one. The mask comes off the US right agenda, as Nebraska passes combined anti-abortion and anti-trans medical care Bill.