Nobody else launched a rigorous #metoo investigation – so I thought, bugger it, let's go

Saturday, 3 March 2018

OPINION: When I was 13, I rode a horse at a gallop straight over a King Brown snake. These beauties are known to be one of Australia's most venomous species, and to be avoided at all costs, obviously.

I didn't do this on purpose, or on a dare – in fact I didn't see the snake at all. My friends and I had ridden our horses to the top of a hill on a cattle station in the Northern Territory, and were taking turns blatting down the incline as fast as we could, for the thrills.

I was the last left at the top, because I was scared, and the youngest in the group, and not sure I even wanted to take the risk. All the others were at the bottom, shouting encouragement but for the longest time I dithered, scared of taking the plunge.

Peer pressure eventually got the best of me and I nudged the pony into a canter; halfway down the hill the shouting suddenly became more urgent, and everyone was waving their arms. They'd seen the snake slither into my path, but it wasn't until I'd got safely to the bottom that I realised how close both the horse and I had come to real danger.

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It's not the neatest analogy, but this long-buried memory came back to me a few weeks ago, as I worked on plans for the #metooNZ investigation. 

I've been waiting, since the Harvey Weinstein revelations, for the #metoo movement to come to New Zealand. I don't mean as a hashtag, or a social media campaign; I mean as a planned, organised outlet for survivors of workplace sexual harassment to come forward with their stories, access support, and help stop repeat predatory behaviour in Kiwi workplaces. I wanted to see Kiwis work together for it. But nothing happened. 

It was happening in Australia. Journalist and Order of Australia recipient Tracey Spicer was up and running with a nationwide investigation into the Aussie media and entertainment industry back in October. She now has more than a dozen journalists working across four platforms and has broken two major stories so far. 

Tracey is an ex-colleague of mine – in fact, we worked together as twenty-somethings under one of the worst regimes for harassment of young women in the Australian news media at the time. She's completely fearless and has shouldered immense criticism, and yes, has had death threats. I called her; she strongly encouraged me to do something similar here in New Zealand.

But I dithered, just as I had on the pony at the top of that hill 40 years ago. Surely someone else will do it, I thought – maybe I can help them. But no one did, and as I vacillated back and forth I was stepping closer to the edge of the incline with each day. And one day I just thought, bugger it, let's go.

This week, we launched #metooNZ, with a dedicated team of senior journalists looking into cases from all industries. This last point is important – I do not want our work to be confined to media, or entertainment, or law, or any professional industry in fact I've already had multiple contacts from people in hospitality and the fast food sector, where it seems this kind of criminal behaviour is rife.

There is a triage system, to help survivors lay a police complaint if that's what they want to do (this is strongly recommended for cases of sexual assault), and to access specialist counselling.

This week a number of experienced lawyers have put their hands up to provide legal help. I have the full support of TOAH-NNEST, the national network of specialist services for sexual violence prevention and intervention.

Equal Opportunities Commissioner Dr Jackie Blue has phoned with her personal support.

I am immensely grateful to all of them, and to Stuff for agreeing to fully support this project. I needed a platform AND and an assurance that no-one, including those within the company, would be exempt from scrutiny. Stuff has given me those assurances at the very highest level.

I am a little bit in awe of the calibre of journalists I'll be working with. Paula Penfold, one of this country's finest investigators, will be our touchstone. Michelle Duff, Stuff's national correspondent for social issues, is a lead team member, as is Cecile Meier. Together we cover the whole country.

Despite the obvious strength of this collective reporting experience and skill, there's been some toxic criticism, which I fully expected. Some people appear to think that this is a gimmick, or a 'witch-hunt' designed to ruin lives on flimsy evidence. (This is the snake in my analogy, did you spot that?)

So let me tell you a bit about the process. This is an investigation, which will run like any other long-term investigation. Our process must be extremely rigorous, given the strength of New Zealand's defamation laws. We will need corroboration from survivors, witnesses, other complainants, and will have to cross-check every detail of time and place. There will be lawyers looking over our shoulders at every step.

It is highly unlikely we will be investigating bum-pinching and inappropriate 'jokes', because, unfortunately, there are too many stories already coming in of workplaces where serious sexual harassment and assault (including rape) has been swept from sight.

Many the of almost 200 people who have contacted me personally have not stayed silent, they have tried their best to take complaints and been ridiculed, or demoted, or made redundant, or sacked. Or they've left their jobs, massively disillusioned.

I firmly believe that down the line, when the stats are collected at Government level, we will find that this has played a major part in the ongoing gender wage gap.

People (men too) want to get justice but they fear for their careers, and their livelihoods. They have to balance that against the knowledge that other young women will suffer if they don't speak out. It's an almost impossible bind. It can make you feel very alone.

So let me speak directly to you, whether you call yourself a victim or a survivor or whatever. You may have felt alone and helpless despite the fact that you know you have been the subject of serious harassment, but now you're not alone. Our team is here to do some of the heavy lifting for you; to make the inquiries, assemble the evidence and pull the pieces together. 

You can get in touch with me in any of the following ways – and your information will be kept in strict confidence. There is even an encrypted system you can use.

Whether you're a lawyer, or a barista, a telly presenter, an engineer or you work at McDonald's, I look forward to hearing from you.

* Contact Alison Mau privately by messaging her Facebook or Twitter page, email alison.mau@stuff.co.nz, or call on the dedicated phone line 027-8394417.

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