Minister cautions Defence Force against 'unreasonably' chasing sex victim for costs
Monday, 19 November 2018
The Government is considering banning defence lawyers from cross-examining complainants in sexual violence cases, saying the courts can 'further victimise' them.
Justice Minister Andrew Little was responding to a Stuff interview with former airwoman Mariya Taylor, who became the fourth victim of Air Force predator Sergeant Robert Roper to waive her name suppression in order to tell how she was treated when she complained to military top brass.
It comes as Queen's Counsel Frances Joychild, who led an independent inquiry into the way the NZ Defence Force handled complaints of sexual assault by Air Force predator Robert Roper, called for radical change to the way the justice system tries sexual violence cases. The adversarial system had 'failed miserably', she said.
Taylor, a former airwoman at Auckland's Whenuapai air base, is suing Roper and the Defence Force. A High Court judge has agreed she was ogled, groped and repeatedly locked in a cage by Roper, but found she had left it too late to file a claim. The Defence Force and Roper are now asking her to pay more than $200,000 in costs; she is appealing.
**READ MORE:
* Inquiry head slates courts' treatment of sex victims
* Predator air sergeant casts shadow from behind bars
* Groped and locked in cage, servicewoman speaks out**
*** Survivors: 'Old school' military won't change
* #MeTooNZ: The investigations**
Taylor said the Defence Force 'fought me tooth and nail' in the High Court. She revealed: 'I felt like an absolute criminal in court being questioned when they knew the answers.'
She feared she would lose her family home if she was ordered to pay legal costs to the Defence Force and to Roper, and friends have launched a Givealittle crowdfunding campaign to help her fight her case.
The Defence Force has refused to answer questions about why it is continuing to seek costs from Taylor, who was sexually harassed while serving her country in the Air Force.
But Andrew Little sent a shot across the Defence Force bow: 'In most cases where there is this huge power imbalance you wouldn't [expect] the more powerful party to be chasing that person in an unreasonable way,' he said.
'Many employers realise that there is an employee on considerably lower income, if they lose the case they would not be chasing after them for costs.'
MORE PROGRESS TO BE MADE
Advocates for victims of sexual assault say they are encouraged by the results of a pilot initiative underway in Auckland and Whangarei, which aims to streamline the court process for victims of sexual assault and ensures judges are given special training. However, the trial still uses juries and an adversarial approach.
Little said the previous Government made changes after a Law Commission report was done on the conduct of sexual violation trials. Now, they are going through and deciding if the remaining recommendations need to be implemented now.
Examples of these were questions around if further restrictions should be put in place about questions that could be asked in court, including looking at if it should be left to judges alone to ask questions.
'It's about recognising the comparatively low numbers of convictions of sexual assaults,' Little said. 'Many victims of sexual violation are saying they are further victimised in court.'
Research done in 2009 showed there was a low level of reporting of sexual crimes, followed by a low conviction rate. Little said this meant there were sexual crimes unaccounted for,perpetrators not held responsible, and victims not getting justice.
To that extent, the current system was not satisfactory: 'The process of evidence should not be so harrowing,' he argued. 'In the end, it's about calling alleged perpetrators to account and for those who do offend, they shouldn't be able to rely on victims being so fearful they will go away.'
While the courts needed to make changes, they also needed to make sure alleged offenders were treated as innocent until proven guilty and that the onus of proof was still on the Crown prosecutors, he added.
DEFENCE MINISTER CONCERNED
Defence Minister Ron Mark said he was very concerned to see any report of sexual harassment or assault in the NZ Defence Force.
A Sunday Star-Times and Stuff investigation has revealed the number of criminal sexual assault complaints in the armed forces are on the rise. In six months in 2016 there were 25 criminal sexual incidents reported, there were 31 in 2017 and, in the first four months of 2018 alone, there were 32.
Mark said the Government and the Defence Force had made it clear that sexual harassment and assault in the defence force was unacceptable.
'It is true that the NZ Defence Force has too often accepted inappropriate attitudes towards women,' he admitted. 'Over the past two and a half years however, there has been considerable work to change this.
'Operation Respect was introduced in March 2016, and is an ongoing effort. It is my expectation that progress must continue.'
'I will be watching closely to see that NZDF retains their momentum, as well as looking for further tangible signs of cultural change, such as an increase in women serving in the Defence Force, and especially an increase in the number of women rising up the leadership ranks within the NZDF.'
He noted the majority of complaints of a sexual nature are incidents against women, but, there were issues with assaults against men as well. 'I'd like to encourage both men and women, who have been, or are being sexually assaulted, or harassed, to come forward and report what happened.'