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Hundreds arrested in domestic violence crackdown

<p>More than 550 people in NSW have been arrested in a state-wide crackdown on domestic and family violence. </p> <p>Operation Amarok VI ran from last Wednesday to Saturday, and in that time police arrested 554 people and made a total of 1070 charges. </p> <p>Of those arrests, 226 were wanted by police for alleged serious domestic violence offences, according to a NSW police spokesman. </p> <p>"Anyone who commits this heinous crime can expect a knock at their door," Police Minister Yasmin Catley said.</p> <p>"Operation Amarok is just one part of the police response. Last year, almost 150,000 calls for assistance were made to the NSWPF for domestic violence-related matters.</p> <p>"This shows the severity of the situation, the huge amount of police time and resources that go into addressing this epidemic and how important it is for prevention, early intervention and crisis support services to work together."</p> <p>Some of most significant arrests include a a 53-year-old man who allegedly threatened a woman with an imitation gun in Kempsey. </p> <p>Officers searched the home and seized the weapon and some cannabis. </p> <p>A 23-year-old woman was also arrested in the state's west after allegedly stabbing a relative around 2:30 am on May 17. </p> <p>The older relative received multiple stab wounds to the abdomen, head, and back and was taken to a local hospital where police were called.</p> <p>She was later flown to the Royal Adelaide Hospital in a critical condition.</p> <p>The 23-year-old was charged with wound person intend cause grievous bodily harm and was refused bail to appear in Dubbo Local Court on May 18.</p> <p>NSW Police Executive Sponsor for Domestic and Family Violence, Deputy Commissioner Peter Thurtell said that the operation allowed police to conduct a targeted blitz of those who have been flagged as the worst domestic violence offenders. </p> <p>“We demonstrated last week that we will target and arrest the offenders no matter where they are located. We saw significant arrest numbers in our regional communities, and we also saw arrests for offences that occurred allegedly while the offender was in jail," he said. </p> <p>"These Amarok VI results send a powerful message to offenders, and the community at large, that we do not tolerate domestic and family violence in any form, and our efforts will continue."</p> <p><em>Images: NSW Police</em></p>

Legal

To tackle gendered violence, we also need to look at drugs, trauma and mental health

<div class="theconversation-article-body"> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/siobhan-odean-1356613">Siobhan O'Dean</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/lucinda-grummitt-1531503">Lucinda Grummitt</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/steph-kershaw-1466426">Steph Kershaw</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a></em></p> <p>After several highly publicised alleged murders of women in Australia, the Albanese government this week pledged <a href="https://ministers.pmc.gov.au/gallagher/2024/helping-women-leave-violent-partner-payment">more than A$925 million</a> over five years to address men’s violence towards women. This includes up to $5,000 to support those escaping violent relationships.</p> <p>However, to reduce and prevent gender-based and intimate partner violence we also need to address the root causes and contributors. These include alcohol and other drugs, trauma and mental health issues.</p> <h2>Why is this crucial?</h2> <p>The World Health Organization estimates <a href="https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/341604/WHO-SRH-21.6-eng.pdf?sequence=1">30% of women</a> globally have experienced intimate partner violence, gender-based violence or both. In Australia, <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/crime-and-justice/partner-violence/latest-release#key-statistics">27% of women</a> have experienced intimate partner violence by a co-habiting partner; <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37004184/">almost 40%</a> of Australian children are exposed to domestic violence.</p> <p>By gender-based violence we mean violence or intentionally harmful behaviour directed at someone due to their gender. But intimate partner violence specifically refers to violence and abuse occurring between current (or former) romantic partners. Domestic violence can extend beyond intimate partners, to include other family members.</p> <p>These statistics highlight the urgent need to address not just the aftermath of such violence, but also its roots, including the experiences and behaviours of perpetrators.</p> <h2>What’s the link with mental health, trauma and drugs?</h2> <p>The relationships between mental illness, drug use, traumatic experiences and violence are complex.</p> <p>When we look specifically at the link between mental illness and violence, most people with mental illness will not become violent. But there <a href="https://theconversation.com/bondi-attacker-had-mental-health-issues-but-most-people-with-mental-illness-arent-violent-227868">is evidence</a> people with serious mental illness can be more likely to become violent.</p> <p>The use of alcohol and other drugs also <a href="https://theconversation.com/alcohol-and-drug-use-exacerbate-family-violence-and-can-be-dealt-with-69986">increases the risk</a> of domestic violence, including intimate partner violence.</p> <p>About <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/family-domestic-and-sexual-violence/understanding-fdsv/factors-associated-with-fdsv">one in three</a> intimate partner violence incidents involve alcohol. These are more likely to result in physical injury and hospitalisation. The risk of perpetrating violence is even higher for people with mental ill health who are also <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1525086/">using alcohol or other drugs</a>.</p> <p>It’s also important to consider traumatic experiences. Most people who experience trauma do not commit violent acts, but there are <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(23)00075-0/fulltext">high rates</a> of trauma among people who become violent.</p> <p>For example, experiences of childhood trauma (such as witnessing physical abuse) <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1359178915000828?via%3Dihub">can increase the risk</a> of perpetrating domestic violence as an adult.</p> <p>Early traumatic experiences can affect the brain and body’s <a href="https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12916-017-0895-4">stress response</a>, leading to heightened fear and perception of threat, and difficulty regulating emotions. This can result in aggressive responses when faced with conflict or stress.</p> <p>This response to stress increases the risk of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9675346/">alcohol and drug problems</a>, developing <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30798897/">PTSD</a> (post-traumatic stress disorder), and <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2015-17349-001">increases the risk</a> of perpetrating intimate partner violence.</p> <h2>How can we address these overlapping issues?</h2> <p>We can reduce intimate partner violence by addressing these overlapping issues and tackling the root causes and contributors.</p> <p>The early intervention and treatment of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-019-0728-z">mental illness</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1541204020939645">trauma</a> (including PTSD), and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2015.06.001">alcohol and other drug use</a>, could help reduce violence. So extra investment for these are needed. We also need more investment to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212657023000508">prevent mental health issues</a>, and preventing alcohol and drug use disorders from developing in the first place.</p> <p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S074937972200023X?via%3Dihub">Preventing trauma</a> from occuring and supporting those exposed is crucial to end what can often become a vicious cycle of intergenerational trauma and violence. <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/070674371105600505">Safe and supportive</a> environments and relationships can protect children against mental health problems or further violence as they grow up and engage in their own intimate relationships.</p> <p>We also need to acknowledge the widespread <a href="https://store.samhsa.gov/product/practical-guide-implementing-trauma-informed-approach/pep23-06-05-005">impact of trauma</a> and its effects on mental health, drug use and violence. This needs to be integrated into policies and practices to reduce re-traumatising individuals.</p> <h2>How about programs for perpetrators?</h2> <p>Most existing standard intervention programs for perpetrators <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1524838018791268">do not consider</a> the links between trauma, mental health and perpetrating intimate partner violence. Such programs tend to have <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/a0012718">little</a> or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2021.101974">mixed effects</a> on the behaviour of perpetrators.</p> <p>But we could improve these programs with a <a href="http://rcfv.archive.royalcommission.vic.gov.au/MediaLibraries/RCFamilyViolence/Reports/RCFV_Full_Report_Interactive.pdf">coordinated approach</a> including treating mental illness, drug use and trauma at the same time.</p> <p>Such “<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S014976341930449X?via%3Dihub">multicomponent</a>” programs show promise in meaningfully reducing violent behaviour. However, we need more rigorous and large-scale evaluations of how well they work.</p> <h2>What needs to happen next?</h2> <p>Supporting victim-survivors and improving interventions for perpetrators are both needed. However, intervening once violence has occurred is arguably too late.</p> <p>We need to direct our efforts towards broader, holistic approaches to prevent and reduce intimate partner violence, including addressing the underlying contributors to violence we’ve outlined.</p> <p>We also need to look more widely at preventing intimate partner violence and gendered violence.</p> <p>We need developmentally appropriate <a href="https://theconversation.com/4-things-our-schools-should-do-now-to-help-prevent-gender-based-violence-228993">education and skills-based programs</a> for adolescents to prevent the emergence of unhealthy relationship patterns before they become established.</p> <p>We also need to address the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7278040/">social determinants of health</a> that contribute to violence. This includes improving access to affordable housing, employment opportunities and accessible health-care support and treatment options.</p> <p>All these will be critical if we are to break the cycle of intimate partner violence and improve outcomes for victim-survivors.</p> <hr /> <p><em>The National Sexual Assault, Family and Domestic Violence Counselling Line – 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for any Australian who has experienced, or is at risk of, family and domestic violence and/or sexual assault.</em></p> <p><em>If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone you know, call Lifeline on 13 11 14. In an emergency, call 000.</em><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/229182/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/siobhan-odean-1356613">Siobhan O'Dean</a>, Postdoctoral Research Associate, The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/lucinda-grummitt-1531503">Lucinda Grummitt</a>, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/steph-kershaw-1466426">Steph Kershaw</a>, Research Fellow, The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images </em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/to-tackle-gendered-violence-we-also-need-to-look-at-drugs-trauma-and-mental-health-229182">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

Caring

“A lot has to be done”: Kyle Sandilands recalls personal domestic violence ordeal

<p><em><strong>Warning: This article contains details of domestic violence that some readers may find distressing.</strong></em></p> <p>Kyle Sandilands has opened up about his traumatic childhood and his first-hand experience with domestic violence, just days after pleading with the Prime Minister to make huge changes for victims. </p> <p>The KIISFM spoke candidly about experiencing violence at the hands of his father, as the conversation of domestic abuse in Australia has escalated given a recent spate of deadly violence. </p> <p>Sandilands recalled his childhood to co-host Jackie O, saying, “You’ve got to remember that I was a young child living in a domestic violence situation with my little brother and my mother.”</p> <p>“My father would kick off,” he said. “It was horrific. And I would remember I was only really little. And my brother, we’d go into my room and I’d create a land of fantasy in my room with the matchbox cars, and they’d be screaming and things would be smashed. And I would spend all of my time [there].”</p> <p>He went on to say he would do everything to comfort his brother, who is four years younger, during times of increased violence in his house, adding, “And I was little, I didn’t even know what was going on.”</p> <p>The radio host revealed that while he and his father mended their fractured relationship just before his death in 2016, the psychological effects of his difficult childhood remain. </p> <p>“And I don’t like to bring this up because my father is dead now. And we fixed any problems we had and he apologised, but still we had to live with it,” he shared. </p> <p>“He grabbed my mother by the back of her hair with one hand. And ripped her out of the bath backwards and dragged her kicking and screaming down the hallway in front of two little kids. And I can still see that as if it just happened half an hour ago. These things, they don’t leave little minds. They are in your head forever.”</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6aq3qQPBNw/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6aq3qQPBNw/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Kyle and Jackie O (@kyleandjackieo)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Sandilands then went on to discuss the Albanese government's new plan to give those trying to flee domestic violence situations $5,000 as part of the <a href="https://oversixty.com.au/finance/legal/anthony-albanese-s-new-925-million-pledge" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Leaving Violence Program</a>.</p> <p>"That’s all good and well, but sometimes the women don’t have access to a bank account."</p> <p>“You don’t want to put the $5000 into a joint bank account that the bloke has access to,” he said. “A lot has to be done.”</p> <p>“I know a lot of people are on the side of the victims here, but governments can sometimes try and do the right thing. But at the end of the day, the money must get to the victim. Not stuck in some bank account somewhere.”</p> <p>On Monday's radio show, Sandilands said that it would be more important to set up safe houses for those fleeing violent situations, rather than giving them funds.</p> <p>“I think the first thing we need to do is make the safe haven a place where a mum can get her kids at three in the morning, ring someone, get picked up and taken away and be safe,” he said on the show. </p> <p>“I think that’s where it should start because that’s something we can do immediately.”</p> <p><em><strong>If you or someone you know is experiencing sexual abuse or family violence contact the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence Counselling Service 24-hour helpline <a href="https://www.1800respect.org.au/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAt_PuBRDcARIsAMNlBdoOykv3RTO6q7pBf-PwIhINGV5jyQMqIFIdcYqX3Y52-h7w3-PI4BEaArwXEALw_wcB" target="_blank" rel="noopener">1800 RESPECT</a> on 1800 737 732.</strong></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: KIISFM</em></p>

Caring

Anthony Albanese's new $925 million pledge

<p>Anthony Albanese has pledged $925 million to help victims of domestic violence flee dangerous situations, in the wake of the recent increase of violence against women. </p> <p>The Prime Minister established the Leaving Violence Program on Wednesday, which will invest $925m over a five year period to help women escape violence at home. </p> <p>Albanese convened an urgent national cabinet meeting after declaring violence against women a “national emergency” following the killings of 27 women across Australia this year.</p> <p>Following the crisis talks, the Prime Minister announced the permanent establishment of the government’s Leaving Violence Payment to assist people experiencing violence with the financial costs of leaving a violent situation. </p> <p>“Those eligible will be able to access up to $5000 in financial support along with referral services, risk assessments, and safety planning. This commitment builds on measures put in place by our government to help address financial barriers to escaping violence,” Mr Albanese said.</p> <p>Australia will also introduce legislation that will ban the creation and distribution of deep fake pornography and the sharing of sexually explicit material using technology such as artificial intelligence.</p> <p>Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said governments around the world were grappling with how to keep online spaces safe.</p> <p>"I think the other important point to note is that as a society, we do need to do more and this is a role not only for government, not only for regulators and civil society, but also for the platforms themselves," she said.</p> <p>"And part of this is putting the emphasis on the platforms to enforce their existing terms of service and where they are not doing that, to examine what are the measures governments can take."</p> <p>The government will also bring forward legislation in early August to outlaw the release of private information online with an intent to cause harm, known as doxxing.</p> <p>Albanese added that violence against women was a "national crisis", saying, "It's an issue for all of us to work together in the national interest to deal with what is a scourge of violence against women that is having a real impact out there, with one every four days a woman losing their life at the hand of a domestic or former domestic partner," he said.</p> <p>Longer-term priorities include strengthening accountability and consequences for perpetrators, including early intervention with high-risk perpetrators and serial offenders, and better support for victim and survivors.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em> </p>

Legal

"It's up to men": Anthony Albanese joins violence against women rally

<p>Anthony Albanese has joined a rally in Canberra to protest the recent spate of acts of violence against women, admitting his government hasn't "done enough" to ensure Aussie women are protected. </p> <p>Addressing the 5,000-strong crowd at Parliament House, Mr Albanese delivered a fiery speech, demanding nationwide change to all levels of Australian society and asking protesters to hold him “accountable” for his government’s actions. </p> <p>Mr Albanese said Australia needed to change its “culture”, “attitudes” and “legal system” to end the scourge of violence against women that has already allegedly claimed the lives of 26 women this year.</p> <p>“We’re here today to demand that governments of all levels, must do better, including my own, and every state and territory government,” he said. </p> <p>“We’re here as well to say that society, and Australia, must do better. We need to change the culture, we need to change attitudes, we need to change the legal system."</p> <p>Mr Albanese spoke about some of the actions his government had taken to address the problem, including the introduction of domestic violence payments.</p> <p>A protester interrupted, saying “it’s not enough”.</p> <p>The prime minister replied, “I agree it’s not enough. I said that. We need to do more.”</p> <p>Mr Albanese finished his speech by calling the problem a “national crisis” and said one or two months of funding would not be enough to solve it.</p> <p>“It’s up to men to change men’s behaviour as well,” he said. “Yes, people do need to be made accountable and I’ll be accountable for what my government does.”</p> <p>Thousands took to the grounds of Parliament House on Sunday to listen to Albanese's address, where one of the event organisers Sarah Williams from the company WWYW (What Were You Wearing?), claims the Prime Minister lied to the crowd at the start of his stirring speech.</p> <p>In his speech in the afternoon, Mr Albanese suggested he had asked the rally organisers for permission to speak but had been knocked back. </p> <p>“We did ask to speak, myself and (Finance minister) Katy (Gallagher) and we were told that’s not possible,” he said to the 5000 strong crowd.</p> <p>“And that’s fine, we respect the organisers’ right to do that.”</p> <p>However, Ms Williams took to social media after the event to say the Prime Minister had "lied to the country". </p> <p>“The Prime Minister of Australia lied to his country today,” she began. </p> <p>“Representatives from (Finance Minister Katy) Gallagher and Albanese’s offices both said this morning that they were sure Katy would be happy to speak. Not the Prime Minister.”</p> <p>“He never asked to speak. For him to not only demand he speak because he was being heckled, but lie was disgraceful."</p> <p>“He demonstrated today what entitlement looks like. A man with power trying to diminish a vulnerable young woman.”</p> <p>In an awkward and tense exchange, Ms Williams then demanded the politicians show their commitment to the organisation’s demands, and declare that the recent spate of murders of women by men was a national emergency. </p> <p>However, the Labor ministers appeared non-responsive and confused, initially refusing to front the rally, a move which brought boos and heckling from the audience. </p> <p>“Why are you even here?” one protester yelled from the crowd.</p> <p>“Shame on you,” shouted another.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images / Instagram</em></p>

Caring

Michael Slater hit with 19 charges over alleged domestic violence

<p>Michael Slater, a former Australian Test cricketer is being held in police custody after being charged with more than a dozen offences over alleged domestic violence. </p> <p>Slater, 54, had his case briefly heard in Maroochydore Magistrates Court on Monday.</p> <p>It was reported by the <em>ABC </em>that he did not appear and no plea was entered.</p> <p>The charges include domestic violence offences of unlawful stalking or intimidation, breaking into a dwelling with intent at night, common assault, assault occasioning bodily harm and choking or suffocation.</p> <p>The 19 charges relate to offences allegedly committed on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast between December 5, 2023 and April 12 2024.</p> <p>Slater was also charged with breaching bail and and 10 counts of contravening a domestic violence order. </p> <p>He was then remanded in custody, with his case mentioned in the same court on Tuesday afternoon.</p> <p>During that second hearing, Slater <span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">collapsed in court after failing in his bid for freedom over an alleged domestic violence incident. </span>Upon learning that his bid for bail had been refused, the former cricket great placed his head in his hands then collapsed while being led back to the cells by Corrective Services staff.</p> <p>Slater made his debut during the 1993 Ashes tour and played 74 tests for Australia. </p> <p>He amassed 5,312 runs and played 42 one-day internationals. </p> <p>Since retiring from cricket in 2004, he has had a successful TV commentary career. </p> <p><em>Image: Getty</em></p>

Legal

"I was terrified": Law & Order star reveals traumatic past

<p><em>Warning: This story contains graphic content.</em></p> <p>Mariska Hargitay, who plays Olivia Benson, a character that investigate rapists on <em>Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, </em>has revealed that she too is a victim of sexual assault. </p> <p>The actress opened up about her traumatic past in a powerful essay written for <a href="https://people.com/mariska-hargitay-experience-rape-renewal-reckoning-8424247" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>People Magazine</em></a>, where she revealed that she was raped by “a friend" when she was in her thirties. </p> <p>"A man raped me in my thirties," she bravely revealed in the essay. </p> <p>"It wasn’t sexual at all. It was dominance and control. Overpowering control."</p> <p>The actress revealed that he was a friend who "made a unilateral decision" and recalled the fear she felt when the incident occurred. </p> <p>"He grabbed me by the arms and held me down. I was terrified," she said. </p> <p>"I didn’t want it to escalate to violence. I now know it was already sexual violence, but I was afraid he would become physically violent.</p> <p>"I went into freeze mode, a common trauma response when there is no option to escape. I checked out of my body," she recalled. </p> <p>Hargitay, who is the daughter of the late actress Jane Mansfield, said that she never thought of herself as a "survivor", and often "minimised" what happened to her when she talked about it with others. </p> <p>"My husband Peter remembers me saying, “I mean, it wasn’t rape," she wrote. </p> <p>"Then things started shifting in me, and I began talking about it more in earnest with those closest to me. They were the first ones to call it what it was."</p> <p>The actress said that she wants other survivors to feel "no shame" about sexual assault and wants "this violence to end." </p> <p>She added that justice "may look different for each survivor," but for her she wants "an acknowledgment and an apology" after what happened. </p> <p>"This is a painful part of my story. The experience was horrible. But it doesn’t come close to defining me, in the same way that no other single part of my story defines me," she concluded, adding that she feels for all sexual violence survivors. </p> <p>"I’m turning 60, and I’m so deeply grateful for where I am. I’m renewed and I’m flooded with compassion for all of us who have suffered. And I’m still proudly in process."</p> <p>Hargitay started her own foundation, the Joyful Heart Foundation, in 2004 to help survivors of sexual assault. </p> <p><em>Image: Getty</em></p>

Caring

"It was a relief": Rebecca Gibney opens up on mental health struggles

<p>Rebecca Gibney has revealed what a "relief" it was to finally open up about the mental health struggles she faced from 14 to 30-years-old. </p> <p>The New Zealand actress, 58, said she spent a lot of that time "pretending" she was okay despite growing up around domestic violence, as her mother suffered from abuse in the hands of Gibney's late father, Austin. </p> <p>In an interview with <em>Stellar</em> on Saturday, the <em>Packed to the Rafters </em>star shared that she is "loving" how mental health is now being framed. </p> <p>“When I started talking about my mental health struggles and anxiety ... it was a relief,” she told the publication. </p> <p>“I could drop the mask of pretending that I was OK. What I’m loving seeing is that more and more people are now going, ‘I’m not OK’”.</p> <p>Gibney first opened up about her struggles in 2017, when she opened up about the abuse her mother faced and how she was “beaten so badly she had bruises for six months on her legs.</p> <p>“She’d always shut the doors ... you’d hear the yelling and the shouting and the slapping, but you’d never actually see it," she told <em>Women's Day</em>, at the time. </p> <p>After Gibney's father died in 1982, the actress began seeing a therapist, but was "on Valium and in a dark place for quite a while”.</p> <p>In her latest interview with <em>Stellar</em>, Gibney also added that more needed to be done to prevent domestic violence and help survivors. </p> <p>“We still don’t want to talk about it. We need to really drill down (and question), ‘Why is this happening?’ We need more education, more centres," she said. </p> <p>“We need people to be able to get the help they need.”</p> <p><em>Images: Instagram</em></p> <p> </p>

Mind

London police receive even older Russell Brand sexual assault allegation

<p>London police have announced that they are investigating a sexual assault allegation involving British comedian and actor Russell Brand. This revelation comes in the wake of media reports that have emerged, detailing accusations <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/news/news/bbc-responds-to-damning-russell-brand-allegations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">made by four women against Brand</a> for incidents that allegedly occurred between 2006 and 2013, including a rape allegation linked to his Los Angeles residence.</p> <p>Brand, known for his comedy and acting career, has vehemently denied all allegations, asserting that all of his sexual relationships were consensual. The comedian gained fame as a commentator on the reality show <em>Big Brother</em> and subsequently played significant roles in Hollywood films such as <em>Forgetting Sarah Marshall</em> in 2008 and <em>Get Him to the Greek</em> in 2010. He was also briefly married to singer Katy Perry.</p> <p>In recent times, Brand has gained prominence as a political commentator and video blogger, although some of his content has featured COVID-19 conspiracy theories and misinformation regarding vaccines.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CxOooOsIGXd/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CxOooOsIGXd/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Russell Brand (@russellbrand)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>The police announcement specifically referenced a new allegation stemming from an incident in central London's Soho neighbourhood in 2003. The Metropolitan Police stated that they are in contact with the woman who made this allegation and are providing her with support. They have also reached out to <em>The Sunday Times</em> and Channel 4, urging anyone who believes they have been a victim of a sexual offence to come forward and report it.</p> <p>In response to these allegations, three of Brand's former employers, including the BBC, Channel 4, and Banijay UK production company, have initiated their own investigations into the claims.</p> <p>Consequently, Brand's upcoming stand-up performance at the Theatre Royal Windsor, scheduled for Tuesday, has been cancelled, with tour promoters announcing the postponement of additional shows in light of the ongoing situation.</p> <p>Talent agency Tavistock Wood has severed ties with the comedian, citing feeling "horribly misled" by him, and Bluebird publisher has decided to "pause" future collaborations with Brand.</p> <p><em>Image: Instagram</em></p>

Legal

AFL legend Barry Cable accused of historical sexual abuse

<p>AFL great Barry Cable is being sued over allegations that he sexually abused a Perth teenager at the height of his playing career. </p> <p>Until now, his identity had been concealed by order of the District Court of Western Australia. </p> <p>Cable denies all allegations and is not facing criminal charges. </p> <p>In court documents, the woman who cannot be named claims she was sexually abused by Cable, starting in 1968 when she was 12 years old, and continuing until 1973. She is seeking damages, claiming she suffered psychiatric harm as a result of the harassment.</p> <p>The woman said Mr. Cable once told her “he would teach her about the facts of life and the birds and the bees” so “she would be a big hit with men.” She claims Cable had also threatened to sexually abuse her sister if she did not comply with his demands. </p> <p>The judge, Mark Herron said Cable would not take part in the upcoming five-day trial and is not represented by a lawyer. </p> <p>Cable has also filed a defence in which he states he had a “consensual sexual relationship” with the woman around 1983.</p> <p>The court was informed that Cable had been declared bankrupt, so no funds are available if there are any costs. </p> <p>Barry Cable is considered to be one of the greatest Australian footballers of all time. He was inducted into the Australia Football Hall of Fame and was elevated to “Legend” status in 2012.</p> <p><em>Image credit: Getty</em></p>

Legal

Hallucinations in the movies tend to be about chaos, violence and mental distress. But they can be positive too

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/christopher-patterson-308185">Christopher Patterson</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-wollongong-711">University of Wollongong</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nicholas-procter-147517">Nicholas Procter</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-south-australia-1180"><em>University of South Australia</em></a></em></p> <p>Hallucinations are often depicted in the movies as terrifying experiences. Think Jake Gyllenhaal seeing a monstrous rabbit in <em><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0246578/">Donnie Darko</a></em>, Leonardo DiCaprio experiencing the torture of <em><a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/reel-therapy/201002/shutter-island-separating-fact-fiction">Shutter Island</a></em>, Natalie Portman in <em><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0947798/">Black Swan</a></em>, or Joaquin Phoenix as the <em><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/oct/21/joker-mental-illness-joaquin-phoenix-dangerous-misinformed">Joker</a></em>.</p> <p>Each character experiences some form of psychological distress. Scenes connect to, or even explain, a decline into chaos and violence.</p> <p>Experiencing hallucinations can be distressing for some people and their loved ones. However, focusing solely on such depictions perpetuates myths and misconceptions about hallucinations. They also potentially perpetuate harmful stereotypes of mental distress.</p> <p>Movies such as Joker use a broad, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/oct/21/joker-mental-illness-joaquin-phoenix-dangerous-misinformed">arguably incorrect</a>, brush to connect hallucinations, mental health issues and violence. This reinforces the misconception that hallucinations always indicate mental health issues, when this is not necessarily true.</p> <h2>What are hallucinations?</h2> <p>Hallucinations are perceptions that occur without a corresponding external stimulus. They can involve any of the human senses.</p> <p>Auditory hallucinations involve hearing things that aren’t there, such as voices or sounds. Visual hallucinations involve seeing things that aren’t there, such as lights, objects or people. Tactile hallucinations involve feeling things that aren’t there, such as a sensation of something crawling on your skin. Gustatory hallucinations involve taste and smell.</p> <p>People often confuse hallucinations and delusions. The two can be related, but they are not the same thing. Delusions are false beliefs, firmly held by a person despite evidence to the contrary. A person might believe someone is following them (a delusion), and see and hear that figure (a hallucination).</p> <p>Before the 17th century, hallucinations were commonly thought to be of <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00991/full">cultural and religious</a> significance.</p> <p>However, between the mid-1600s and 1700s, hallucinations began to be understood as medical concerns, related to both mental and physical illnesses. This medical lens of hallucination remains. Now we know which <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2702442/">parts of the brain</a> are activated when someone has a hallucination.</p> <h2>What causes hallucinations?</h2> <p>Hallucinations can be a sign of serious mental health issues. The presence or experience of hallucinations is, for example, one of the criteria used to <a href="https://www.psychiatry.org/File%20Library/Psychiatrists/Practice/DSM/APA_DSM-5-Schizophrenia.pdf">diagnose schizophrenia</a> (delusions are another).</p> <p>Hallucinations may also provide insight into mental health issues such as bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.</p> <p>However, hallucinations can also be linked to other medical conditions.</p> <p>Hallucinations can be caused by fever, as well as disease or damage impacting the brain or <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-charles-bonnet-syndrome-the-eye-condition-that-causes-hallucinations-122322">optic nerves</a>. Parkinson’s disease causes visual, auditory and tactile hallucinations <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7116251/">in up to 75% of people</a>. Epilepsy and migraine headaches are also linked to hallucinations, and can cause perceptual disturbances, sometimes for days. Substance use, particularly of <a href="https://theconversation.com/weekly-dose-ayahuasca-a-cautionary-tale-for-tourists-eager-to-try-this-shamanic-brew-73953">hallucinogenic drugs</a> such as LSD or ketamine, can also cause hallucinations.</p> <p>Hallucinations can also occur in people without any underlying medical conditions. For example, some people may experience hallucinations during times of <a href="https://academic.oup.com/schizophreniabulletin/article/46/6/1367/5939754">extreme distress or grief</a>.</p> <p>Environmental factors such as <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00303/full">sleep deprivation</a> can cause a range of perceptual disturbances, including visual and auditory hallucinations. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4354964/">Sensory deprivation</a>, such as being placed in a soundproof room, can also cause hallucinations.</p> <p>But still, the common image that hallucinations are connected only to mental health issues persists.</p> <h2>Hallucinations can be frightening, but not always</h2> <p>Hallucinations can be frightening for people, and their families. And the <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0020764016675888">stigma</a> and misconceptions surrounding hallucinations can have a significant impact on someone who experiences them.</p> <p>People who have hallucinations may be afraid or embarrassed of being considered “bizarre” or “unsafe”, and therefore may avoid seeking help.</p> <p>But hallucinations are <a href="https://www.intervoiceonline.org/voices-visions/voices-as-a-gift">not always scary or disturbing</a>. Some hallucinations can be neutral or even pleasant. People have been sharing on social media their positive and empowering experience of hallucinations. In the example below, we see one person’s positive experience of hearing voices. Yet we rarely see such depictions of hallucinations in the movies.</p> <hr /> <p><iframe id="tc-infographic-853" class="tc-infographic" style="border: none;" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/853/9f702c4fefadeb810f9d64d7b4512b39a655a262/site/index.html" width="100%" height="400px" frameborder="0"></iframe></p> <hr /> <h2>How to support someone having hallucinations</h2> <p>If you are with someone who is having hallucinations, particularly if these are new or distressing for them, here are several ways you can support them:</p> <ul> <li> <p>ask the person if they want to talk about what they are experiencing and listen to them without judgment: “I cannot hear what you are hearing, can you tell me about it?”</p> </li> <li> <p><a href="https://tuneinnotout.com/videos/r-u-ok-ask-experts-nicholas-procter/">listen</a>. Don’t argue or blame. Acknowledge that hallucinations are real to the person, even if they are seemingly unusual and not based in reality: “I cannot see what you see, but I do understand you see it.”</p> </li> <li> <p>empathise with how the person feels about their experiences. “I cannot feel or taste it, but I can imagine it would be a difficult experience. I can see how much it is concerning you.”</p> </li> <li> <p>support someone to seek care. Persistent or distressing hallucinations should always be evaluated by a qualified health professional. Establishing potential causes is important: “I cannot hear it like you, but let’s talk to a health professional about it. They can help us understand what might be happening.”</p> </li> <li> <p>encourage the person to <a href="https://www.intervoiceonline.org/national-networks#content">reach out to their peers</a> as well as to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01612840.2023.2189953?src=recsys">hearing voices groups</a> for ongoing support.</p> </li> </ul> <p><em>We’d like to acknowledge <a href="https://www.nswmentalhealthcommission.com.au/staff-profile/tim-heffernan">Tim Heffernan</a>, Deputy Commissioner of the Mental Health Commission of New South Wales, who contributed to this article.</em></p> <p><em>If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone you know, call Lifeline on 13 11 14. </em></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/christopher-patterson-308185">Christopher Patterson</a>, Senior Lecturer, School of Nursing, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-wollongong-711">University of Wollongong</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nicholas-procter-147517">Nicholas Procter</a>, Professor and Chair: Mental Health Nursing, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-south-australia-1180">University of South Australia</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock</em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/hallucinations-in-the-movies-tend-to-be-about-chaos-violence-and-mental-distress-but-they-can-be-positive-too-204547">original article</a>.</em></p>

Caring

Don’t blame women for low libido. Sexual sparks fly when partners do their share of chores – including calling the plumber

<p>When a comic about “mental load” <a href="https://english.emmaclit.com/2017/05/20/you-shouldve-asked/">went viral in 2017</a>, it sparked conversations about the invisible workload women carry. Even when women are in paid employment, they remember their mother-in-law’s birthday, know what’s in the pantry and organise the plumber. This mental load often goes unnoticed.</p> <p>Women also <a href="https://theconversation.com/yet-again-the-census-shows-women-are-doing-more-housework-now-is-the-time-to-invest-in-interventions-185488">continue to do more housework</a> and childcare than their male partners.</p> <p>This burden has been exacerbated over the recent pandemic (homeschooling anyone?), <a href="https://theconversation.com/planning-stress-and-worry-put-the-mental-load-on-mothers-will-2022-be-the-year-they-share-the-burden-172599">leaving women</a> feeling exhausted, anxious and resentful.</p> <p>As sexuality researchers, we wondered, with all this extra work, do women have any energy left for sex?</p> <p>We decided to explore how mental load affects intimate relationships. We focused on female sexual desire, as “low desire” affects <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1743609520307566">more than 50% of women</a> and is <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0091302217300079">difficult to treat</a>.</p> <p>Our study, published in the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00224499.2022.2079111">Journal of Sex Research</a>, shows women in equal relationships (in terms of housework and the mental load) are more satisfied with their relationships and, in turn, feel more sexual desire than those in unequal relationships.</p> <p> </p> <h2>How do we define low desire?</h2> <p>Low desire is tricky to explore. More than simply the motivation to have sex, women describe sexual desire as a state-of-being and a need for closeness.</p> <p>Adding to this complexity is the fluctuating nature of female desire that changes in response to life experiences and the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20160630-the-enduring-enigma-of-female-desire">quality of relationships</a>.</p> <p>Relationships are especially important to female desire: relationship dissatisfaction is a <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18410300/">top risk factor</a> for low desire in women, even more than the physiological impacts of age and menopause. Clearly, relationship factors are critical to understanding female sexual desire.</p> <p>As a way of addressing the complexity of female desire, a <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-018-1212-9">recent theory</a> proposed two different types of desire: dyadic desire is the sexual desire one feels for another, whereas solo desire is about individual feelings.</p> <p>Not surprisingly, dyadic desire is intertwined with the dynamics of the relationship, while solo desire is more amorphous and involves feeling good about yourself as a sexual being (feeling sexy), without needing validation from another.</p> <h2>Assessing the link</h2> <p>Our research acknowledged the nuances of women’s desire and its strong connection to relationship quality by exploring how fairness in relationships might affect desire.</p> <p>The research involved asking 299 Australian women aged 18 to 39 questions about desire and relationships.</p> <p>These questions included assessments of housework, mental load – such as who organised social activities and made financial arrangements – and who had more leisure time.</p> <p>We compared three groups:</p> <ul> <li>relationships where women perceived the work as equally shared equal (the “equal work” group)</li> <li>when the woman felt she did more work (the “women’s work” group)</li> <li>when women thought that their partner contributed more (the “partner’s work” group).</li> </ul> <p>We then explored how these differences in relationship equity impacted female sexual desire.</p> <h2>What we found</h2> <p>The findings were stark. Women who rated their relationships as equal also reported greater relationship satisfaction and higher dyadic desire (intertwined with the dynamics of the relationship) than other women in the study.</p> <p>Unfortunately (and perhaps, tellingly), the partner’s work group was too small to draw any substantial conclusions.</p> <p>However, for the women’s work group it was clear their dyadic desire was diminished. This group was also less satisfied in their relationships overall.</p> <p>We found something interesting when turning our attention to women’s solo desire. While it seems logical that relationship inequities might affect all aspects of women’s sexuality, our results showed that fairness did not significantly impact solo desire.</p> <p>This suggests women’s low desire isn’t an internal sexual problem to be treated with <a href="https://www.insider.com/guides/health/yoni-eggs#:%7E:text=Yoni%20eggs%20are%20egg%2Dshaped,bacterial%20infections%20and%20intense%20pain.">mindfulness apps and jade eggs</a>, but rather one that needs effort from both partners.</p> <p>Other relationship factors are involved. We found children increased the workload for women, leading to lower relationship equity and consequently, lower sexual desire.</p> <p> </p> <p>Relationship length also played a role. Research shows long-term relationships are <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-018-1175-x">associated with</a> decreasing desire for women, and this is often attributed to the tedium of over-familiarity (think of the bored, sexless <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBq-Nyo0lQg">wives in 90s sitcoms</a>).</p> <p>However our research indicates relationship boredom is not the reason, with the increasing inequity over the course of a relationship often the cause of women’s disinterest in sex.</p> <p>The longer some relationships continue, the more unfair they become, lowering women’s desire. This may be because women take on managing their partner’s relationships, as well as their own (“It’s time we had your best friend over for dinner”).</p> <p>And while domestic housework may start as equally shared, over time, women <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/women-spent-more-time-men-unpaid-work-may">tend to do more</a> household tasks.</p> <h2>What about same-sex couples?</h2> <p>Same-sex couples have <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/fare.12293">more equitable relationships</a>.</p> <p>However, we found the same link between equity and desire for women in same-sex relationships, although it was much stronger for heteronormative couples.</p> <p>A sense of fairness within a relationship is fundamental to all women’s satisfaction and sexual desire.</p> <h2>What happens next?</h2> <p>Our findings suggest one response to low desire in women could be to address the amount of work women have to take on in relationships.</p> <p>The link between relationship satisfaction and female sexual desire has been firmly established in <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-018-1175-x">previous research</a> but our findings explain how this dynamic works: women’s sense of fairness within a relationship forecasts their contentment, which has repercussions on their desire for their partner.</p> <p>To translate our results into clinical practice, we could run trials to confirm if lowering women’s mental load results in greater sexual desire.</p> <p>We could have a “housework and mental load ban” for a sample of women reporting low sexual desire and record if there are changes in their reported levels of desire.</p> <p>Or perhaps women’s sexual partners could do the dishes tonight and see what happens.</p> <p><em>Image credit: Shutterstock</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/dont-blame-women-for-low-libido-sexual-sparks-fly-when-partners-do-their-share-of-chores-including-calling-the-plumber-185401" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>

Relationships

“This is disgusting”: Mural for murdered women defaced with graffiti

<p dir="ltr">A street artist has been captured painting over a mural depicting the names and photos of women murdered across Australia in acts of domestic violence. </p> <p dir="ltr">The mural, plastered on Melbourne’s famous Hosier Lane, depicts some of the almost 80 women killed since the start of 2023, and the locations they died around Australia. </p> <p dir="ltr">The mural also shows the alarming statistics of domestic violence across Australia in data compiled by <a href="https://australianfemicidewatch.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The RED HEART Campaign</a> - an ongoing memorial project dedicated to tracking the known women and children killed in acts of gendered violence.</p> <p dir="ltr">The mural was painted in the lane on International Women’s Day (March 8th), and was defaced just 10 days later. </p> <p dir="ltr">An unknown street artist was captured on video spray painting over the women’s faces, with the words “13 WOLF 69” covering most of the mural, as the beginning of a large orange text covering the southeast corner of the map.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">When murdered women are erased for the second time! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/femicide?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#femicide</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/shematters?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#shematters</a> <a href="https://t.co/TYpLQFmpCx">pic.twitter.com/TYpLQFmpCx</a></p> <p>— Sherele Moody (Femicide Researcher) 🌈 (@ShereleMoody) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShereleMoody/status/1636880510269128705?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2023</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">The video, posted by the campaign founder Sherele Moody, then pans slowly to capture the artist still spraying the wall with orange paint – what seem to be the finishing touches to the large piece that stretches for metres toward Flinders Street.</p> <p dir="ltr">“That’s more important, that’s lovely,” someone can be heard sarcastically saying in the footage.</p> <p dir="ltr">“That’s not even art!”</p> <p dir="ltr">Sherele captioned the video as an example of “when murdered women are erased for a second time”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The dude could have moved his scribble a few feet and not painted over the faces of murdered women,” she added.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The Lane is pretty big – there’s room for all of us!”</p> <p dir="ltr">Supporters of the campaign immediately reacted in disgust to the “selfish, heartless artist”, with many saying the disregard for the mural really “hurts”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“What the actual f,” one woman wrote.</p> <p dir="ltr">“This is disgusting. This is about murdered women and a memorial. When did we become so disrespectful.”</p> <p dir="ltr">While most of the backlash was in support of the advocates, others questioned whether the artist was even aware of what he had done or was partially covering. </p> <p dir="ltr">Others simply said it was the harsh nature of Melbourne’s internationally renowned street art culture.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Twitter</em></p>

Art

Former Miss Australia accused of domestic violence

<p>A former Miss Australia and previous Labor member of Tasmania parliament has been accused of emotionally abusing her partner, including physical violence over the course of a decade.</p> <p>Kathryn Isobel Hay, 47, is yet to enter a plea to the family violence charge of emotional abuse or intimidation, which allegedly spanned from 2011 to 2022.</p> <p>Hay won the Miss Tasmania and Miss Australia crown in 1999 before serving as a Labor member in the electorate of Bass from 2002 to 2006.</p> <p>She has been accused of regularly abusing her partner, Troy Shane Richardson, calling him a c***, pushing him, accusing him of infidelity and telling family members he did nothing around the house.</p> <p>She also allegedly told him he was worthless and useless and assaulted him by throwing a bowl of cereal at him.</p> <p>According to court documents, Hay allegedly assaulted Mr Richardson by slapping him across the face multiple times and punching him in the face.</p> <p>Among dozens of accusations, Hay told Mr Richardson that she would have been happier with her late husband.</p> <p>Hay also drafted correspondence to the Director of Public Prosecutions on Mr Richardson’s behalf without his consent and allegedly discouraged him from seeing a counsellor.</p> <p>Hay, who briefly appeared in Launceston Magistrates Court, was granted bail and will next appear before the court on May 29.</p> <p><em>Help is available, speak with someone today.</em><br /><em>1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)</em><br /><em>Lifeline 13 11 14</em></p> <p><em>Image credit: Facebook</em></p>

Legal

“Those attackers will be after me. I know they will.”: Horrifying social media trend leaves woman scared to shop alone

<p>A disturbing social media trend is prompting teenagers to attack unsuspecting victims in public while others record the violence.</p> <p>Videos of the attack involving South Australian teenagers were posted in Facebook groups where members are encouraged to continue the violence and upload more footage.</p> <p>In one video, a woman shopping at a Woolworths store is brutally assaulted by a teenage girl as her friend records and encourages the beating.</p> <p>In the video, the teenage girls can be seen strolling into the supermarket before picking a target - Jessica Burke, an unsuspecting shopper who happened to walk in front of the girls with her trolley.</p> <p>“Bash the s*** girl, bash her,” the girl recording says to her friend.</p> <p>The violent attack then begins with the teenager grabbing Ms Burke by the hair; dragging her to her knees.</p> <p>After Burke is on the ground, the teenager proceeds to kick and punch her in the head repeatedly in front of horrified shoppers, including children screaming in fear.</p> <p>To see the harrowing footage in full, <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11731143/Woolworths-shopper-bashed-teens-social-media-trend-urges-attack-civilians.html#v-4575687196736504272" target="_blank" rel="noopener">head here</a>. Caution: disturbing footage; viewer discretion advised.</p> <p>The woman suffered injuries to her head but says the psychological effects have been the most painful.</p> <p>“I can't go down to the shops like Woolies, Coles or Big W without someone with me because I'm too scared,” Ms Burke told 9News.</p> <p>"Those attackers will be after me. I know they will.”</p> <p>Several other videos online show the same attacker to be the main offender, assaulting other teenagers in parking lots and in the street.</p> <p>South Australian Police commissioner, Greg Stevens, said people encouraging the violence can also be charged, not just the attacker.</p> <p>“It is an offence to incite an offence,” he said.</p> <p>“If people are actively engaging in an activity that encourages other people to commit a crime then they can be held accountable for that.”</p> <p>Some local residents believe that even though the teenagers are being charged, they are then released on bail.</p> <p>“These days it's just a slap on the wrist and send you on your way,” Ms Burke's partner, Tarquin Gray said.</p> <p>“The system has just gone backwards.”</p> <p>“It is very complex and it is made more complex when it involves young people committing offences,' Mr Stevens said.</p> <p>Image Credit: Getty</p>

Legal

Victims of child sexual abuse react to Cardinal Pell's death

<p>Victims of childhood sexual abuse have shared their reactions to the news of the death of Cardinal George Pell. </p> <p>Pell, who was previously convicted for historic sex crimes, died at age 81 in Rome on Wednesday after complications from hip replacement surgery. </p> <p>Phil Nagle, who was assaulted by a priest at the age of nine, said bluntly, "He's certainly burning in hell right now."</p> <p>"I'm glad he's passed on," he told <a href="https://9now.nine.com.au/a-current-affair/reaction-to-cardinal-george-pells-death/33dd1fd4-fb5a-4fd0-9cba-54da4d4de15b" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>A Current Affair</em></a>. </p> <p>Nagle went on to say he believed Pell "was a liar and a protector of paedophile clergy".</p> <p>"(He) had plenty of opportunities during his lifetime to try and redeem himself," he said.</p> <p>"It's a bit of a shame he's taken the secrets to the grave."</p> <p>Victims advocate Helen Last said she "felt really numb" when she heard about Pell's death.</p> <p>"It's a tragedy of great proportions. There's so many survivors in Victoria still who have not been able to come forward about alleged abuse by him, on them," she said.</p> <p>"I personally believe on the basis of evidence that George Pell has been involved in a network of sexual offending clergy that goes right back."</p> <p>Sex abuse victim Michael Advocate said his shed weren't of sorrow when he heard about Pell's passing.</p> <p>"He was a terrible, terrible human being that just damaged so many child sex abuse victims, including me," Advocate said.</p> <p>"There's so many of my fellow sufferers, you know … he got off so lightly. I hope he really gets justice."</p> <p>"If there is a God, dear God may he be forthright in his punishment."</p> <p>Despite an onslaught of similar comments from members of the public who stand with Pell's accusers, famous friends of the Church were quick to share their sadness over the Cardinal's death. </p> <p>Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott, a Catholic and staunch Pell supporter, described the cardinal as a "saint" and compared the sexual abuse charges that effectively ended his ecclesiastical career to "a modern form of crucifixion".</p> <p>Reacting to Abbott's statement on Instagram, former <em>7News Melbourne</em> host Jacqui Felgate summed up the anger felt by Pell's critics with a brutal, three-word response.</p> <p>"Beyond the pale," she wrote.</p> <p>Many of Felgate's followers agreed, with former <em>Bachelor</em> star Matthew Johnson saying, "This is absolutely abhorrent and really puts into perspective what type of person [he is]."</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images </em></p>

News

20 years of tracking sexual harassment at work shows little improvement. But that could be about to change

<p>The fifth national survey on sexual harassment in Australian workplaces shows little has changed since the last survey in 2018 – or indeed since the first survey in 2003.</p> <p>It points to the importance of the legislative changes being pursued by the Albanese government, including reforms that passed parliament on Monday.</p> <p>The <a href="https://humanrights.gov.au/time-for-respect-2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener">survey of 10,000 Australians</a> was commissioned by the Australian Human Rights Commission and conducted by Roy Morgan Research in August and September. It shows 33% of workers were sexually harassed at work in the previous five years – 41% of women and 26% of men.</p> <p>This compares with 39% of women and 26% of men <a href="https://humanrights.gov.au/sites/default/files/document/publication/AHRC_WORKPLACE_SH_2018.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in 2018</a>, and with 15% of women and 6% of men <a href="https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/sexual-harassment-workplace-key-findings-overview" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in 2003</a> (though these results cannot be easily compared with the latest figures due to changes in survey methodology).</p> <p>The most common form of sexually harassment were:</p> <ul> <li>comments or jokes (40% of women, 14% of men)</li> <li>intrusive questions about one’s private life or appearance (32% of women, 14% of men)</li> <li>inappropriate staring (30% of women, 8% of men)</li> <li>unwelcome touching, hugging, cornering or kissing (28% of women, 10% of men)</li> <li>inappropriate physical contact (26% of women, 11% of men).</li> </ul> <p>Men were responsible for 91% of harassment of women, and 55% of harassment of men.</p> <p>Most of those harassed said their harasser also sexually harassed another employee. Just 18% formally reported the harassment. Of those, only 28% said the harassment stopped as a result, while 24% said their harasser faced no consequences.</p> <h2>Slow work on reforms</h2> <p>These results highlight the importance of the reforms now being made by the Albanese government, implementing the recommendations of the Australian Human Rights Commission’s 2020 <a href="https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/sex-discrimination/publications/respectwork-sexual-harassment-national-inquiry-report-2020" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Respect@Work</a> report.</p> <p>That report made 55 recommendations. The Morrison government acted on just a handful.</p> <p>It amended <a href="https://www.fairwork.gov.au/about-us-legislation-fair-work-system/respect-work-reforms" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Fair Work Act</a> to enable individuals to apply to the Fair Work Commission for a “stop sexual harassment” order, and to make it clear sexual harassment is grounds for dismissal.</p> <p>But it ignored the key recommendation: placing a positive duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment, requiring them to treat harassment like other work health and safety issues.</p> <p>This was needed, the report argued, because treating sexual harassment as being about aberrant individuals led to a workplace focus on individual complaints. It did little to change structural drivers of such behaviour.</p> <h2>Albanese government commitments</h2> <p>On Monday, the Albanese government finally made this pivotal reform, when parliament <a href="https://humanrights.gov.au/about/news/media-releases/passage-respectwork-bill-major-step-preventing-harassment" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passed its Respect@Work bill</a>.</p> <p>It is now no longer enough for employers to have a policy and act on complaints. They must also take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate sex discrimination, sexual harassment and victimisation.</p> <p>The government has committed to implementing all 55 recommendations. The Respect@Work bill implements seven.</p> <p>Others should be achieved with the omnibus industrial relations bill now before the Senate. Improving the conditions and bargaining power of those in insecure and low-paid work, and reducing gender inequalities, should lessen the vulnerabilities that enable harassment to flourish.</p> <h2>Ratifying the ILO convention</h2> <p>Last week Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also <a href="https://www.pm.gov.au/media/address-international-trade-union-confederation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">committed</a> to ratifying the International Labor Organisation’s convention on <a href="https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/violence-harassment/lang--en/index.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Eliminating Violence and Harassment in the World of Work</a>.</p> <p>So far, <a href="https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=1000:11300:0::NO:11300:P11300_INSTRUMENT_ID:3999810" target="_blank" rel="noopener">22 nations</a> have ratified the treaty. Ratification will oblige Australia to align its laws and regulations with the treaty’s provisions.</p> <p>This is significant not just because the convention is the first international treaty to enshrine the right to work free from violence and harassment as its focus. It also breaks with the historical framing of sexual harassment as an individual interpersonal conflict.</p> <p>The convention calls for an integrated approach to eliminating workplace violence and harassment. In Australia’s case, this will require developing approaches that break down the policy and regulatory fences between anti-discrimination measures, and those covering workplace rights and work health and safety.</p> <p>This could prove challenging – with sexual harassment being only one form of gender-based violence. But implementing all 55 recommendations of the Respect@Work report is a good start.</p> <p>Hopefully the sixth national workplace survey will have a better story to tell.</p> <p><strong>This story originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/20-years-of-tracking-sexual-harassment-at-work-shows-little-improvement-but-that-could-be-about-to-change-195554" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.</strong></p> <p><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></p>

Legal

Brittany Higgins speaks publicly for first time since dropped charges

<p dir="ltr"><em>Content warning: This article includes mentions of sexual assault.</em></p> <p dir="ltr">Brittany Higgins has spoken publicly for the first time since the charges of sexual assault were dropped against Bruce Lehrmann due to concerns about her mental health.</p> <p dir="ltr">The former Liberal staffer took to social media with her statement about the trial, noting that “the outcome does not affect the truth”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I chose to speak up,” she began. </p> <p dir="ltr">“To speak up against rape. To speak up against injustice. To speak up and share my experiences with others.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I told the truth - no matter how uncomfortable or how unflattering - to the Court. The outcome does not affect the truth. When I did speak up, I never fully understood our asymmetrical criminal justice system.</p> <p dir="ltr">“But I do now.”</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-f4ee888b-7fff-8b0a-4782-a0187822af74"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">Higgins, who testified and was cross-examined during the initial trial while Lehrmann wasn’t, continued to describe the impact of taking sexual assault allegations to court and how alleged offenders aren’t impacted to the same degree.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CluKsquhqme/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CluKsquhqme/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Brittany Higgins (@brittanyhiggins___)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">“I was requested to tell the truth under oath over a week on the witness stand and was cross-examined at length,” she continued.</p> <p dir="ltr">“He was afforded the choice of staying silent in court. Head down in a notebook, completely detached.</p> <p dir="ltr">“He never faced one question in court about his story or the criminal charges.”</p> <p dir="ltr">She added that surrendered her phones, passwords, photos and other data to the court, a requirement Lehrmann was not made to comply with.</p> <p dir="ltr">“My life was publicly scrutinised, open for the world to see. His was not,” she wrote.</p> <p dir="ltr">Higgins also addressed the scrutiny the media faced for initially referring to the trial as the ‘Higgins trial’, saying that she didn’t blame the media “because to me it is very obvious who is on trial”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“He hasn’t had to be publicly accountable - for his actions of any part of his story,” she continued.</p> <p dir="ltr">“This is the reality of how complainants in sexual assault cases are treated.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Their lives are torn apart, their families and friends called to the witness stand and the accused has the legal right to say absolutely nothing.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Like all women who experience sexual violence, I knew the odds were stacked against me from the outset.”</p> <p dir="ltr">She went on to address the imbalance in Australia’s legal system, citing statistics that said only 16 percent of sexual offences reported to police in the ACT during 2020 led to a charge, with only half of that 16 percent resulting in a conviction.</p> <p dir="ltr">“That is to our national shame,” she wrote.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I want to thank the other women who came forward and shared their own experiences.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I believe you. You were with me every day I walked into that courtroom and faced him.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Higgins also went on to thank those who attended the March 4 Justice rallies, journalists “who helped amplify the issue” and mental health workers, “without whom, I literally would not be here today”.</p> <p dir="ltr">Her statement comes a week after the charges against Lehrmann were dropped and a retrial set for next year was scrapped.</p> <p dir="ltr">The initial trial, which began in October, ended with no verdict due to juror misconduct.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>If you or someone you know is in need of support as a result of sexual assault or child contact LifeLine on 13 11 14 for immediate support or call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au.</em></p> <p dir="ltr"><em><span id="docs-internal-guid-75f0cc4d-7fff-afda-71fc-de5158669136"></span></em></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p>

News

“This brings this prosecution to an end”: Charges dropped against Bruce Lehrmann

<p dir="ltr">The trial of Bruce Lehrmann over allegations he raped Brittany Higgins has come to an end, after new evidence was presented showing that the “ongoing trauma” of the trial was an unacceptable risk to Ms Higgins.</p> <p dir="ltr">Shane Drumgold, the ACT Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), said on Friday that he had reviewed new medical evidence and made the “difficult decision” to file a notice declining a retrial.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I have recently received compelling evidence from two independent medical experts, that the ongoing trauma associated with this prosecution presents an unacceptable and significant risk to the life of the complainant,’’ he said during a press conference.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The evidence makes it clear this is not limited to the harm of giving evidence in the witness box, rather applies whether or not the complainant is required to re-enter the witness box in the retrial.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Whilst the pursuit of justice is essential for my office and the community, the safety of a complainant in a sexual assault matter, must be paramount.</p> <p dir="ltr">“In light of the compelling independent medical opinions, and balancing all factors, I have made the difficult decision that it is no longer in the public interest to pursue a prosecution at the risk of the complainant’s life.</p> <p dir="ltr">“This has left me no other options but to file a notice declining to proceed with the retrial of prosecution, which I have done this morning.</p> <p dir="ltr">“This brings this prosecution to an end.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Mr Drumgold said that the investigation and trial has resulted in “a level of personal attack” against Ms Higgins that he hadn’t seen in his 20-year career.</p> <p dir="ltr">“She has done so with bravery, grace and dignity, and it is my hope that this now stop; that Miss Higgins now be allowed to heal,” he continued.</p> <p dir="ltr">Mr Drumgold noted that DPP policy states that the decision to prosecute should be made “after due consideration”, shouldn’t be a light or automatic process, and that it can be understood as occurring over two stages.</p> <p dir="ltr">“First, does the evidence offer reasonable prospects of conviction?” he said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“If so, is it in the public interest to proceed with a prosecution?</p> <p dir="ltr">“This is a view I still hold today.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The first trial <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/news/news/stunning-developments-in-rape-trial-of-bruce-lehrmann">ended in late October</a>, with the jury being dismissed and no verdict given after a juror brought research material into the courtroom.</p> <p dir="ltr">Lehrmann had pleaded not guilty to one count of sexual intercourse without consent, with his lawyers telling the court that no sexual activity took place.</p> <p dir="ltr">The second trial was due to commence on February 20, 2023.</p> <p dir="ltr">The decision to drop charges against Lehrmann comes after it was revealed that Mr Drumgold was seeking “urgent” legal changes to ensure that Ms Higgins’ evidence could be played in court during a retrial to avoid her taking the witness stand again.</p> <p dir="ltr">Under current legislation, there was uncertainty as to whether a recording of Ms Higgins’ cross-examination could be used in the retrial.</p> <p dir="ltr">The proposed changes would allow sexual assault complainents who give evidence in open court - like Ms Higgins did - to have their evidence played to the jury in the same way that it would be if complainants in remote locations are recorded.</p> <p dir="ltr">It comes amid criticism of the criminal justice system and courts over the re-traumatising experience sexual assault survivors undergo while giving evidence.</p> <p dir="ltr">In a study conducted by the Australian Institute of Criminology, they noted that giving evidence in court can be traumatic and stressful for a number of reasons.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The need for victims to confront the person alleged to have assaulted them, the difficulties of talking about the circumstances surrounding the assault and the embarrassment of being questioned in public about sexual matters can make committals and trials highly traumatic experiences for victims,” they <a href="https://www.aic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-05/rpp068.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>.</p> <p dir="ltr">“In the event that a mistrial occurs or the matter is referred for a further hearing at appeal, the trauma is exacerbated because the complainant is required to go through the entire process again. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Such a prospect may not only discourage sexual assault victims from being willing to give testimony, but may also discourage victims from reporting the sexual assault to police in the first place.”</p> <p dir="ltr">They found that jurors presented with evidence face-to-face, through CCTV footage, or in a pre-recorded video weren’t being affected by the mode of evidence on their perception of the survivor or when making decisions.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-f46bdf13-7fff-1367-57ae-3b1fa4466ea8"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Getty Images</em></p>

Legal

Neighbours star facing sexual assault charge

<p dir="ltr"><em>Content warning: This article includes discussion of sexual assault.</em></p> <p dir="ltr">Former <em>Neighbours </em>star Scott McGregor has been charged with one count of sexual assault after a night out at a popular Melbourne pub.</p> <p dir="ltr">McGregor, who played police detective Mark Brennan on the soap from 2013 to 2020, was charged in relation to an incident at St Kilda’s Hotel Esplanade, or ‘Espy’, on Sunday, February 20.</p> <p dir="ltr">The <em><a href="https://www.heraldsun.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/police-courts-victoria/scott-mcgregor-charged-over-incident-at-a-st-kilda-bar/news-story/df4b8b360ec09602c462f9a5f5101b2d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Herald Sun</a></em> reported that McGregor was charged by detectives from the Bayside Sexual Offences and Child Investigation Team last week.</p> <p dir="ltr">The 41-year-old actor and model will appear at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court in January in relation to the charge.</p> <p dir="ltr">Despite his lengthy stint on <em>Neighbours </em>and appearance in 940 episodes, fans were disappointed when he didn’t appear on the show’s final episode in July, which saw the return of many of the show’s alumni.</p> <p dir="ltr">The star, who has also appeared in <em>Underbelly</em>, <em>Offspring</em>, and <em>Winners & Losers</em>, lives in Melbourne with his wife Bianka and two children.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-5f08a0f3-7fff-0fc3-647f-61f6935a3bab"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: @scottymcgregor (Instagram)</em></p>

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