I agree; journalists aren’t therapist and Alison Mau is not qualify to deal with trauma. Neither was New York Times when they first broke the story about Harvey Weinstein which kind of triggered the #MeToo movement (again). Neither when The Cut did that story with the 35 women who accused Bill Cosby for sexual assaults. Therefore I do not agree with Deborah Hill Cone that because Mau is not a qualified therapist, she is not qualified to compile an investigative story on sexual assaults and harassment in New Zealand.
Why did 200+ people wanted to write to Mau with these horrific stories? I have been tempted to but I don’t want to be labelled as attention seeker. Plus no doubt I will get trolls who think I deserve it. That aside, speaking to Mau means that you are reliving the trauma – the memories of happened come back and may trigger other trauma. My personal experiences tell me that every time the #MeToo movement comes up, or an article about Monica Lewinsky appears, all the memories come back. And at the same time I know I need to move on if I want to live in the future, not in the past.
We hear a lot about the #MeToo movement amongst Hollywood elites, and only recently we heard about the assault that took place at Russell McVeagh, and only in December, Wellington Police launched a sexual assault campaign to target the impact of alcohol can have on decision-making around sex and intimacy. The accused have moved on, with no punishment and nothing done, but the interns have to live with this experience throughout their life. If Newsroom did not publish this, would we know about it? Probably not – but I can be confidently say drinking and sexual assaults during the festive season is fairly common and it is under-reported.
And when Jack Mitchell was found guilty for raping a woman at the Riverhead Quarry, for the Prosecutor to blame it on alcohol and single woman being vulnerable for rape is a ridiculous accusation. No men or women should be assaulted because they were in a vulnerable position. But when I heard that story – it gives you a great understanding on how the Police view sexual assaults – women are responsible for being assaulted because of their vulnerability – mental status (aka drunk), the way they dressed and how they are alone at night.
So yes, Mau is not a therapist and these stories are overwhelming for her, and many are of serious complaint that should be dealt with by the law and by medical help. Her story brought up some other fundamental issues in the community – if you have been following the conversation on Twitter – that people assumed these victims have not tried to seek help. And through this discussion, we have also exposed the lack of support for sexual assault victims – from workplace (with the example of Russel McVeagh we know that the interns have made complaints but nothing was done, and the men accused have successfully moved to another employer before he resigned), to the police (whom would often dismiss it unless they have cold hard evidence). What was exposed was probably not how common sexual assault is in New Zealand, nor how under-reported, but how we lack the empathy and support we need for the victims, to provide them with the help to move on (not necessarily to punish the perpetrator).
To accused Mau for not being a therapist and therefore not qualified to write about the #MeTooNZ movement is flawed. Investigative journalism is not about being the expert – Mau could never, even if she is a qualified therapist, to provide therapy for the 200+ people who wrote to her. But this is about raising an issue that could hopefully ensure people are accountable for their actions, or failure to action.
Bevan Chuang 