Good Weekend Letters to the editor: April 8

Rethinking Rape

I read the story by Melissa Fyfe and Jacqueline Maley on how sexual assault allegations and charges are being handled in Australia [April 1]. They did an excellent job, all the more so because they must have found the exercise harrowing at times. I see that there are some positive signs but, overall, I found it quite distressing that the evidence shows there is so much more hard work to be done before the scales of justice are balanced fairly.
Rick Grounds
Vermont South, Vic

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As your story amply demonstrates, the system for sexual assault survivors needs an overhaul. There is no better proof of this than the fact reports of sexual assault to police have increased significantly in recent years, while convictions through the court system have dropped. This isn’t the first story on this important issue that Good Weekend has published – much to its credit – which makes us ask: why is so little being done, despite all the media attention? Why is the system continuing to fail women – and let’s face it, the victims are mainly women – so badly? From what I have read and heard, part of the problem lies with the preconceived prejudices and stereotypes that juries themselves bring to a trial. Perhaps the answer lies in judge-only trials for sexual assault victims – that of course assumes judges are also up-to-date with gender relations in the 2020s. The only long-term solution is education, especially of boys, which begins in the high school years.
Chris Brown
Erskineville, NSW

ONLINE COMMENTS

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Two of Us
A wonderful story of love and determination [April 1] on Tom and Maja Webster, married for 43 years, after Tom survived a serious heart attack. My mother “died” on the table after cardiac arrest; part of her self-decided rehab was walking – she went up and down hills I couldn’t possibly manage without getting breathless. She was determined and she regained her health eventually. Then 12 years later, she had a major stroke and was unconscious for days in hospital. Again, her determination and walking got her through another 10 years. Suzee

Important to recognise that that unusual “snoring” sound is someone dying. I found a friend who had collapsed and thought it was a fall, not anything more serious. Fair go for all

Goes to show the value of having – and knowing how to use – a defibrillator. Now affordable for many households with the most recent cost reductions. optimism rising