![BITTER JUSTICE](https://cdn.magzter.com/1472106876/1646971357/articles/622f341d21453/BITTER-JUSTICE.jpg)
The criminal justice system has long been recognised as a difficult space for victims of sexual violence. The cross-examinations, the pressure to remember meticulous details, to recount distressing events over and over again, to have any chinks in your credibility excavated for forensic inspection – even when you’re behind a screen or CCTV camera, it is bruising.
“There is the ‘not knowing’ part of the process,” says Christine Thomas, crisis co-ordinator for the ÅŒtepoti Collective Against Sexual Abuse, or ÅŒcasa (formerly Rape Crisis Dunedin). “Will people believe me? Will the offender plead guilty? Will there be any repercussions for speaking up? Will I upset my family? Will I have to see the person who hurt me? A lot of the anxiety occurs in the lead-up to the trial, which can take upward of two years. The constant delays make matters worse and mean that survivors are constantly having to recalibrate their psyche to get their head around the delays.”
This story is from the March 19 - 25, 2022 edition of New Zealand Listener.
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This story is from the March 19 - 25, 2022 edition of New Zealand Listener.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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