Wellingtonians march ‘for a world without rape’

Wellingtonians will march ‘for a world without rape’ as part of a nationwide day of action against rape culture. The day of action is a response to revelations that a group of high school students calling themselves ‘Roast Busters’ gang-raped teenage girls and then outed their victims on social media. The Wellington rally starts at the Cuba Mall bucket fountain at 2pm on Saturday November 16th. Over 700 people have indicated they will attend on the event’s Facebook page.

Event organiser Kassie Hartendorp says that ‘these gang rapes aren’t an isolated event, they are a product of wider rape culture. Many institutions are complicit in these rapes: the Police received four complaints from rape victims over the last two years, but failed to stop the ‘Roast Busters’ from raping more young women. The schools knew that some of their students raped other students, but failed to protect their students from rape. Media commentators like Willie Jackson and John Tamihere contributed to the culture of victim-blaming in their unethical interview with a girl who had almost been raped by the same group of boys.’

The organisers of the march argue that the solutions to rape culture must look beyond the police system. ‘The Roastbusters case is not isolated,’ says Hartendorp. ‘Rape, and the fear of rape, are treated as normal in our society. We have a dangerous culture of blaming people for getting raped, instead of holding rapists accountable for their actions.’

March organisers believe that since rape culture is a society-wide problem, the response to it must also be society-wide. The march has four key demands:

• Fully fund appropriate support services

• Hold the police accountable for their victim-blaming and cover-up

• Provide education on consent and sexual assault prevention throughout society

• Believe Survivors of rape and sexual abuse

ENDS.

© Scoop Media