Law Studies An Introduction

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When the officers approached the woman and asked her to stop, she continued to walk in the opposite direction, the statement said.

The spokeswoman said officers then identified themselves and their reasons for speaking with her, but she did not say what those specific reasons were.

"After the woman was unable to produce identification or provide the address of where she was staying, police requested her details to conduct checks to assist with confirming her identity.

During this conversation, the 19-year-old woman became aggressive and spat towards police, before telling officers she would run from them and when she started to walk away, she was pushed back and later restrained.

Several lawyers, youth justice researchers, and mental health experts have told Hack, the police response was not the appropriate way to deal with a mental health episode.

That's clearly not what the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody suggested thirty years ago, George Newhouse said.

If you look at those recommendations, they're all about de-escalating situations, diverting people away from the criminal justice system and actually training police in the need for medical care in appropriate circumstances and that's what should happen in this case.

Guys, you can stop worrying about false rape allegations. They’re extremely rare

We've been covering a lot of stories about rape allegations lately.

And when we do, we often get calls and texts like this:

What's to stop someone making a report ... if they just don't like someone?

How can you anonymously taint someone's criminal history ... What if it is just an angry ex with an agenda to get back at you?

What about the potential fake reports to get at someone?

And disturbingly, a decent chunk of Australians share this concern, believing women lie about being sexually assaulted, using it as a way to 'get back' at men or in custody battles.

We also get asked why we focus on men as perpetrators. That's because 97 per cent of reported cases of sexual violence are perpetrated by men.

But in reality, false allegations are really rare.

The estimates vary a little across studies, but the most commonly cited figure is that around 5 per cent of reports are false, according to criminologist Dr Bianca Fileborn, from the University of Melbourne.

And that 5 per cent needs to be looked at critically, Dr Fileborn told Hack.

It doesn't necessarily mean that 5 per cent of survivors who have reported, have maliciously made up false reports, she said.

Reports can be labelled false for a huge range of reasons, said Dr Fileborn. That includes situations where there's not enough evidence to support the report, or when police have decided the person isn't credible (decisions that can be problematic), or if a report has been made on behalf of a victim - and then the victim doesn't want to pursue it in the criminal justice system.

How police departments classify reports, and maintain them, also varies widely across jurisdictions in Australia.

When false allegations do occur, the motives are complex. And they don't usually come from a place of maliciousness, research shows, but from fear or a need for assistance.

Dr Fileborn said it's a huge misconception that false reports are common, and that myth is likely rooted in misogyny, sexism, and historical stereotypes about womens' trustworthiness in the criminal justice system.

Those stereotypes have been traced all the way back to the 1600s (and linked to the Salem Witch Trials), when a prominent lawyer wrote a legal framework for identifying 'false' reports. He described rape as an accusation easy to be made and hard to be proved - an idea that's persisted, legally and culturally, for centuries since.

But Dr Fileborn said you only need to look at the recent experience of Brittany Higgins to know making an allegation is by no means easy.

And the idea that someone might make up an allegation to 'get back' at someone?

How true is that, when most of these cases aren't being reported and even for those that are reported, something like 2 per cent end up with a successful conviction, said Dr Fileborn.

So is that worth the payoff? It's illogical to suggest that survivors are somehow getting some benefit from from making a false report - it's completely odds with what we know about the reality of reporting and disclosing sexual violence.

Fear of not being believed makes it harder for victims to come forward

On top of all this, we know sexual assaults are actually under-reported. Almost 90 per cent of survivors will never go to the police.

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And myths about the rate of false allegations can actually exacerbate that problem.

According to research from the Australian Institute of Family Studies, the incorrect idea that false allegations are common perpetuates the idea that victims will be met with disbelief and blame when they report the offence.

This contributes to the under-reporting of rape/sexual offences.

Dr Fileborn agrees.

There's a really complex range of factors that can stop someone from speaking out or from reporting, but certainly the fear of not being believed is one of the one of the factors that acts as a barrier to reporting and disclosure, she said.

Okay, but I'm still genuinely anxious someone might falsely accuse me

Dr Zac Seidler is a clinical psychologist specialising in mens' mental health, and he told Hack he's been fielding a lot of these concerns lately.

He said it's okay to be feeling some anxiety. And that anxiety might not be such a bad thing.

A bit of anxiety here and there triggers behaviour change, it makes you feel a bit uncomfortable, and it makes you question your behaviour, he said.

That's what we need right now: we need men to be introspective. Self reflection is not a common attribute of masculinity, and it needs to become one.

Dr Fileborn agreed it's an opportunity to re-examine your behaviour.

If you're concerned about the possibility of someone you know making an allegation against you, maybe it's actually an opportunity to reflect on your own sexual practices and know how you negotiate consent with partners, she said.

Dr Seidler encouraged men who were grappling with this at the moment to talk it through openly with mates or a therapist, and to accept you might not know all the answers, or could even be in the wrong.

He said the vast majority of men don't perpetrate sexual violence, but that there were many who didn't understand what they've done was problematic. And that comes down to the fact these conversations are still taboo.

Men need to talk to other men about this stuff, and we need to not shame one another about responding and questioning and asking where the lines are, he said.

Dr Seidler said young men should avoid withdrawing to online forums, but instead be more open about sharing their concerns.

What he didn't want to see was people - particularly young men - becoming more distant, fearful, angry and violent. He, and other experts, are less worried about middle-aged men (who are happy to jump on Twitter and talk about how they feel); it's younger men they're concerned about, who might disappear into the secluded and insular worlds of reddit threads and forums.

And if men are still worried about false allegations of rape, despite the stats, he wondered why they were empathising more with the perpetrator, than the victim.

Why don't we see it from the victim's perspective and try to get in their shoes and empathise, rather than trying to get in the perpetrator's shoes constantly? he said.

This isn't something that you're going to get caught out on, by doing the right thing and then getting thrown under the bus by accident. That's not how this works.

Dr Seilder hoped more men would come forward as allies for victims, and talk to other men about all this stuff.

This movement will not succeed without men's support. And I think everyone's coming to terms with that. It's not just on women's shoulders, because it's exhausting for them.

A timeline of all the reasons women are furious right now

If you’ve found yourself unusually exhausted, resentful and on-edge recently, chances are you’re a woman who’s been keeping up with the news coming out of Parliament House over the last month.

It’s only been five weeks since former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins went public with allegations she was raped by a colleague in 2019, and since then, Parliament House has been rocked by scandal after scandal revealing a toxic and dangerous work culture for women.

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Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s been criticised for his handling of the complaints and even admitted in a press conference on Tuesday that his approach was less than perfect.

While he was shocked and disgusted by the most recent revelations, he also said: I acknowledge that many have not liked or unappreciated some of my own personal responses to this over the course of the last month.

People are tired. It’s getting hard to keep track of all the revelations, so we’ve put together a timeline of the events that got us here.

15th February 2021

In an interview with news.com.au and The Project, Brittany Higgins alleges in March 2019, when she was 24 years old, she was raped by another Liberal Party staffer in Defence Minister Linda Reynolds’ office.

The PM insisted he knew nothing about the allegations until they were aired, and asked his department head to review what members of his staff did know.

Ms Higgins says she’s effectively being silenced for political reasons, sparking outrage and condemnation of the culture of Canberra.

You can watch Four Corners investigate how and why her story was kept quiet for almost two years.

16th February 2021

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Addressing Ms Higgins’ revelations, the PM sparks condemnation when he reveals his wife Jenny had helped him clarify things overnight.

Jenny and I spoke last night, and she said to me, ‘You have to think about this as a father first. What would you want to happen if it were our girls?’ Mr Morrison said.

Jenny has a way of clarifying things. Always has. And so as I’ve reflected on that overnight and listened to Brittany and what she had to say.

The comments were savaged widely, with people arguing the PM was missing the point.

18th February 2021

Former Sydney schoolgirl Chanel Contos launches a petition demanding better sexual consent education in private schools.

Within 24 hours she’s swamped with stories from young women, some as young as 13, who say they were sexually assaulted by young men from private schools.

Her petition has more than 3,500 testimonies and 38,000 signatures.

Sexual assault and harassment in private schools

23-year old Chanel Contos shared her story of sexual assault in a private school, and was blown away by the response. Two thousand others shared similar stories, and now Chantel is calling for better sex education in the classroom.

Also, what is coercive control and why is there a push to criminalise it?

And, Mars Rover gives us more information about the Red planet, and whether humans can one day be sent there.

26th February 2021

The ABC publishes details of a letter that had been sent to the PM, Senate Opposition Leader Penny Wong and Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young.

The anonymous letter alleges that a 16-year-old girl was raped in Sydney in 1988 by a man who was now a senior member of Cabinet. The letter also included a statement by the alleged victim who had reported the crime to New South Wales police in February last year. But four months later she asked them to drop the investigation. The next day she took her own life.

2nd March 2021

NSW Police say there is insufficient admissible evidence to investigate the historic rape, and that the case is now closed.

On the same day, a report finds sexual harassment is prevalent in South Australia’s parliament.

Eight people have reported it from MPs or their staff in the past five years.

The report found allegations of sexually suggestive and unwelcome comments, indecent exposure, and physical assault.

While all of that was going down, the NSW Liberal Party releases a new code of conduct for its members. It comes about after some Young Liberals were kicked out of the party for making some pretty ugly comments about women in an online chat group.

Under the code, members can be kicked out for bullying, sexual harassment, vilification, physical violence and discrimination.

3rd March 2021

Christian Porter identifies himself as the minister at the centre of the 1988 allegations in a press conference.

He strenuously denies the allegations.

I can say categorically that what has been put in various forms in allegations, simply did not happen, an emotional Mr Porter said.

Nothing in the allegations that have been printed ever happened.

Mr Porter said he would take a short period of leave to assess and improve his mental health, but would not be standing down as Attorney-General.

4th March 2021

The Australian reports defence minister Linda Reynolds called Brittany Higgins a lying cow after she went public with her allegations of rape.

Senator Reynolds made the comment in front of staff in her office but in a statement said she did not mean it in the sense it may have been understood.

She later retracted the remark and apologised.

Ms Higgins also alluded to damages being paid in her settlement with the Senator and said any money she receives will be paid in full to an organisation that provides counselling and support to survivors of sexual assault and abuse in the Canberra area.

15th March 2021

The PM declines to front thousands of furious women and men who rally outside Parliament House, demanding change and an end to gendered violence.

Instead Mr Morrison addressed the protests in a statement before Question Time (that’s the time in parliament when the Opposition and smaller parties get to scrutinise the government’s work).

The PM said the rallies were a sign of a vibrant liberal democracy and said it was a triumph that protesters outside Parliament House weren't met with bullets.

It’s safe to say the comments didn’t go down well.

Ms Higgins spoke at the Canberra protest, saying she was there out of necessity.

We are all here today, not because we want to be here, because we have to be here, she said.

We fundamentally recognise the system is broken, the glass ceiling is still in place and there are significant failings in the power structures within our institution.

17th March 2021

Federal government staffer Andrew Hudgson resigns after being accused in Tasmanian Parliament of calling a senior female politician a meth-head c*** during his time working for then-premier Will Hodgman.

22nd March 2021

Channel Ten and The Australian air claims by a whistleblower that Coalition staffers recorded themselves performing sex acts inside Parliament.

A Coalition adviser who filmed himself masturbating on the desk of a female Liberal MP has been sacked.

Reports suggest at least four Coalition staffers were swapping images and videos of their sexual encounters in parliamentary offices on Facebook Messenger over a two-year period ending last year.

The whistleblower also reveals staff and parliamentarians often have sex in a Parliament House room that’s meant for meditation or prayer, sometimes with sex workers

23rd March 2021

In a press conference today the PM fought back tears as he promised to improve the treatment of women in Parliament.

He said he was stunning and disgusted by Monday night’s reports, and said he would address all Coalition staffers on Tuesday to discuss the matter.

Mr Morrison admitted he did not handle the Brittany Higgins rape allegation well, but went on to defend himself against criticism.

Criticise me if you like for speaking about my daughters, but they are the centre of my life. My wife is the centre of my life, he said.

He also got into a tense exchange with Sky News reporter Andrew Clennell after he suggested the PM may have lost control over ministerial staff.

Right now, Mr Morrison responded, "you'd be aware in your own organisation, that there is a person who has had a complaint made against them for harassment of a woman in a women's toilet and that matter is being pursued by your own HR department.

Let's not, all of us who sit in glass houses here, start getting into that.

The PM was accused of weaponsing the Sky complaint without consideration for the woman at the centre of it.

Sky News later said no employee was subject to such an investigation.

On nationalism & security

...the world is at your doorstep , not letting it in is a wise saying.

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on internationalism

...ideal in an ideal world that does not exist.

INTRO LAW-STUDYS

ONE MUST REMEMBER THIS IS AN INTRODUCTION TO AUSTRALIAN LEGAL STUDYS...  ELSE WHERE WE MUST PETITION THE UNITED NATIONS COUNCIL OR INTERPOL OR SIMILAR BODY TO GET SOME SORT OF LEGALITY OR LEGAL CLAUSE OR LEGAL BACKING.

OTHERWISE WE MUST AS IN ALL HISTORY PETITION A GOVERNOR OR LORD OR COUNCILLOR OR OTHER LEGAL STATUATORY BODY FOR A PLEA TO HEAR OUR CAUSE AND AMEND THE WRONG AND MAKE AN ADJUSTMENT AND OR ACCORD.

OBEY THE LAW OF COMMON PRECEPTS THAT ARE APPLIED ON EQUAL TERMS AND IF SO