Anger at name suppression for rugby player
22 August 2006Â
By DEAN CALCOTT and JANINE BENNETTS
Anti-violence organisations are unhappy that another high-profile sportsman has been granted name suppression in a domestic-violence case.
A former international rugby player appeared in the Christchurch District Court yesterday on charges related to alleged domestic violence.
The man, who denies charges of male assaults female, possessing an offensive weapon and threatening to kill, was granted interim name suppression by Judge Stephen Erber and remanded on bail to a status hearing on September 12.
The manager of the National Collective of Independent Women's Refuges, Heather Henare, said people looked up to sports stars, who should own up to their mistakes.
"If it's good enough for Mr Brown-down-the-road's name to be dragged through the papers, then they shouldn't be treated any differently," she said.
"We want to see the court system taking the opportunity with these positions to be actually saying it doesn't matter who they are, violence happens in every family throughout the country."
Henare said sports stars who acknowledged their guilt could use the experience as "an opportunity to turn it around and learn from it and move forward as opposed to hiding behind a smokescreen and not taking action".
AdvertisementAdvertisementIf players were found not guilty, it would not be a problem for their careers.
An Auckland judge this month granted a blanket suppression order for a former rugby league star facing rape allegations that will continue until trial next year.
A woman alleges the former player raped, sexually violated and sodomised her on June 15.
In February last year, an All Black was granted permanent name suppression despite pleading guilty to assaulting his pregnant partner.
National Stopping Violence Services chief executive Brian Gardner said he did not have a problem with name suppression being granted to protect the victim.
However, withholding someone's name because they were well known was not a good reason.
"The nature of family violence is that it's secret and it's behind closed doors and it's really important to expose it," he said.
"If you're violent and abuse your partner or your wife, you won't get protection because you're good at rugby," Gardner remarked.
He said suppression for the wrong reasons gave people an excuse not to own up to their behaviour and change.
Battered Women's Trust manager Lichelle O'Connell said the impact of domestic violence on women and children was devastating.
"Perpetrators of domestic violence need to be held accountable, the consequences need to be enforced and the protection of victims should be paramount," O'Connell said.
"We need to be careful not to condone and perpetuate domestic violence by allowing the secrecy to continue."
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