Week Seven

My final week

Wellington

I didn’t have much time in Wellington, it was all a bit of a rush but what I did see was beautiful albeit a bit cold and windy.

I met up with Jennifer Hayward (forensic Doctor) she was very helpful, she met with me to talk about the Sexual Assault Medical Service. This service is like the SARC but they have various clinics. One is set in a sexual health clinic and one is set in the Rape Crisis centre. It seems to work very well.

The service has a 24/7 roster of doctors and nurses on call to provide medical forensic examinations. Non-forensic, medical assessments are also available for those who have been assaulted in the past and want to be checked out for their pace of mind. The services work closely with Hutt Rape counselling Network and Wellington Rape Crisis.

I met with Irene Livingston (support worker) from Hutt Rape Counselling Network. Irene is yet another amazing woman. She has worked for Hutt for over 17 years. Irene won a Queen’s Award for her services to victims of SV, she met with Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and she also won NZ woman of the year .

Hutt provide a service that I haven’t come across before, Irene works closely with police, she gets involved in the investigation. I met with a few Police in Wellington and they all agreed that Irene’s involvement really helps with the investigation. When victims do their video statement, Irene watches through a video link. She has been known to stop the process because she might notice something inappropriate with the way the victim is dressed etc. She also helps victims with their victim impact statements, she says it has much more impact if she does it rather that the police.

Hutt service provide counselling, Medical Forensic care, Support with reporting

They have provided support and counselling to the Hutt Valley and Upper Hutt communities for over 25 years

I met with Rebecca, the manager of the services who talked to me about funding and the difficulties associated with all that.

I met with Dave Sotherton from Wellington Police who is Senior Sergeant in charge of the Sexual assault team.

The fire alarm went off when I was there and we all had to evacuate the building and so we conducted our interview in the police car park. He said the partnership they had with Hutt SV services made all the difference to the way they investigate rape cases and said that he really valued the input from Irene.

I went to the Police Child protection Unit, met up with Karen Humphries ( Adult Interviewer) She also valued the support from Irene.

I went  on to The Sexual Abuse Help Foundation in central Wellington. This was the most difficult place to find, through a shopping centre, up some back stairs.  The manager was out of the country so I met up with Bronwyn ( support worker) . She was very informative and gave me loads of info about the service they provide. She drew me diagrams and maps of the services. They were working very closely with the Church and were finding they were getting many referrals.

Christchurch was a complete washout. The people I was due to meet cancelled and I couldn’t get anyone to agree to see me. I think I had run out of steam and my persuasive powers had failed me.

I was shocked by the devastation in Christchurch. Everywhere you look there are wrecked buildings, it is so sad.

The good thing about Christchurch was that I met up with my son Sam and daughter in law Kim. It was fantastic to see them and spend some time with them. I hadn’t seen Sam for 18 months.

A friend of mine who has done a Winston Churchill Fellowship said to me before I went that, during my travels, I would have light bulb moments….. I’m afraid this didn’t really happen, not until I was with Sam (my Son) and he was barbecuing, we were drinking wine and having a lovely time and I realised that this was in fact the light bulb moment.

  

  

Well I’m off to Melbourne now to spend Christmas with My Daughter Elizabeth and Son in Law Lee.

It’s been a remarkable adventure; I’ve met some wonderful people and witnessed the passion people have for this issue. I have lost count of how many organisations I have visited. Whilst they have all been brilliant in different ways, It has confirmed for me what an amazing organisation Arch is and how incredible the staff and volunteers are. I have really missed my fantastic team and I am looking forward to getting back to work next year with renewed passion.

I hope you have enjoyed reading this blog and thank you for your interest in my travels. I am looking forward to sharing my findings with you all when I get back.

I’m at Christchurch Airport at the moment, about to catch the flight to Melbourne. I’m feeling a little tired and emotional. So I think its best that I log off now.

Happy Christmas and a fantastic New Year to All.