Let her speak: Nina Funnell on ridiculous law that needs to be changed

EVERY time a survivor puts their face to their story, it gives other survivors the courage to speak out. This is why we need to “let her speak”, writes Nina Funnell.

THE first time I ever met Jane Doe* was in May, 2017, when she was 22 years old. Bright, articulate and driven, Jane Doe wanted to tell her story and she wanted my help to do it.

At 15, she had been groomed, molested and repeatedly sexually assaulted by her then 58-year-old high school maths teacher, Nicolaas Bester.

At 16, she had the strength to report the abuse, first to her school, then the police, then through the criminal justice system, where Bester pleaded guilty.

Now, at 22, she had found the courage to tell the whole world her real name and story.

But as we went to print, the lawyers stepped in and stopped us.

The issue? An obscure law in Tasmania which says that no journalist is allowed to reveal the identity of a sexual assault survivor, even with the survivor’s full consent. If I do name Jane Doe — as she wishes — I could face prosecution, fines and potentially even jail time.

Nor is this an entirely empty threat.

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In 2012, The Sunday Tasmanian newspaper was prosecuted and fined $20,000 when a woman who had been raped spoke out to the newspaper using her real name. Even though she consented to be named the publication was prosecuted.

Prior to these incidents, I had never heard of Section 194K of the Tasmanian Evidence Act. In all other Australian states and territories — except the Northern Territory — journalists can name sexual assault survivors provided the victim voluntarily consents and certain other conditions are met.

As a journalist, the Tasmanian law shocked and surprised me. But as a sexual assault survivor, it appalled and infuriated me.

See, in 2007, I was also sexually assaulted. I was 23 and travelling home from university when I was grabbed, held at blade point, bashed, strangled, told I would be killed and indecently sexually assaulted. At the time the media reported widely on my case.

Nina Funnell pictured at age 23 at the spot where her sexual assault took place.

And because my assault happened in NSW — where these laws do not apply — I was able to talk about my assault under my real name.

The first time I spoke out publicly about my attack was a mere five weeks after it had occurred. Being able to write my story and put my own name on it was an important way of reclaiming a sense of control over what happened to me. It was also my way of letting my perpetrator know that he had not won: his actions did not and do not define me and I believe that the shame and stigma sits squarely with him.

Speaking out about my assault was not just cathartic, it was also an important part of my healing, and a decade on, I have no regrets. (Incidentally, speaking out also prompted the police to fast track the processing of my DNA evidence, and they were able to identify male DNA on me).

So I find it gobsmacking to realise that had my attack happened in Hobart, as opposed to Sydney, I would not have been able to speak out under my real name.

Denying survivors the option to tell their own story, simply because of the jurisdiction where the assault took place, is not just illogical: it’s deeply disempowering for victims, and it also protects perpetrators by silencing their victims.

READ MORE: Sharing my rape story kept me alive

More to the point, sexual assault survivors cannot be what we cannot see. We need strong public role models who have survived and thrived. In media, we know that every time a survivor puts their face to their story, it gives other survivors the courage to speak out and a wave of reports are made to police, counsellors and media.

So it’s not surprising to learn then that even though sexual assault occurs in Tasmania at a rate commensurate with the rest of the nation, victims in Tasmania are around one third as likely to report it to police.

Nina Funnell says speaking out about her assault was cathartic. Picture: Adam Knott

It’s now 18 months since I first met Jane Doe and today, she is more determined than ever to speak. It’s condescending of the courts to assume that an adult woman who has already found the courage to brave the criminal justice system does not know her own mind and cannot be trusted to speak.

Which is why, in solidarity with Jane Doe, a coalition of 14 public rape and sexual assault survivors from around Australia have come together to demand law reform so that she can speak.

We are doing this because we believe that Jane and all sexual assault survivors in Tasmania and the Northern Territory should have the same options and rights that we did.

So far we have been advised that the Tasmanian law exists to protect victims from media vultures who might coerce victims into telling their story.

Sign the petition to Let Her Speak

There is no question that media can be exploitative. But if we want to prevent exploitation within the industry, then the answer is to tighten journalistic standards and improve training in media workplaces and journalism degrees.

Simply gagging survivors and denying them the right to own their own story is not ever going to be the answer.

We have also been advised that Jane Doe can appeal through the Supreme Court to have an individual exemption made by court order so she can speak. But this will likely cost in excess of $10,000, and there is no guarantee she will get the exemption. As Jane Doe says, “Victims should not be financially penalised for the right to tell their own story.”

I’ve always said that the most empowering thing I ever did following my own assault, was to politicise my own experience by choosing to talk about it. It hasn’t always been easy, of course, and like others, I have faced victim-blaming backlash from a minority of reactionary voices.

But speaking up is how we challenge stigma and rewrite those opinions. This is how we shift the shame.

Today I stand beside Jane Doe. And along with the coalition of other survivors, I say change the law and #LetHerSpeak.

Nina Funnell is a Walkley Award winning journalist and anti sexual assault advocate and a director of End Rape On Campus Australia.

If you or someone you know is affected by sexual assault, please call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732).

To support the campaign, sign and share the petition here.