Passed out Aboriginal women left exposed to sexual predators: Court

PEOPLE who see Aboriginal women passed out in the streets ‘should step in and try and give assistance’, a court has heard.

People who see Aboriginal women passed out in the streets ‘should step in and try and give assistance’, a court has heard.

BYSTANDERS who ignore unconscious Aboriginal women on the streets of Darwin are leaving them vulnerable to sexual assault by predatory men, a court has heard.

Crown prosecutor Stephen Geary told the Supreme Court on Monday the offences were “very prevalent in the Darwin area” but often went unreported.

“What the court sees really, I’d suggest your honour, is the tip of the iceberg,” he said.

The comments came after a man, who cannot be named, pleaded guilty to gross indecency against his cousin after he lifted her skirt, pulled down her underwear and lay on top of her while she was passed out from drinking.

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The man stopped what he was doing when interrupted by another family member who rang police and Mr Geary compared her response to that of hundreds of passers-by who ignored a woman being assaulted on Smith St by Rodney Alimankinni in 2017.

“In the matter of Alimankinni she lay there for hours, people came and went, drove past,” he said.

“It’s an absolutely appalling situation where a number of people probably could have taken steps to stop what occurred, unlike in this matter … this witness rang the police.”

Mr Geary said unconscious Aboriginal women deserved to be protected from sexual predators who took advantage of their vulnerability.

“What the Crown is trying to get across to your honour today is that this type offending is very prevalent in the Darwin area against unconscious Aboriginal women and it really is a situation where the courts really need to send a message to the community,” he said.

“Two things — that this offending’s completely inappropriate and secondly, that when people see Aboriginal women in this situation where they’re unconscious, that they should step in and try and give assistance.

“That can be as simple as ringing the police as this witness did or standing nearby in some sense of being a protector of that particular victim until the police arrive.”

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Mr Geary said the problem could be even worse in remote communities where there was often no one around to help.

“Aboriginal women are falling unconscious due to alcohol in remote places and the Crown has no doubt whatsoever that they are routinely sexually assaulted,” he said.

“Often the courts and police and often the victims themselves would have little knowledge of the sexual offence that’s occurred against them.”

The man will return to court for sentencing next week.