‘I invite anybody to come and tour the remote communities out bush and see what is happening on the ground’: Cheron Long challenges pollies to come to NT

THE cousin of a teenage girl who died after she was sexually abused in a remote Territory community has issued a challenge to politicians and activists

Jacinta Price, Cheron Long and Meesha Long. Picture: SUPPLIED

• Family takes fight for justice for heartbreaking death to Canberra

THE cousin of a teenage girl who died after she was sexually abused in a remote Territory community has issued a challenge to politicians and activists.

In a special briefing at Parliament House in Canberra yesterday, Cheron Long called on those protesting over the treatment of women to come to the NT and see for themselves the conditions that had contributed to the death of her cousin, Layla Leering.

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“I invite anybody to come and tour the remote communities out bush and see what is happening on the ground instead of shouting your opinions and making statements from the city and trying to silence those who are trying to tell the truth,” Ms Long said.

“Please come out and visit with your eyes and ears open. I challenge you.”

Layla Leering was one of three girls whose deaths following sexual abuse were examined by Coroner Greg Cavanagh last year.

Police suspect she had committed suicide but family members, including Ms Long, believe she was murdered, and a homicide investigation has been reopened.

Ms Long said “sexual abuse is accepted as normal in too many Aboriginal communities”, and called for the silence around the issue to end. “When I have been interviewed by the media I have been told not to use these words because they demonise Aboriginal men,” she said.

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“The media don’t want to hear the truth. But white feminists are allowed to say whatever they want.

“Why is it that Aboriginal women and children suffer the most but they won’t let us have our own voice when it comes to violence and sexual abuse in this country? Why won’t they let us tell our own story?

“We can’t fix our problems because we cannot tell the truth about what is happening. There is no support for the victims in these communities, only for the perpetrators.”

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