Rosie Batty says Tracey Spicer needs to take ownership for her ‘egregious mistake’

Activist Rosie Batty has slammed Tracey Spicer’s response after the names of several victims of domestic violence were released.

• Spicer has let down #MeToo
• Spicer addresses fallout

Former Australian of the Year Rosie Batty has taken Tracey Spicer to task for her response to several names of domestic violence victims being released without their consent.

Spicer said she was “truly sorry” and “gutted” after the women’s identities were exposed in a preview of an ABC documentary on the #MeToo movement.

Former journalist Tracey Spicer at the National Press Club in Canberra. Picture: AAP

However, she has blamed the ABC and the program’s producer for the error, saying she was just one of “many participants” who worked on the documentary, Silent No More.

“Tracey can blame the ABC and the producers for such a blatan­t and egregious mistake but the women reached out to ­Tracey,” Ms Batty told The Australian. “The people they reached out to were not the ABC, they reached out to Tracey.”

Former Australian of the year, Rosie Batty, has called on Tracey Spicer to take ownership of her mistake. Picture: Anna Rogers

“I am sure she’s horrified by what has happened but, when you are the custodian of stories from vulnerable people who have ­experienced significant trauma and violence and abuse, the buck stops with you.”

“Not only has she breached their trust, the reality is, for those who are still impacted by domestic ­violence, she’s put them in a very dangerous position and at significant risk,” Ms Batty said.

Journalist Tracey Spicer has said she is “truly sorry” for the error. Picture: Supplied

“What she should be doing now is taking full responsibility, apologising unreservedly, stating exact­ly what she will do to ensure some­thing like this will not happen again and personally reaching out to all the women who have been betrayed. This is a real wake-up call as to how we invite people to come forward­ with that sort of inform­ation, and how we store and use that information. A lot of well-intentione­d ­organisations or peopl­e get ­involved without the skills, expertise or understanding to help these women, and it’s too serious and important a matter to leave them exposed.”

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Spicer said she agreed to work on the documentary as long as the identities of the abused women were “blurred, redact­ed and de-identified”.

“The fact this wasn’t done is deeply distressing,” she said. “I am truly sorry, and frankly I am gutted and devastated by what has happened.”

To read more visit The Australian

Originally published as Rosie Batty says Tracey Spicer needs to take ownership for her ‘egregious mistake’