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From the Desk: Why do victims stay silent when the offender is powerful? · Real Crime with Adam Shand

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Approache Production. Welcome to Real Crime with Adam Shand. I'm
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  Speaker 1: your host Adam Shand. This is my Friday feature from
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  Speaker 1: the desk. There are some sex crimes that aren't just
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  Speaker 1: about sex. They aren't just about violence either. They're about power.
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  Speaker 1: This week we saw the unmasking of Melbourne celebrity agent
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  Speaker 1: Ralph Carr as a convicted rapist. A suppression order was
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  Speaker 1: finally lifted today to reveal Ralph Carr sexually assaulted a
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  Speaker 1: personal assistant at his home in West Melbourne. And the
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  Speaker 1: beginning of the trial of former radio star Alan Jones
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  Speaker 1: on charges of indecent assault and sexual touching. The eighty
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  Speaker 1: five year old is facing twenty two charges of indecent
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  Speaker 1: assault and sexual touching involving six men, different men, different circumstances,
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  Speaker 1: and Jones may yet be exonerated. Carr is waiting to
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  Speaker 1: be sentenced and his lawyer has flagged an intention to appeal.
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  Speaker 1: But there is one thread that appears again and again
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  Speaker 1: in cases involving rich and powerful offenders. It's the extraordinary
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  Speaker 1: imbalance of power between the accused and those who allege
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  Speaker 1: they were harmed. Power changes everything in these cases. Victims
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  Speaker 1: often depend on the offender professionally, socially, or financially. That
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  Speaker 1: was certainly the case with Car, whose victim was hoping
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  Speaker 1: to be employed by Car. In fact, his lawyer argued
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  Speaker 1: the victim was making everything up because of a financial motivation.
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  Speaker 1: Powerful people frequently enjoy undeserved credibility before any allegation is made,
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  Speaker 1: and the ability to persuade judges to issue suppression orders
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  Speaker 1: to conceal their identity can prevent witnesses and other victims
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  Speaker 1: from coming forward. Carr was charged three years ago, but
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  Speaker 1: it was only this week we learned of his identity.
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  Speaker 1: The judge granted a sweeping suppression order that concealed his
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  Speaker 1: name and what he did for a living. It was
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  Speaker 1: Melbourne's worst kept secret. But the mainstream media faced contempt
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  Speaker 1: charges if they broke the order, so the silence continued.
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  Speaker 1: Victims also worry that no one will believe them. The
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  Speaker 1: victim in Carr's case were subjected to a heavy character
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  Speaker 1: assassination in court. Her credibility was on trial, even though
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  Speaker 1: it was Carr who was in the dock. They fear
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  Speaker 1: losing their careers, reputations, or relationships. The silence can last
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  Speaker 1: years because the consequences of speaking feel greater than the
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  Speaker 1: abuse itself. As a crime reporter, I've learned that people
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  Speaker 1: often ask the wrong question, why didn't they come forward sooner?
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  Speaker 1: A better question is what made it so difficult to
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  Speaker 1: come forward at all. I spoke with another woman this
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  Speaker 1: week who alleges she was drugged and sexually assaulted by
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  Speaker 1: Car twenty one years ago. It's only now that she's
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  Speaker 1: moving to have her day in court, and I understand
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  Speaker 1: her reasons for this delay. What follows is the voice
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  Speaker 1: of an actor.
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  Speaker 2: Book never really did anything about it because I was
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  Speaker 2: told that he was too powerful and he just knew
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  Speaker 2: way too many people in the underworld. So honestly, I
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  Speaker 2: just stayed silent. But recently somebody else did a statements
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  Speaker 2: and in that statement they included me, and that's when
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  Speaker 2: the police reached out to me to state that I
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  Speaker 2: should make a statement. But honestly, I haven't had the
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  Speaker 2: courage to do it just yet, so I did it
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  Speaker 2: off record. And this was actually only last year, twenty
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  Speaker 2: one years later, and it's now all coming to light.
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  Speaker 1: It was only after Carr was found guilty that this
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  Speaker 1: victim has decided it may be safe to cooperate with police.
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  Speaker 1: She's still deciding. I believe there will be others, and
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  Speaker 1: Car's troubles are far from over. One victim, I understand,
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  Speaker 1: took her own life in part due to the trauma
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  Speaker 1: she suffered. Navigating the justice system is often a daunting
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  Speaker 1: and terrifying experience for victims. Many decided it's too hard
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  Speaker 1: and live with the trauma. Often there are no eyewitnesses.
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  Speaker 1: It's a case of he said versus she said. Especially
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  Speaker 1: with these historic allegations, memory is tested. Defense lawyers challenge credibility. Ultimately,
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  Speaker 1: courts must decide guilt on the evidence, not popularity or
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  Speaker 1: public opinion. But a high profile defendant has a certain advantage,
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  Speaker 1: even if it's just about the money they can throw
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  Speaker 1: at their defense. Often the process is about ordinary people
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  Speaker 1: speaking truth to power, and when the evidence corroborates victims experiences,
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  Speaker 1: they must be believed. If the legal system is to
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  Speaker 1: be fair. Whether it's politics, broadcasting, sport, entertainment, or business,
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  Speaker 1: power can be used as a shield. It can isolate
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  Speaker 1: victims and embolden offenders. The lesson isn't that every powerful
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  Speaker 1: person like Ralph Carr abuses power. Most don't. The lesson
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  Speaker 1: is that whenever there is a profound imbalance of power.
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  Speaker 1: Institutions and all of us have a responsibility to make
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  Speaker 1: sure those with the least power are still heard, because
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  Speaker 1: justice begins when people believe it's safe to speak. If
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  Speaker 1: you want to report a crime, please call Crime Stoppers
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  Speaker 1: on one eight hundred triple three, triple zero, or you
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  Speaker 1: It all helps. This has been Adam Shanned from the
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  Speaker 1: desk for Real Crime. Thanks for listening to this episode
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