Queensland’s women’s safety and justice taskforce has heard claims a woman was told by police she ‘wasn’t the kind of woman who gets assaulted’ when trying to report a sexual assault.Queensland’s women’s safety and justice taskforce has heard claims a woman was told by police she ‘wasn’t the kind of woman who gets assaulted’ when trying to report a sexual assault.
The woman’s story is one of many harrowing submissions to the taskforce, which is currently undertaking an inquiry into women’s experiences across the criminal justice system.Guardian Australia has contactedIn one submission, a woman says she was aged 15 when she felt discouraged from giving a statement at a police station.
“The police can see a pattern, see he’s dangerous – yet they wait till a woman dies before they do anything/take it seriously,” she said in her submission. The taskforce’s chair, Margaret McMurdo, has said it was deeply concerned about the extent of sexual violence against women and girls and that often goes unreported.