Rape victim speaks out

Call to reform ‘disgusting’ sex assault laws

JANE* couldn’t breathe. She felt pain and she was scared. A man she trusted raped her in her front yard in broad daylight.

That was almost two years ago. Telling her story publicly for the first time, Jane is emotional but determined.

Colin Bernard Press, 65, pleaded not guilty to raping Jane but died a month ago, before the case reached trial in the Supreme Court in Hobart.

Jane, also aged in her 60s, said Mr Press visited her on December 5, 2017, and when he was leaving he grabbed her and raped her while they were standing outside her front door.

“It was getting harder to breathe … I was getting pains in my chest … I’m saying, ‘Colin, stop, it’s Jane, let me go, please A TASMANIAN law that prevents victims of sexual assault from being named is “disgusting”, a woman who was raped by a friend has said.

Jane* said victims, if they let me go’,” she said. “I just didn’t know what to do, I couldn’t get a loud voice out,” she said.

“This happened outside in broad daylight at quarter to nine in the morning.”

She said she managed to get away from him and get inside.

“He got in his car and he left and I sat down on the floor. I couldn’t breathe. I felt like my chest was going to explode.”

Jane said it was not only the chose to be, should be able to be named when telling their stories.

“It’s wrong because it’s like we’re the guilty ones,” she said of herself and other vicphysical acts that harmed her, what he said to her was “hell”.

She said he returned the following day and she was expecting an apology, but instead he said to her, “What’s your problem? Get over it”.

“My soul’s been broken and I can’t be fixed.”

Jane said she decided to talk to police a week later, after a chance meeting in a carpark where Mr Press again told her to “get over it” and offered her tims. “You should be able to name yourself. It should be in bold print,” she said.

Grace Tame is Tasmania’s only female sexual assault survivor to have won the money shut”.

Once the case reached court, a preliminary hearing was held and, as the trial got closer, Mr Press, who had health problems, was granted adjournments on medical grounds.

Speaking generally about court delays, Tasmanian Law Society immediate past president Evan Hughes said they were not unusual and had impacts on justice outcomes for “to keep my mouth right to be named.

The State Government is reviewing the section of the Evidence Act that prevents the naming of sexual crime victims. accused people and complainants. “I’ve had cases where people have not survived through to the completion of their case and I’ve seen how that can impact on everyone concerned,” Mr Hughes said.

While delays for medical reasons are unavoidable, delays in getting court time for a preliminary hearing — which are held in the busy Magistrates Courts — could be avoided with better resourcing and smarter use of courts, Mr Hughes said.

Jane said she lived in fear for the 22 months from December 2017 until Mr Press’s death. She said she did not feel it was safe for her grandchildren to visit her because of threats he had made.

She feels as though she has been denied justice.

Jane said telling her story would hurt others, and she said she feels for Mr Press’s family, but had to tell her story, especially after being denied the chance to do so in a courtroom.

“It’s time to think about myself,” she said. “I need closure.” She said she wanted to encourage other victims not to give up.

*Name has been changed. Lifeline: 13 11 14; Sexual Assault Support Service 24-hour crisis line (Southern Tasmania): 1800 697 877