Volunteer raised sexual allegations with Haworth
A former Labour Party volunteer says he directly raised allegations of sexual violence with party president Nigel Haworth.
Haworth issued a statement yesterday claiming a 19-year-old woman did not tell him when they met in August 2018 that she was sexually assaulted by a Labour staffer. He also said the accusation was not provided to a panel established to investigate the man’s conduct.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has repeatedly said she was not told the allegations were of a sexual nature.
But one of the 12 complainants told Stuff he directly raised the matter with the investigating panel in March this year.
He has provided Stuff with an email he sent to Haworth in May which refers directly to ‘‘this investigation ... which involved elements of predatory behaviour, sexual violence and physical violence . . .’’
The man says he also spoke about it in a two-hour meeting with Haworth in early July.
Haworth has been approached for comment but has not replied.
‘‘I definitely had those conversations with him and there is an email proving it,’’ the complainant told Stuff.
‘‘It’s complete bollocks, rubbish. I don’t know what is going on in his head . . . it is blatantly untrue that the party was not aware of any form of sexual violence or abuse.’’
The man was the only male complainant to the investigating panel. He says the staffer threw a punch at him and yelled a homophobic slur at him at a young Labour Christmas party in December 2018.
The man is a professional in his early 20s, with a legal background. He quit his membership of the party because of the man’s conduct.
He was interviewed by the panel at Labour’s Wellington headquarters on a Saturday in early March. He is ‘‘absolutely certain’’ he raised allegations of sexual assault, directly referenced the 19-year-old woman – who is a close friend of his – and another woman who he believed was assaulted but who had not made a complaint.
‘‘I talked about him having sexually abusive relationships with the party, rape culture within the party generally with men.
‘‘I tried really hard to put it in a context for them . . . I wanted them to understand.
‘‘I said that there were elements and experiences of sexual assault by victims and I said to them it is not my responsibility to sit here and say to you [the woman] experienced X, this other victim experienced Y.
‘‘You need to take on board that I am telling you that this is something that is happening and you need to investigate this. I also told them about [the other woman].’’
None of this was captured in handwritten notes from the panel interview later provided to him.
In May, Haworth emailed the complainants to say the investigation was coming to a close. The man emailed back on May 21 to express disappointment in the ‘‘unacceptable’’ process.
He twice makes reference to ‘‘sexual violence’’ in the email and also wrote: ‘‘It is like the party has learned nothing in the wake of the Young Labour summer school.’’
In 2018, Labour was engulfed by allegations of sexual assault at a youth camp and had launched a review into how the episode was handled.
In June, the party told complainants that there would be no disciplinary action against the man, who works in the Labour Leader’s Office at Parliament, and is employed by Parliamentary Service, not the party.
Haworth offered to meet the complainants, again at Labour’s Wellington headquarters, Fraser House, to air their grievances. The man says he had a two-hour meeting with Haworth, and assistant general secretary Dianna Lacy was present.
‘‘It wasn’t recorded and no notes were taken. The context of me talking about the sexual violence was: this exists, these individuals have experienced these things but I don’t feel comfortable talking to you about the details of it because it is not my story to tell.
‘‘There was no question whatsoever that we were talking about sexual violence.’’
During the meeting he also raised concerns about the investigation.
‘‘What happened at summer school created an opportunity for the party to be able to create a framework [for complaints] and they didn’t.’’
The man says the complainants also felt vulnerable because the man had access to Labour Connect, a party database that contained volunteers’ personal details, including their addresses.
On Monday, Stuff revealed the 19-yearold volunteer met Haworth and Lacy at Wellington City Library to discuss the man’s conduct.
She said she recounted the serious sexual assault and told them of incidents she was aware of involving other women.