Former naval officer wins day in court for rape case

A former naval officer taking a precedent-setting legal challenge after she was raped while serving overseas says she is ‘‘sickened’’ at Defence Force attempts to block the case.

The woman won a major legal victory this week in her bid to hold the New Zealand Government to account after she was allegedly raped while on a deployment in the UK in 2009 by a British officer.

The attack took place after months of sexual harassment and abuse by male colleagues – including male staff members betting buckets of KFC chicken on which female officers could be sexually ‘‘conquered’’.

She has been fighting to take the New Zealand and British governments to court in New Zealand for not providing her with a safe working environment.

The New Zealand AttorneyGeneral and the British Ministry of Defence wanted her case heard in Britain where the alleged rape took place – but she couldn’t afford to pursue the case in the UK.

In a decision released last week, Justice Simon France chucked-out the AttorneyGeneral’s argument, ruling the woman’s case can be heard in New Zealand.

However, Justice France ruled the allegations levelled at the British Government could not be dealt with in New Zealand.

The woman said while she had won, the victory felt ‘‘disappointing’’ due to the New Zealand and British Governments road blocking her.

‘‘It worries me they could be so petty as to put me through the unnecessary burden of a protest to jurisdiction, and seemingly waste taxpayers money with all their lawyers,’’ she said.

If she had lost the fight to have the case heard in New Zealand, she would have had to drop it.

‘‘I have an overwhelming sense of disappointment our Government would even try to undermine my complaint, and try to send me to the other side of the world to raise a complaint about failings within the New Zealand Navy’s systems.’’

‘‘If they are just playing a legal game to make me go away and my complaints go unheard, then that is equally sickening and worrying for other victims.’’

The woman’s lawyer, Jol Bates, said it was a massive win for his client, and all other civil servants working abroad.

‘‘New Zealand Defence Force’s obnoxious position that it did not owe any legal duty of care to take reasonable steps to provide [the woman] with a safe place of work will now go to trial,’’ he said.

The Defence Force declined to comment as the matter is before the courts.