SYSTEM FAILING SEX ASSAULT VICTIMS

Something’s gone terribly wrong when reporting a sexual assault on the Coast leads to a traumatic trip up to Brisbane

SEXUAL assaults are among the crimes claimed to be under-reported on the Coast. This is an explosive allegation.

There is just so much more to this story, all of it disturbing. In January this year, a Bulletin report detailed claims of police keeping major violence secret and fudging crime figures, sparking concerns of a return to the dark days of the pre-Fitzgerald era.

A senior police officer was allegedly directing junior cops to reduce clearance rates for crime as the Coast management faced pressure from the Palaszczuk Government to provide good news stories.

The Auditor General’s report, released to Parliament last month, revealed the highest number of offences being withdrawn had occurred in the Coast police district. Senior police reject that these cases include sexual assaults.

But social workers have written to Government ministers warning that their clients “felt pressured to withdraw their SA (sexual assault) complaint” and that police “unfounding” of cases had increased.

A whistleblower contacted your columnist late last week.

Critical to a sexual assault case moving forward are the roles of forensic medical officers who examine victims, write up reports and appear later in court. Since mid-last year the Coast team has been halved, with two positions relocated to the Brisbane head office and not replaced, the whistleblower said.

“The two officers left here are on call every second night. On occasions a victim has had to go to Brisbane.”

Coppers will tell you that sexual assaults tend to occur in the early hours of the morning, either a domestic incident in the home or a date rape in the nightclub precinct.

Clothing must be retained to be tested and every effort made to avoid cross-contamination.

Recently an alleged rape victim arrived at the Gold Coast University Hospital in the hours before dawn.

“She wasn’t seen until about 8am. She had to have stitches,” the whistleblower said.

Gold Coast Centre Against Sexual Violence director Di Macleod confirmed she had been tracking the staffing crisis after victims approached her with their complaints.

“They’re being transported around. It’s impacting on their trauma,” she said.

“It’s an hour trip up the road in a forensic suit. Could you be any more labelled? It’s identifying and distressing.”

Health Minister Cameron Dick advises that the Clinical Forensic Medical Unit is “fully staffed” with two full-time and one part-time forensic medical officers based on the Coast and two new doctors in Logan.

“The service is constantly reviewing workload demands, staffing requirements and rostering arrangements to ensure that services are provided in an effective manner,” a spokesperson for Mr Dick said.

But my whistleblower recalls Mr Dick was forced to intervene last year, only for the Coast rosters to become unworkable again.

This is one trip to Brisbane which authorities must stop.