Leading family and sexual violence agency Aviva saysthere has been a spike in sexual assault support referrals across the board since the infamous Mama Hooch drink spiking trial in Christchurch.
Police today revealed that officers were investigating three further historical allegations linked to the bar.
The two brothers at the heart of the offending, Danny and Roberto Jaz, are in jail after being convicted of 68 charges in all, following a profligate crime spree that stretched from 2015 to 2018.
Danny Jaz was jailed for 17 years, while Roberto was sentences to 16 and a half years. Both men were now appealing their sentences.
Aviva’s general manager of operations, Gwenda Kendrew, acknowledged the bravery of the women who testified in thecase, which exposed a depraved drink spiking ring.
She told 1News she believes the publicity of the trial last year is what has prompted others to seek support from the agency for their own separate experiences.
“We have seen a number of referrals come through, some linked specifically to that case,” Kendrew said.
“What else it’s done, it’s encouraged people or supported people to think about whether they might want to talk about a different incident, other things that have happened. So our referrals have been significant over the last six to 12 months – much higher than what we’ve seen before.”
Kendrew said the women involved in the Mama Hooch case inspired others to thinking of speaking out.
“I think those who did come forward, those that have become very public about what’s happened, part of their desire was to help others to be able to move forward, speak up, find some support and go forward from there,” she said.
One of the Mama Hooch survivors who spoke up was Sophie Brown.
She was just 19 when she was drugged and sexually assaulted.
Brown, who was among a long line of witnesses at the trial, has taken a further step, requesting the court to lift her name suppression so she could encourage other survivors.
Speaking on TVNZ’s Breakfast this morning, Brown said she was “happy” that three other complainants had come forward with allegations in connection to Mama Hooch.
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Police would not comment on what the complaints related to, but said they were still investigating.
“That’s three other women that have decided that enough is enough – they’re not going to live in the shame of what happened to them,” Brown said.
“They are actually choosing to come forward and say, ‘this happened to me and it’s not OK, and something legally should be done about it’, and that’s why it makes me happy.”
The bar was at the centre of a judge-alone trial last year which saw brothers Danny and Roberto Jaz convicted of a combined 69 offences relating to 23 victims.
Brown added that one of the reasons she had asked for her name suppression to be lifted was to honour her 19-year-old self.
“To be like ‘oh, I can move through this, I can still have a successful life. I can still be everything I want to be. I can still be beautiful, be confident and everything like that, and be a victim in my past life’ – all of those things can be true.”
Kendrew said anyone considering making a sexual assault report would be supported throughout their journey.
“We’re able to give all of those options whether it’s working with us, whether it’s working with other organisations,” she said.
“We can begin to give people some options and choice and control of their future that they may have felt that they’d lost. We can talk about all of the systems, all of the processes, and offer support alongside them.”
Anyone wanting to get in touch can contact Aviva’s 24/7 support line on 0800 AVIVA NOW (0800 28482 669) or make a referral through their website.