When will the victim-blaming stop???
John Laws asks victim on-air whether sexual assault was her own fault
JOHN Laws' judgment as a veteran broadcaster was called into question this week when he asked a female caller claiming a history of sexual abuse if her molestation at age six had been her "fault".
In an exchange that had echoes of Kyle Sandilands' infamous 2009 lie detector gaffe in which he asked a 14-year-old rape victim if the assault was her only sexual "experience" - 77-year-old Laws, morning host on the Super Radio Network (formerly 2SM), asked a series of alarming questions to an anonymous woman who phoned his radio program to discuss, through tears, how she might go about keeping the dream alive - the motto of Laws' program.
After detailing a history of abuse at the hands of five male family members - her father, brothers and uncles - Laws asked how old the woman had been when the abuse began. She said it began at age six and continued until she was 16.
"My God they were having a good time with you," said the broadcasting legend, missing the sensitivity of the subject matter.
"Was it in any way your fault?" he then asked.
"No, I don't think so," the woman, a nurse, said.
"You weren't provocative?" Laws pressed.
"I was a little girl. I don't think so John. No, I was just a little girl."
After nine years of abuse the woman finally found the courage to consult a social worker at age 15 - the year before her father kicked her out of home. As she broke down on air, Laws asked: "Are you unattractive?"
"I don't think so. I think I'm all right," she said.
"You sound all right," Laws encouraged.
Yesterday afternoon Laws said he did not regret his line of questioning and pointed out the woman called back to say, on air, she hadn't minded his questioning.
Pressed on whether he might be too old for radio, Laws bristled: "Bullshit!"
Source :http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity/john-laws-operating-by-laws-of-the-jungle/story-e6frfmqi-1226601932426
JOHN Laws' judgment as a veteran broadcaster was called into question this week when he asked a female caller claiming a history of sexual abuse if her molestation at age six had been her "fault".
In an exchange that had echoes of Kyle Sandilands' infamous 2009 lie detector gaffe in which he asked a 14-year-old rape victim if the assault was her only sexual "experience" - 77-year-old Laws, morning host on the Super Radio Network (formerly 2SM), asked a series of alarming questions to an anonymous woman who phoned his radio program to discuss, through tears, how she might go about keeping the dream alive - the motto of Laws' program.
After detailing a history of abuse at the hands of five male family members - her father, brothers and uncles - Laws asked how old the woman had been when the abuse began. She said it began at age six and continued until she was 16.
"My God they were having a good time with you," said the broadcasting legend, missing the sensitivity of the subject matter.
"Was it in any way your fault?" he then asked.
"No, I don't think so," the woman, a nurse, said.
"You weren't provocative?" Laws pressed.
"I was a little girl. I don't think so John. No, I was just a little girl."
After nine years of abuse the woman finally found the courage to consult a social worker at age 15 - the year before her father kicked her out of home. As she broke down on air, Laws asked: "Are you unattractive?"
"I don't think so. I think I'm all right," she said.
"You sound all right," Laws encouraged.
Yesterday afternoon Laws said he did not regret his line of questioning and pointed out the woman called back to say, on air, she hadn't minded his questioning.
Pressed on whether he might be too old for radio, Laws bristled: "Bullshit!"
Source :http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity/john-laws-operating-by-laws-of-the-jungle/story-e6frfmqi-1226601932426