10 October 2012

Wellington Rape Crisis outraged by second visa application for Mike Tyson

Wellington Rape Crisis (WRC) is calling for the Associate Minister of Immigration, Kate Wilkinson, to decline the second visa application for convicted rapist Mike Tyson.

“We don’t believe that any convicted rapist should be given a special dispensation under the law in order to enter New Zealand. Rape is a terrible crime and it is offensive to rape survivors to give a special dispensation for Tyson”, says WRC Agency Manager Natalie Gousmett.

“Furthermore, we find it offensive that a convicted rapist, especially one that publicly jokes about the victim of his rape, would be considered a suitable role model to speak to at-risk youth”, says Gousmett.

The Manukau Urban Maori Authority is supporting a second visa application for Tyson, despite reviews of Tyson’s August Broadway show stating that he referred to women, including his rape victim, as “whores, bitches and tramps" and joked about domestic violence towards his ex-wife1.

1 in 4 women and 1 in 8 men will experience sexual violence in their lifetimes. WRC works with hundreds of Wellington survivors of rape and sexual abuse every year.

“It’s a real shame that a man who jokes about the woman he raped is given special treatment when the rights and needs of rape survivors are so often ignored in New Zealand”, says Gousmett.

www.wellingtonrapecrisis.org.nz
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