Yates Dianne: Crimes (Drug Rape) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Yates Dianne: Crimes (Drug Rape) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:617;Page:12668] 
DIANNE YATES (Labour—Hamilton East) 
: 
 I move  
That the Crimes (Drug Rape) Amendment Bill be now read a first time. 
 This is a very interesting situation once again. This member’s bill was placed in the ballot in the year 2001 3 years ago and has finally reached this House. Since then the matters that are contained in this bill have become Government policy and are included in the Crimes Amendment Bill (No 2) which is why it is my intention to move that the bill be referred to the Law and Order Committee to be considered alongside the Crimes Amendment Bill (No 2) in due course. 
This amendment to the Crimes Act grew out of perceived inadequacies as far back as I have said as 2001—3 years ago—in the Act concerning drug rape. The New Zealand Drug Rape Trust was formed and its members some of whom were victims of drug rape themselves drew to my attention the increase in drug-facilitated rape in New Zealand. Until recently drug rape was regarded as a crime that occurred overseas. Most of us have probably been warned by our mothers and as mothers warned our daughters about people who spike drinks. We know that many people have been told and warned to drink with friends not to leave a drink unattended at the bar and to make sure they look after each other etc. But this crime has been on the increase. 
The increase in drug rape was thought to be blamed on tourists but we have discovered since and reporting in places like my electorate in Hamilton has shown us that drug rape is not just committed by tourists. Drug rape occurs not just in the tourist centres and not just in our cities but is a New Zealand - based crime that is on the increase in the provinces as well as in the cities. I want to thank particularly the police in Hamilton for the work they have done in that regard and also the very brave young women who have reported drug rape and suspected drink-spiking. It is not an easy thing to bowl up to a police station and report a drug rape. I want to thank the women who have done so and the police particularly the detectives in Hamilton who have been sympathetic and who have been working with the hotel industry and with those people who are involved in the selling of liquor to prevent further criminal activity in that regard. 
In the past 10 years as I have said we have seen an increase in drug-facilitated rape both in New Zealand and overseas. The increasing popularity and accessibility of the Internet has facilitated the spread of information about the drugs commonly associated with drug rape. As a result would-be perpetrators are gaining more information about drugs and about how to commit these crimes. Drug rape is a crime that is very hard to legislate against and it is very difficult to prove. As we know most rapes do not have witnesses. Drugs leave a person’s system very quickly and the victims themselves are often unsure of the exact events due to the effects of the drugs. However it is hoped that by amending the current legislation some improvement may be made in order to protect victims and punish perpetrators. As I have mentioned statistics on drug rape have escalated in recent years both in New Zealand and overseas as has the publicity about drug rape. Statistics however have often been difficult to obtain due to the low level of reporting and the fact that few police departments specify the nature of rape when compiling statistics—New Zealand included. 
 There have also been relatively few convictions for drug rape in New Zealand though reported incidents of rape in Queenstown Wellington and Auckland have shown us that women were targeted in bars. The police are aware of groups of people who trade stories and photos of their attacks over the Internet. When the bill was lodged there were no convictions for drug rape in New Zealand and a recent court case in Wellington  
R 
 v  
Hooker 
 had failed to convict a man on rape charges. That case highlighted the evidential difficulties associated with prosecution for sexual violation in cases of alleged drug-facilitated rape. That does not send a strong message to would-be perpetrators nor foster a sense of security amongst women. While evidential difficulties may still arise in some cases a specific statutory provision dealing with the issue of consent may assist prosecutions. A strong message needs to be sent that drug-facilitated rape as with all instances of rape is totally unacceptable and will be dealt with harshly. 
The bill addresses the consent issue by stating that a person who is unable to resist because of an illegal anaesthetic or a hypnotic substance is unable to consent to sex. The bill also seeks to legislate against those who deliberately drug a person to have sex with him or her. Introducing this legislation will enable prosecutors to perform their jobs and it will be an important step against drug rape. Legislation needs to take into account the specific factors of drug rape such as the fact that the victim may be conscious but can still be unaware of the act or the nature of the act. We have seen pictures on television of people who have been drugged and who look OKbut who are actually unable to make decisions and are unaware of the acts they have had performed on them. The victim may be prevented from resisting due to the nature of the drug and the fact that the victim did not fight off his or her attacker or specifically state his or her opposition to the act does not in itself constitute consent. Consent must be given knowingly and voluntarily and the drugs used in drug-facilitated rape impair the victim’s ability to reason or to know the exact nature of the act. Another factor is the reasonableness of the accused’sbeliefas toconsent given the effect of drugs or other substances consumed by the victim and the circumstances in which that consumption occurred particularly when the drug was administered by the accused or was known by the accused to have been administered to the victim. 
This members’ bill as I have said has been overtaken by the Government’s Crimes Amendment Bill (No 2) and I suppose I should be pleased at that as imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. I believe however that the Crimes Amendment Bill (No 2) is better worded than this bill and I wish to thank the Minister of Justice and the drafters of the Government bill for the work they have put into it. As I have said I want to thank certain individuals. I particularly thank those who have already appeared before the Law and Order Committee for sharing their stories with me and the other members of the committee. I thank the Drug Rape Trust. I want to mention Amelia Carter a former intern from Victoria University of Wellington who did the research on the bill and helped to draft it. 
I thank Detective Chief Inspector Peter Sturman of the London metropolitan police for his research and for coming to New Zealand to share it with us. I thank the New Zealand Police and the Minister of Police George Hawkins for the work they have done on the prevention of drug rape and particularly for the print and television advertising campaign warning young people about drug rape. I thank all those who have helped to get the bill to this stage and as I have said particularly those who have shared their stories of drug rape at great personal cost. I am sure members know that it is at great personal cost that people do that. 
Once again I thank the Minister of Justice. I thank my colleagues in the Labour caucus for promoting this bill. I also say a big thankyou to the people in the Labour Party who accepted this measure as a policy platform at the last election. They will be pleased to see that it has now come before the House and that it is to become law. 
Sitting suspended from 5.56 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.