There is nothing more gratifying than seeing an idea gestate after much hard work, and then start to pay off.
Northland's "Domestic Violence - It's Not OK" campaign was cited as a factor in Alan Titford's former wife, Susan Cochrane, having the courage to take him to court. Titford wasthis week sentenced to 24 years in jail on multiple charges, including rape of his former wife.
Susan made special mention of the It's Not OK campaign in court which gave her the confidence to trust that if she did come forward, the right thing would happen. When people can trust the system and the individuals within it to do the right thing, they will come forward. In Kaitaia, the arrest of one person on sexual abuse charges has led to several other arrests.
Clearly, that community has the confidence to say "no" and then knows what to say "yes" to. Kaitaia is a special place. It is not the sexual abuse capital of New Zealand.
It's residents should be given a medal for being a tight, brave community prepared to out sex abusers. In other Northland towns, there are paedophiles and sex abusers who will be outed - it's a matter of time.
And as we say no to domestic violence and sex abuse, we should also look further back down the trail to these heinous crimes and wonder how we can educate our communities, particularly our vulnerable kids, to say "no" to bullying. Because what is domestic violence or sex abuse, other than grotesque bullying? There are many things that are not OK - please, have the courage to speak out.
