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QLD Police Allegedly Said Sexual Assault Victims “Deserved” It

An inquest has heard Queensland police officers label domestic violence as "foreplay”, with fears for how victim's cases fare in the current system.

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Further misogyny has been unearthed inside the Queensland Police department after a commission heard evidence revealing shocking attitudes from officers towards rape and domestic violence victims.

An officer giving evidence at a domestic violence inquiry was brought to tears on Wednesday after recounting comments from colleagues who allegedly said rape victims “deserved to be raped”.

In an emotional testimony, the officer — who remains anonymous for legal reasons — said that derogatory language towards rape and domestic violence victims was common in the Queensland Police Service, recounting officers saying “domestic violence is just foreplay” and that one victim was “too ugly to be raped”.

The officer’s explosive testimony included an instance where an officer allegedly drove to another suburb to actively avoid responding to a domestic violence incident.

“I’m telling them what job we’re going to, they’ve interjected and gone, ‘No, no, no, no, fuck that, we’re not doing this job,” the unnamed officer recounted.

The misogyny allegedly aimed at sexual violence victims apparently also extended to female officers, with the witness testifying that sexist language towards women in the force was so rife that it had effectively become treated as “casual”, with female officers routinely being called “fucking sluts” and “bitches” behind their back.

According to the witness, Queensland Police officers need “more training” on domestic violence matters to adequately meet the needs of domestic and sexual violence victims.

“We need to be co-locating with DV services so survivors feel safe… so that they don’t have to front up to the police station where they’re not going to be listened to or taken seriously.”

The $3.4 million inquiry into the culture of policing around domestic and family violence commenced in late May and has already heard horrific allegations of sexism from within the force, including promotion panels “ignoring or making derogatory comments about female applications” and officers allegedly trying to convince domestic violence victims they were mentally ill.

While the police union initially resisted the commission, calling it “just another woke report to slam police at every opportunity”, they later withdrew their opposition — labelling the inquiry a chance for the union to call for their own reforms into the sector.