Furious female MPs reveal their own sexual abuse past after John Key's rape remarks
"I am the victim of sexual assault and I take personal offence."
Those were the words of several
female MPs today as they stood up in Parliament to protest against John
Key's comments yesterday in which he accused Labour of "backing" and
"supporting" rapists.
In a media conference today,
Green MP Catherine Delahunty questioned whether Mr Key's comments would
set a precedent for more inappropriate comments in parliament.
"What else is going to be said about women... what's going to be said about our rights as human beings," said the MP.
MPs are up in arms over Speaker David Carter's refusal to force the Prime Minister to apologise for the remarks.
Following the Speaker's ruling, numerous Green and Labour MPs stood up to take a point of order against the decision.
When they were refused by Mr Carter, some were thrown out, others walked out.
Outside the debating chamber, the
Labour and Green MPs told media that for some of them, it was the first
time they had publicly named themselves as victims of sexual assault.
Through tears, Green MP Jan
Logie, said she wished none of them had to stand up in such a situation
but sexual assault was a big issue in our society and needed to be
confronted.
Labour's Nanaia Mahuta says it
doesn't take a Speaker's order for the Prime Minister to apologise and
he could do so himself if he wished to.
John Key says he stands by what he said.
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