Woman strips in naked protest after 'police failed to take sexually-motivated attack seriously'
- Two women stripped naked in a bid to protest against the lack of police action
- Jazmine Rose Phillips and Kyah Dove stood stark-naked on a street in Auckland
- Ms Phillips says she and her partner were assaulted by a man in January
- She claims police failed to 'take her attack seriously' in flyers she handed out
A victim of an alleged sexually-motivated assault has stripped in a naked protest after police failed to act on her claims.
Jazmine Rose Phillips stood hand-in-hand with her friend Kyah Dove at the entrance to St Kevins' Arcade, on Karangahape Road in Auckland, on Saturday.
The women covered themselves in fake blood and put black tape across their mouths, while female friends handed out flyers to nearby passersby.
Ms Phillips claims she was assaulted by an unknown male on January 21.
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Jazmine Rose Phillips (pictured right) and Kyah Dove (pictured left) stood stark-naked at the entrance to St Kevins' Arcade, in Auckland, on Saturday
It's believed the man had been making 'sexual gestures' from inside his car as he watched Ms Philips and her female partner hug.
In response to his lewd actions, Ms Phillips said she tapped on his car window.
The statement on the flyer alleges the man then got out his car and hit Ms Phillips in the head after she 'rejected his sexual advances' and attempted to bash her again.
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She noted the pair were 'lucky to get away' and subsequently called the local police.
She said she gave police a description of the man, his car registration number and details of the incident.
The flyer claims the woman on the phone assured the accusers there would be CCTV footage and the police would be in touch shortly.
According to the flyer, the girls never heard back from the police.
Ms Phillips (pictured center left) said she felt defeated and dis-empowered and let down by police after the attack
The next day, one of the women went to file a complaint at City Police station and was 'turned away in tears'.
The statement concluded: 'How many women have to die on the streets and in their homes before police respond to violence?'
'After the attack I felt defeated and dis-empowered. I felt let down by police,' Ms Phillips told Daily Mail Australia.
'It's so hard to go through to the trauma of speaking to police. I was really upset they never called me back,' she added.
The flyers (pictured) detailed the reason for the protest and claimed that Ms Phillips and her partner had been assaulted by an unknown male
Ms Phillips, who is a musician and Auckland performance artist, said she'd decided to protest in an artistic way to raise awareness for the issues
Ms Phillips, who is a musician and Auckland performance artist, said she'd decided to protest in an artistic way to raise awareness for the issues that surround sexual assault cases.
'I kept hearing stories from other women who experienced sexual harassment much more traumatic than mine, and decided I wanted to raise for everyone else who had experienced these things,' she said.
Despite the initial nerves beforehand, Ms Phillips said the protest was worthwhile as she's since received a flurry of messages from other women who had had similar experiences.
'To stand on the street naked, and get attention for this issue, was so hard to do. We found it so hard. We were both very scared…' she said.
'Our hearts were pounding. It's such a confronting thing to do to stand on the street naked.
(File picture) Since the protest on Karangahape Road (pictured) Ms Phillips said she'd received a praise from other women who had experienced a similar ordeal
According to Ms Phillips (pictured left) after the protest she was approached by a local policeman who wanted to help her cause
'But women and men were coming up to us and thanking us. Some women were crying. So it made the whole thing beautiful,' she added.
According to Ms Phillips, after the protest she was approached by a local policeman who wanted to help her. He gave her his number so he could further explore the case.
'The police sergeant who approached me has called to arrange a time to look into the case, which I will do,' she said.
'But I want to speak to the police and ask them about the bigger picture. I know lots of women who've had worse experiences than me. I want to know what the police are going to do. This issue is much bigger than just me,' she added.
Auckland District Commander Superintendent Karyn Malthus has since spoken out to say the incident was 'being followed up urgently' and the police were in the process of contacting the girls to look into the matter further.
(File picture) According to Ms Phillips, after the protest she was approached by a local policeman who wanted to help her cause
She added that the police wanted to establish the 'exact circumstances' of the incident and find out what happened when the women had tried to report it.
'It is very concerning that these women feel let down by police and we are doing everything we can to establish exactly what happened, work with the victims and address their concerns,' Superintendent Malthus said, according to Stuff.co.nz
However, Ms Phillips claims the issue with police investigating matters of assault aren't just limited to New Zealand.
'I'm from Australia and grew up in Australia. I grew up in a single parent home with my mum,' she said.
'I remember my mum had an issue with an ex-partner who wouldn't go away and kept knocking on the door. But when she called the police they said there was nothing they could do as it's not illegal to knock on a door.
'How bad do things need to be before police can act?' she said.
(File picture) Auckland District Commander Superintendent Karyn Malthus has since spoken out to say the incident was 'being followed up urgently'
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