New Zealand Women Honoured for Services to Falsely Accused
New Zealand has an honours system, where twice a year (Jan 1st and June 1st ) people are honoured for their contribution to New Zealand.
In June 2005) Colleen Waugh was awarded a Queens Service Medal for Community Service.Colleen was instrumental in setting up the organisation COSA (Casualties of Sexual Allegations) in the early 1990s, and has continued to provide support for people who have been falsely accused.
This is a significant, and well deserved award for Colleen, and all that she has done from the early 1990s. More than that, the award is the most significant public award that I am aware of, anywhere, for services to the community where those services have been associated with support for the falsely accused.
We will be pleased to learn that there actually have been others, if that is the case. It is a significant and welcome recognition of the need for those services over the last fifteen years in New Zealand. The award deserves the widest publicity.
This item was first posted on the Let Our Voices Emerge website