It’s just before 9am on a spring morning in downtown Newcastle, when a sheriff unlocks the revolving door to the courthouse complex.
asserted
sheriff → ’ → complex
A woman with short, chestnut hair is first to enter.
asserted
woman → enter → hair
Passing through the security scanner, she gives the officers a friendly hello before heading to her office.
asserted
she → pass → office
After reviewing her schedule for the day, the woman – whom I’ll call Jennifer – takes the lift to the upper levels of the courthouse, the largest of its kind in regional NSW, to begin her rounds.
asserted
I → review → rounds
Jennifer introduces herself to a young woman sitting outside one of the courtrooms, and quietly asks if she is a victim or a witness.
asserted
she → introduce → courtrooms
The young woman confirms she is a prosecution witness, here to give evidence in a sexual assault trial.
asserted
she → confirm → trial
Her best friend is the alleged victim, and she’s clearly anxious.
asserted
she → allege → ?
Jennifer tells her she’s a court support officer who helps prosecution witnesses and victims.
asserted
who → tell → witnesses
As she begins explaining court formalities, the young woman suddenly becomes agitated.
asserted
woman → begin → formalities
She’s spotted the defendant.
asserted
She → spot → defendant
When he takes a seat nearby, Jennifer clocks the young woman’s rising distress.
asserted
Jennifer → take → distress
“Would you like to move away?” she asks.
asserted
she → like → ?
Jennifer leads her to the furthest corner of the waiting area, asking if she’s OK.
asserted
she → lead → area
“I feel like I’m going to be sick,” the young woman says.
asserted
woman → feel → ?
She’s afraid of having to testify in front of the defendant, and worried about her friend, who will give evidence first via video link.
asserted
who → ’ → link
“We’ve never been to court,” the young woman says.
asserted
woman → say → court
“We don’t do bad things.”
asserted
We → do → things
Jennifer assures her a social worker will be with her friend.
asserted
worker → assure → friend
She shows her a diagram of the courtroom, pointing out the witness box and where the judge, the lawyers and the defendant will sit.
asserted
judge → show → box
She shows her where to bow to the judge – “just a little bow, no curtsy” – and explains she’ll be asked to swear an oath or an affirmation to tell the truth.
asserted
she → show → truth
Listening intently, the young woman doesn’t notice that you can catch glimpses of the city’s sparkling harbour through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
asserted
you → listen → windows
Nor does she pay any attention to the cooking show playing on the television mounted to a nearby wall.
asserted
she → pay → wall
“I’m worried I’ll cry,” she says.
asserted
she → ’m → ?
“I just don’t want him to see me get upset.”
asserted
me → want → ?
“You don’t worry if you cry,” Jennifer tells her.
asserted
Jennifer → worry → her
“You’re not a robot.”
asserted
You → ’re → ?
A detective and police prosecutor arrive to speak with the young woman, so Jennifer tells her she’ll be back before it’s her turn in the witness box.
asserted
it → arrive → box
“You’ll get through it,” she promises.
asserted
she → get → it
She’s a 72-year-old retired speech therapist and grandmother who has never been paid a cent for her work.
asserted
who → ’ → work
From homicide and domestic violence, to manslaughter and armed robbery, Jennifer has sat through dozens of trials and hours of harrowing testimony.
asserted
Jennifer → sit → testimony
She’s heard graphic descriptions of sexual assault, and borne witness to the grief that plagues families whose loved ones have fallen victim to senseless crimes.
asserted
ones → hear → crimes
She knows the secret location of the safe room, where victims can wait to avoid coming face-to-face with their alleged perpetrators.
asserted
victims → know → perpetrators
She’s had hours of training in court procedures and attends several professional development courses every year.
asserted
She → have → courses
But she’s never been paid a cent for her work.
asserted
she → pay → work
She’s a 72-year-old retired speech therapist and grandmother who spends a couple of days a week supporting strangers as they relive what is often the most traumatic event of their lives.
asserted
what → ’ → lives
Jennifer works for Victims and Witnesses of Crime Court Support (VWCCS), an independent organisation staffed almost entirely by volunteers.
asserted
Jennifer → work → volunteers
First established in Sydney 20 years ago, the VWCCS now has more than 120 volunteers who work at the Downing Centre courts in Sydney’s CBD, and at Parramatta, Waverley and Newcastle courts.
asserted
who → establish → courts
A similar organisation, Court Network, operates in Victoria, where about 250 volunteers support 78,000 court users (including the accused) annually across all court jurisdictions.
asserted
volunteers → operate → jurisdictions
The VWCCS agreed to allow Good Weekend to follow Jennifer, as long as we didn’t reveal her real name.
asserted
we → agree → name
“We’re not counsellors, not lawyers,” Jennifer says.
asserted
Jennifer → ’re → ?
…and 95 more, not listed.
The Aporia
