A letter in response to the journalist of this story about a reduction in staff at the Human Rights Commission, aka the Women’s Special Treatment Commission:

Dear Matthew

Our experience with the so-called ‘Human Rights Commission’ suggests it would be better named the ‘Women’s Special Consideration Commission’. Complaints to the Commission about anti-male discrimination were typically rejected, the Commission’s responses displaying an appalling level of inaccuracy in its beliefs.

For example, the Commission rejected complaints about the sexist White Ribbon Campaign that tells us only violence towards women is worthy of criticism and only female victims of violence are worthy of consideration. The Commission responded with a claim that women are more often the victims of violence than are men, even though all official statistics about homicide and violent injuries show the opposite to be true. And the Commission blithely continued its financial and ideological support for the White Ribbon campaign of anti-male hate speech.

Notice also that the new commissioner Susan Devoy and everyone associated with her appointment seem to assume that ‘equal opportunities’ only means ‘women’s opportunities’.

When this Commission starts to include MEN as deserving of equal human rights, then we might regret any reduction in its role. Until then, the fewer social wreckers it employs the more New Zealand will benefit.