What's driving the march in support of convicted murderer Lauren Dickason
About 200 of Dickason’s supporters are organising a peaceful march next month to support her and maternal mental health ahead of sentencing in December. How come? The support for convicted murderer Lauren Dickason is being led by her supporters, who believe that the verdict has negatively impacted the discussion about maternal mental health. A group of about 200 women from around the world are planning a peaceful march next month to support Dickason's mental health ahead of her sentencing in December. The group's spokesperson stated that they wanted women to sit down together to share their stories and support each other. Psychologist Dr Carrie Barber suggested that postnatal depression can be disabling but not tragic, and that it is important to distinguish the difference between it and Dickason’s situation. The Facebook group of mostly women supporting Dickason, mostly from South Africa, Australia, the United Kingdom, United States, Namibia, United Arab Emirates, Canada, Netherlands and Vietnam, has over 1800 members.
Published : 2 years ago by Rachel Moore in General
It’s about recognising and supporting people with postnatal mental illness, Lauren Dickason’s supporters say.
The 42-year-old South African doctor was found guilty by a jury of murdering her twin daughters – Maya and Karla, 2 – and their older sister Liané, 6, on the night of September 16, 2021, in Timaru.
Despite this, and as first reported by The Press, she has an 1800-strong group of worldwide supporters who believe that verdict slammed the door on discussion about maternal mental health.
A group of about 200 of them are organising a peaceful march next month to support her and maternal mental health ahead of sentencing in December.
“We'd like for women to sit down together in a tranquil place to share their stories and support each other,” a spokesperson for the group Support for Lauren Dickason said.
The group intended to meet outside the city’s justice precinct and walk to the Botanic Gardens in custom-made blue T-shirts with ‘support not silence’ printed on them.
Any person interested in supporting Dickason or maternal mental health could attend.
However, a psychology expert says while it is important to talk about postnatal mental illness and depression, it is important to distinguish the difference between that and Dickason’s situation.
University of Waikato’s school of psychology senior lecturer Dr Carrie Barber said she wasn’t familiar with the specifics of Dickason’s situation, but said there was likely more going on than just postnatal depression.
It can be very disabling and distressing, but “it usually isn’t tragic”.
Barber said 13 to 20% of people who have recently given birth suffer from postnatal depression.
It is the most common complication of childbirth.
And it was common for parents to have intrusive thoughts of hurting their child, with 50% of new parents having a thought like that at some point.
For most people, that passes.
She knew of New Zealand mental health organisations who had received calls from panicked parents with postnatal depression that’d heard about the Dickason trial, worried because they had the same condition.
They were concerned – did that mean they were capable of hurting their own children too?
She spoke of a friend in the US who watched a TV interview about postnatal depression – which she had – which then linked it to the situation of Andrea Yates who drowned her children in Texas.
The woman had walked away and missed the disclaimer that this was more severe than the postnatal depression most woman experienced, and that Yates also had postpartum psychosis, and schizophrenia.
And she panicked. Thinking because she was also experiencing postnatal depression, maybe the same thing could happen to her.
Barber said this was especially because people with postnatal depression were often already distressed and worried about being a bad parent.
The Facebook group of mostly women supporting Dickason was started in July 2022 and has over 1800 members from New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, the United Kingdom, United States, Namibia, United Arab Emirates, Canada, Netherlands and Vietnam.
They include doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists and members of Dickason’s family.
“We feel the verdict has had a detrimental effect on women globally. Women’s voices have been silenced... as many will now be scared to seek help for postnatal depression,” the spokesperson said.
And as of Friday, a petition urging Justice Cameron Mander to “consider the complexities of postpartum depression” in his sentencing of Dickason had just shy of 1450 signatures.
It asked for leniency in her sentence because of postpartum depression (PPD).
“It is our hope that you approach this case with wisdom, humanity, and compassion,” it read.
“PPD is a serious medical condition which is not only devastating to the individuals suffering from it but also for their families and communities.
“By acknowledging PPD in the legal profession, we can further encourage a shift in societal attitudes towards maternal mental health”
A book of support letters had also been published in Australia.
They planned to send the 370-page book of letters titled ‘Lauren: Our love and support’ to Dickason for the two-year anniversary of the children’s deaths last month.
A blog set up by the group was in the works and would share other women’s stories of their own struggles with immigration, postnatal depression, postpartum psychosis, trauma, infertility treatment, violence and medical practice in South Africa, and other relevant topics.
The blog would be called ‘Lauren, it could have been me’.
Dickason was in custody at Christchurch’s Hillmorton Hospital awaiting sentencing.
The Press revealed a handwritten letter written by Dickason to her supporters, some of whom she’d been in direct contact with, earlier this month.
Her letter was sent in response to a care package she received from the group on the two-year anniversary of the children’s deaths.
The package included a peace lily plant and edible goods from a South African shop in Christchurch.
In the letter, she thanked them, and detailed how she’d been sleeping with teddy bears sewn from her children’s clothing.
Dickason also told them in a separate letter: “I don’t think I can ever forgive myself for what happened”.
Restrictions were then imposed preventing her from sending and receiving letters in custody.
Justice Cameron Mander will decide her sentence and where it is served on December 19.
Topics: Crime