Siouxsie Wiles. Photo: RNZ
Siouxsie Wiles says the abuse and harassment she gets from the public has not stopped, despite the Covid-19 response being largely consigned to history.
And she only fears it will get worse with the current government's inquiries into its predecessor's efforts to fight the virus, which has so far killed potentially tens of millions worldwide.
The microbiologist, who accessible approach and technical knowledge made her a high-profile voice of the scientific community, this week won a long-running legal case against her employer, the University of Auckland.
Wiles successfully argued the university had failed to protect her against threats and harassment during the pandemic, which arose as a result of her science communication work.
"I was being harassed from, you know, the beginning of of 2020. Very soon after that I started asking the university for support with, you know, the same with my colleagues - and they just, they didn't," Wiles told Morning Report on Tuesday.
The judge found while the university was happy to promote Wiles' work, but felt she "bore some of the responsibility for the negative backlash".
"I think this has been a case study in how not to respond to staff asking for support," Wiles said. "There's breaches of health and safety, obligations of duty, of good faith and all sorts of things - but what's really important is that the judge acknowledged that the university made things worse."
She said taking legal action was a last resort after "I think more than a year of meetings and emails" with the university failed to go anywhere.
"It was so distressing because it felt like I was, on the one hand, dealing with all of the harassment and abuse from members of the public, while at the same time - in secret - fighting this other battle.
"Everybody assumed the university was, like, had my back and was supporting me - instead, it was like fighting, you know, having your own side fighting you as well. And that has been really, really distressing and hurtful over the time."
Pandemic of harassment goes on
The government has undone most of the measures put in place to suppress the virus, which has killed at least 4216 people to date according to Ministry of Health figures. New Zealand's zero-tolerance approach in 2020 and 2021, backed and promoted by Wiles - whose comms work was picked up by the World Health Organization and promoted by the university - has been credited with saving upwards of 20,000 Kiwi lives.
Despite virtually all of the restrictions and mandates being lifted, and the success of New Zealand's strategy compared to the likes of the US and the UK, Wiles said the abuse and harassment has not stopped.
"I think that people assume this has gone away for me, and it absolutely hasn't. In fact, it's been getting worse and worse since our health restrictions or our health policies kind of disappeared for Covid.
"And it's going to get even worse I imagine once the government starts their second Covid inquiry. So even for me, this has not gone away and is, in fact worse than it ever was…
"It impacts people in other spheres too, and that's because the sort of hatred and abuse, both online and offline, has become really normalised. You know, we see horrendous speech coming straight out of government ministers too, you know, like I mean, calls to bomb people and stuff. You know, these are not jokes.
"And the worry is that somebody will act on them as we have seen before in the past, with things like Christchurch."
Academics back Wiles
Some of Wiles' high-profile colleagues backed their friend.
Dr Sarah-Jane O'Connor, a lecturer in science communication at Victoria University of Wellington, said she saw the toll it took on not just Wiles, but others called on for their expertise in the response to Covid-19.
"Few experts will be called upon to this degree in response to a public health crisis, but Aotearoa was lucky to have experts like Siouxsie going beyond the call of duty to front up over and over again on the crucial science behind the virus and resulting pandemic, including what we did and didn't know especially in those early days as the pandemic unfolded."
She said when her students were asked if they could name a science communicator, "they universally know and admire Siouxsie", who was named New Zealander of the Year in 2021.
"It has been distressing to witness the torrent of abuse that was directed at Siouxsie because she stepped up into this much-needed role."
Shaun Hendy, whose disease modelling work helped inform the government's response, said Wiles was "subject to sustained and distressing harassment, both online and in person, during the pandemic".
Shaun Hendy and Michael Baker. Photo: Supplied / University of Otago, Wellington / Luke Pilkinton-Ching
He settled his own case against the university in 2022 when he left, and said Wiles remained a "close personal friend".
"In New Zealand, universities have obligations to preserve academic freedom... The Education Act also says universities have a responsibility to disseminate knowledge and to promote community learning and must accept a role as "critic and conscience" of society.
"One of the ways universities meet these obligations is to encourage their academics to use their expertise to engage in public commentary. By finding that public commentary falls within Wiles' scope of employment, something that the university at times disputed, the judgement substantially strengthens the freedom of academics to act as the 'critic and conscience of society'."
Michael Baker, professor of public health at the University of Otago and regular critic of moves to wind back Covid-19 measures, called it a "landmark finding".
"As a fellow 'Covid commentator' I appreciate the huge personal effort and cost that Associate Professor Wiles has put into taking this case to court. I assume that this judgement has established an important precedent for the responsibilities of employers in this area. However, as a non-lawyer, I will need to wait for expert commentary on the wider legal implications of this case…
"This case also highlights the pervasive harms being caused by disinformation. This threat requires an all-of-society response and strong government leadership. It shouldn't be left to determined individuals to fight this problem on their own in the courts."
Baker has criticised the need for a second inquiry separate to the one already being conducted by a royal commission.
