Backroom Troubles

In 1936 the McMillan Report indicated that more New Zealand women were dying from illegal abortions than anywhere else in the world. In March 2020 the Abortion Legislation Act removed abortion from the Crimes Act, finally securing the legal status of abortion in Aotearoa. In this documentary a group of Kiwi women who grew up in the 1940s, 50s and 60s (including Abortion Law Reform campaigner Dame Margaret Sparrow) talk about their often traumatising 'back room' abortions. They recall their lack of sex education, their feelings of shame and the social stigmas around female sexuality.

We were so ignorant, really so ignorant. It's appalling to think that people were brought up as ignorant as we were.

– Beverley Revill recalls her woeful lack of sex education growing up in a Catholic household in the 1950s

Key Cast & Crew

David Long

Composer

John Miller

Camera Operator

Shane Loader

Co-Director, Camera Operator, Editor, Research, Co-Producer

Alister Barry

Camera Operator

Jane Bennett

Narrator

Andrea Bosshard

Co-Director, Writer, Super 8 Camera Operator, Research, Co-Producer, Narrator