Vanessa Scammell

It was a time of confusion, uncertainty and often misdirected fury, assisted by social media and certain sectors of the mainstream media.

The witch hunt was in full swing as the desire to assign blame

to relieve anxiety and point the finger, exploded.

It was anarchy.

Naming and shaming had become the norm, and what was becoming apparent was that nothing would stop the brutal and unquestioning landscape of this movement.

A movement purporting to be supporting women.

A movement asking us, no, insisting, that we had to believe all women.

And so, with this new cultural movement in motion, in October of 2017, Craig received a call from a mate who was working at the national broadcaster, the ABC.

Little did we know what was coming our way.

As the month progressed, it became clear that the media required a poster boy for Australia.

A poster boy for anger and outrage, for disappointment and hatred, for shock value and blame.

And if a poster boy couldn't legitimately be found, one would be created.

So who would it be?

Who would be the ultimate Me Too pin-up boy?

Well, on Thursday, January 4, 2018, it became terrifyingly evident to Craig and I who that person was going to be.

The letter finished with this paragraph.

Note that we received this email on a Thursday afternoon and that the journalist was requesting an interview the very next day.

Broad allegations were listed in the email, but what stood out most is that there were no names attached to the complaints.

There were no specific details of dates of places, let alone who these people were.

We had absolutely no idea who would or could be making these life-shattering claims.