By Jake Kenny

More than 1000 supporters of Lauren Dickason have signed a petition asking that she be sentenced leniently for the murder of her three children due to her postpartum depression.

The group has shared details of a book of supportive letters penned to Dickason with The Press, along with plans to host a peaceful march in Christchurch in November ahead of her sentencing the following month.

South African doctor Dickason, 42, was found guilty by a jury of the murder of her twin daughters Maya and Karla, 2, and their older sister Liané, 6, on the night of September 16, 2021, in Timaru.

By majority verdict after two-and-a-half days of deliberations, the jury rejected Dickason’s defences of insanity and infanticide. We deeply empathise with Lauren's situation and feel the verdict was unjust”, a spokesperson for the group ‘Support for Lauren Dickason’ said. “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 Facebook group of mostly women was started in July 2022 and has over 1300 members from New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, the United Kingdom, United States, Namibia, United Arab Emirates, Canada, The Netherlands and Vietnam. They include doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists and members of Dickason’s family.

A peaceful march to support Dickason and maternal mental health would be held in Christchurch in November, the spokesperson said.

Women from Australia and around New Zealand would attend and wear matching T-shirts for the march.

“We'd like for women to sit down together in a tranquil place to share their stories and support each other”.

The 370-page book of letters titled ‘Lauren: Our love and support’ would hopefully be sent to Dickason in time for the two-year anniversary of the children’s deaths on Saturday, the spokesperson said.

“Lauren's medical training in South Africa trained her to put on a brave face and masked what she was really going through. Underneath her smiling face was a fragile and wounded woman.”

The book included a custom leather bookmark with Dickason’s name on it.

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’.  A book of support letters for Lauren Dickason has been published in Australia.

“Lauren, as her friends will attest to, is a gentle, compassionate, introverted woman who always put others wellbeing ahead of her own”, the spokesperson said.

“Her husband immediately forgave her and stated that she too was a victim in this tragedy.”

As of Wednesday, the petition urging Justice Cameron Mander to “consider the complexities of postpartum depression” in his sentencing of Dickason had just shy of 1200 signatures.

“It is our hope that you approach this case with wisdom, humanity, and compassion”, the petition reads.

“Sentencing decisions should take into account the challenges faced by individuals with postpartum depression and the potential mitigating factors related to their condition.”

Dickason, who is in custody at Christchurch’s Hillmorton Hospital, will be sentenced on December 19.

Justice Mander will ultimately decide her sentence and where it is served and has ordered that Dickason be assessed and reports be filed to aid him in his decision.