A little over a week ago I read an article about violence against women and the danger of falling prey to the ‘monster myth’ – the myth that the strange man lurking in a dark alley represents the greatest danger to women, when in fact most acts of violence against women are committed by a man who…
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Vogue Italia claims to be raising awareness for violence against women by having their models pose as horror movie victims. Well dressed, gorgeous and terrified victims. Editor Franca Sozzani writes that Vogue are doing their ‘civic duty,’ to spread ‘a message against barbarism.’ This isn’t the first time the magazine have caused controversy through their…
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The Italian parliament has adopted a draft bill to tackle violence against women, prompted by increasing rates of ‘femicide’ in the country. A number of femicides in the media, namely the murder of 16-year-old Fabiana Luzzi who was stabbed and burned alive in May, and pleas by the United Nations to tackle the issue have…
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According to the Thomson Reuters Foundation survey, India is the 4th most dangerous place in the world for women to live in. From January 2002 to October 2010, 153 acid attack cases were reported in the Indian print media, while 174 judicial cases were reported for the year 2000. Of course these figures are believed…
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‘In loving memory of Tracy. The world will miss your sparkly eyes and smile.’ Those are the words written in black texta on pink paper that were taped to a wrought iron fence over the weekend at the site of Tracy Connelly’s murder in Melbourne. Described as gorgeous, funny, intelligent, and articulate, forty year…
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Jill Meagher Kiesha Weippeart Sarah Cafferkey Jordan Anderson-Smith Shandee Blackburn Bailey Constable This is a roll call of tragedy. These women and children had their lives cut short by violence. All of their stories are different; some knew their killers and some didn’t, some suffered long-term abuse and some were killed during a chance encounter….
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Adrian Bayley, the man who raped and murdered Melbourne woman Jill Meagher has today been sentenced to serve at least 35 years in jail. Justice Geoffrey Nettle sentenced the 41-year-old to life for the murder, and 15 years for what he described as ‘a savage violent rape of the worst kind’. Bayley would be eligible…
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It’s been a long time coming but Facebook has finally put on some big boy panties and got serious when it comes to gender-based hate speech online. In an official blog post released on Wednesday the social networking page announced that ‘it has become clear that our systems to identify and remove hate speech have…
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In the United Kingdom, an innovative pilot program giving women the “right to know” about their partner’s past history of violence has been operational for over six months now. The Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (so far limited to only four pilot locations) enables men and women to ask police if their partner has a history…
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This article first appeared in Lip Issue 20 – you can buy a copy of the magazine here. We promise it’s packed full of other goodies! And you can help us keep our magazine alive by donating to our Pozible campaign here. **Trigger Warning: Rape and sexual violence** Nearly 126,000 Australian women experience sexual assault…
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Two weeks ago we recognised International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, which has come to be popularly known as White Ribbon Day. Now, as we recognise International Human Rights Day, it is appropriate to reflect on the status of women and men as equal human subjects. Australia’s White Ribbon Day campaign asks…
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On Tuesday 27 November, Nishina, a 15 year old girl in Kunduz, Afghanistan, had her throat slit. Her murder was retaliatory – she and her family had refused a marriage proposal. She was killed by her cousin Mohammad Sadeq. He had proposed to her for his brother. Soon after the family said no, he returned…
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With the recent disappearance and subsequent murder of Irish woman Jill Meagher in Melbourne, never has the issue of violence committed against women been more important. Meagher was last seen on CCTV footage walking from drinks with work colleagues to the home she shared with her husband – a mere 700 metres away. A Coburg…
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A recent ad campaign in North America, entitled “Control Tonight”, and sponsored by The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) has once again turned rape into a pathetic blame game. The campaign, which aims to tackle teen binge drinking, has instead taken an uncouth stance that if you or your friends drink too much, you will…
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