It's about why the media goes insane over one specific person's death and seems to make sure that no one cares about anyone else who may have died in a similar circumstance. In this case, it's Jill Meagher (Wikipedia) versus Tracy Connelly. (Claire Jansen - Lipmag)
It's a common theme around great tragedies - baying for blood when a white young female is kidnapped/assaulted/murdered but remaining silent when a young woman of colour/different sexuality/nationality suffers the same. Many men are outraged that no one seems to care as much either when a bloke is killed in awful circumstances.
Hard truth is - there are way too many murders for everyone to share the spotlight equally. No, it's not right but it would be impossible to do no matter how good your intentions are. You'd spend more time speaking about death than being able to do anything about it.
So back to the article - it asks us why Jill had so much media exposure while Tracy did not. It asks why Tracy was labelled with 'prostitute' and 'sex worker' before mentioning afterwards what happened. The headline tells us all we could ever want to know about her. She's not a full fleshed out person, she's a warning for other girls to stay off the streets, a sordid mark on Melbourne's streets.
Meanwhile, Jill was happily married, had a respectable job and was a victim because she happened to be in the near vicinity of her killer. But then, Tracy was married too. In the wrong place at the wrong time. By the looks of things, they were having issues with housing which makes things a lot harder to 'get a different job' and by all reports, she was a lovely, hilarious and charming woman. All of that is wiped off the slate when the headlines say 'Prostitute killed' etc.
I think it has a lot to do with how society perceives woman and their sexuality. The world wants strippers, pole dancers, sexy outfits and casual sex but hate on women who show sexual security. Do it for a job and you are damned! Have sex with someone or else you're frigid or a tease. Don't have sex with someone and you're a whore and a slut. Confused yet?
I cringe every time I see a crime show or serial killer drama splashing around naked dead girls photos or footage.
Yes, sexual assaults are a common part of female murders and cowardly killers go for the 'easy' targets... but it's just gore porn. Tits out, blood on, fascinate the viewers while desensitising them.
I'm not fussed by blood or nudity, just by what it means when a butchered female body is so easily used on these shows but people groan and turn away when a man's buttock might be partially showing.
To be honest - this sucks. Both of these women should not be dead. However, I really don't think this should be a case of 'this matters more because this person is better' because there are two causes jumping out at us from these deaths. In a way, they're even kinda tied together. I believe that Jill gained a lot of news headlines because of who she was - but also because of the way she caught our attention.
First of all, she disappeared. Friends and family got her name and photo out there, CCTV footage was checked, social media was used to great effect. In the five following days, a suspect was found and horrible details about his past was revealed. Such as past rapes/abuse, faking his way through a rehabilitation process, and serving minimal amounts of jail time.
From ABC 'Killer had history of violent attacks, parole board failed to take him off streets.' by Sarah Farnsworth
Justice Geoffrey Nettle also lifted a suppression order, allowing details of Bayley's history to be revealed.
The 41-year-old Coburg man has an extensive history of rape and violence.
The Victorian Parole Board failed to cancel his parole after a violent assault and a judge's warning that the public needed to be protected from him.
Bayley's history of violent attacks on women spans more than two decades, the court was told.
Key points
- Adrian Bayley has pleaded guilty to killing Jill Meagher last year.
- A suppression order has been lifted, meaning Bayley's history can be revealed.
- He has served a total of 11 years in prison for the rape and attempted rape of eight women
- When he was 19 he raped two teenagers and attempted to rape another.
- He served time behind bars, but faked his way through a sex offender program to get early release.
- In 2000 he raped five prostitutes over a six-month period.
- He was jailed for a minimum of eight years over the attacks.
- In 2012 while on parole, he assaulted a man in Geelong.
- The ABC understands the attack did not raise alarm bells with the Parole Board, as it was not a sex crime.
- Bayley was on parole when he raped and murdered Ms Meagher in 2012.
When he was 19, he raped two teenagers in separate attacks.
One was a 16-year-old family friend. He also attempted to rape a 16-year-old hitch-hiker.
In June 1991 he was sentenced to his first stint behind bars.
He served just 22 months of a five-year sentence for sexual assault, later admitting he faked his way through a sex offenders' program to get early release.
In September 2000, he began what Judge Tony Duckett described as a horrendous wave of crimes against St Kilda sex workers, raping five prostitutes over a six-month period.
Bayley was jailed for a minimum of eight years for trapping his victims in his vehicle and repeatedly raping them.
The crime spree prompted the judge to give the ominous warning that society needed to be protected from him.
"I'm going to jail for a long time... I hope they bring back the death penalty before I get sentenced. I have no life left.
"They should have the death penalty for people like me.
"How many chances does a person need? They should never have let me out."
Earlier this year, the Victorian Government admitted existing laws had failed and tougher measures were needed.
The Government is introducing legislation to ensure people who re offend while on parole will automatically have their parole cancelled or reassessed.
There will be a mandatory cancellation of parole for sex and violent offenders who are convicted of the same type of offence while on release.
Those last bits are particularly disturbing to someone like me who assumes that courts and jails have the public's best interests at heart and want to protect us. I had no idea that legislation did not already cover re offenders and that parole was A-okay until now. What else don't I know about our law system?
Why was it okay for him to get early release for a previous crime, to go on to a crime spree against sex workers and only receive a slightly larger sentence than his original stint? Why didn't an assault on a man while on parole ring alarm bells? From the article, the ABC says that it understands that it didn't because the assault was not of a sexual nature. Golly gee, violence in a parolee? That shouldn't raise any alarms now should it? It's not like he was violent to any one else he..... oh, wait.
THIS is why Meagher is hitting the news more than most. She is a shining example of someone that the justice system could have protected and ultimately failed. Having her in the spotlight puts pressure on the lawmakers to step up their game because the whole nation is watching with beady eyes. Hopefully more investigating will occur and these sort of things won't happen anymore.
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