The Canberra Times reported on a man who pled guilty to using an offensive weapon with an intent to commit an indictable offence, destroying or damaging property, and contravening the conditions of an AVO.
The article reported that CCTV footage played in court showed the man driving his car into a restaurant where the woman was standing, take a knife from his car, and reportedly said to her, “fuck you, I’m going to kill you”.
All these details are in the article The Canberra Times published under a headline that blamed the woman who was tormented by this man and erased the man who chose to torment her.
This kind of explicit victim-blaming, with all those undertones of “why didn’t she just leave” and “she must have liked it/asked for it/be lying about it” is exactly what violent men want. It’s the bedrock for belief that their choices to use violence can be blamed on women they terrorise.
This is ignorant, inaccurate, dangerous, and unethical journalism. The Canberra Times should know better.
Want to know more about the myths that contribute to this?
BOOKS
Jane Gilmore’s books, Fixed it: Violence and the Representation of Women in the Media, Teaching Consent, and Fairy Tale Princesses Will Kill Your Children are available now with free shipping inside Australia if you purchase from: www.JaneGilmore.com/books
PODCAST
Also available now is the Fairy Tale Princesses Will Kill Your Children Podcast in which Jane invites expert guest on the show to explore agism, women’s unpaid work, consent, power and silence, and coercive control. Find out more here.
FixedIt is an ongoing project to push back against the media’s constant erasure of violent men and blaming of innocent victims. If you would like to help fund it – even $5 a month makes a big difference – please consider becoming a Patron
Helplines
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