The ABC reported that a 22 year old man, accused of raping three different women when they were teenagers, was found guilty of raping one of the women and sentenced to five years in prison. He was found not guilty of raping one of the other women and the jury was unable to reach a verdict on the third woman.
This style of reporting rape used to be very common. “Laneway rapist”, “Tinder rapist” Taxi rapist” etc. The person who was raped is erased from the story and replaced with the location of the rape. It was a means of minimising and depersonalising men’s violence against women, which rested on erasing the perpetrator, erasing the vicim or erasing the crime. This kind of reporting, which was once ubiquitous, has become less common in recent years, which makes it all the more disappointing when it does happen.
Over the last few months the ABC has been doing some truly outstanding work on reporting the complex causes and effects of men’s violence against women. They’ve also put in significant work on improving their crime and court reporting. That this is unusual does not make it ok.
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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
1800 RESPECT
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