Letter to the Editor

Before he resigned as Victoria’s police commissioner last December, Ken Lay spoke about men “needing to own” the crisis of violence against women – including the men within his own police force. “We are constantly misapprehending the nature of violence,” he said.

“When a woman is jeered, groped, bashed or raped I want you to consider the man who did it, and the culture which encouraged it. I want you to consider why we so ardently place the emphasis on the woman – why was she there? what was she wearing? – rather than on the man’s indecent entitlement, grubbiness and criminality.”

So how would Lay respond upon hearing the take home message of Mayor Kevin Mack in relation to an alleged assault on a 17 year old girl when walking over a well lit foot bridge off the main street of Albury at 6:30pm at night?

“The message is that men and women should never walk alone after dark, they need to take ownership of their safety.”

“It’s only unsafe because people are willing to do the wrong thing,”

“There are always people willing to take advantage of situations."

Here is what I have a problem with,  from my humble observations  it  has become standard practice to play into blaming the victim.

Why was she walking alone at night?
How could she of taken "ownership" of her own safety?
It shows you can never be too careful!

Another recent example of this were the comments made by Victorian homicide squad head, detective inspector Mick Hughes, following the brutal and seemingly random killing of 17-year-old schoolgirl, Masa Vukotic, in broad daylight while she was out walking as part of her usual exercise routine. Hughes’ advice to the community?

“I suggest to people, particularly females, [that] they shouldn’t be alone in parks,”
“I’m sorry to say that this is the case. We just need to be a little more careful, a little more vigilant.”

“We encourage females to walk together,” Hughes said, adding that it was up to women to take “reasonable precautions” to protect their own safety.

It is difficult not to laugh when viewing the advice on Victoria Police’s own website that advises women living alone that they can “create the impression of a male housemate by asking a friend or relative to speak on their message bank service”.

When someone with considerable influence and power chooses to perpetuate myths about what puts women in danger and who is to blame for that, their status means people are listening.

Here's the thing, Language is powerful and can be the catalyst for great social change. I believe changing the term "King Hit" to "Coward's Punch" is a great example of this.

As a mother of a young daughter whom I do not want to grow up feeling afraid and who at present is more vulnerable because of her gender, I feel compelled to respond;

It does not matter what the situation is, how well lit or remote the area is, what time of day or night it is, whether she is intoxicated or not, whether she is living alone, what she is wearing, or how she is perceived by others....

Violence against women is unacceptable and should NEVER be tolerated.

So, I would like to call on the words of my best friend as I end this post. What should Mayor Kevin Mack's response have been as a leader and male role model within our local community?

Instead of urging people not to walk at night alone, how about we urge men not to rape women.

(Letter sent to the Border Mail) in response to be-aware-of-safety-mack-urges-walkers

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/20/masa-vukotic-had-the-right-to-be-in-a-park-alone-victoria-police-must-apologise-for-saying-she-didnt?