Why don’t men who murder women make headlines? Why does the media sway the title to focus on the victimized instead of the victimizer?
It would seem publications that do this, are subconsciously (or perhaps consciously?) sustaining the widely held belief that women are responsible for the crimes committed against them. When a woman is raped, she is often blamed because of what she was wearing, the time the crime took place in some weird and twisted countries, for provoking a man by being sexy. These justifications skip over the plain simple bottom line:
Someone CHOSE to rape.
Period.
So when crimes against women occur and newspapers decide to report them, the question begs, why are the victims the main subject of headlines but the violent aggressors aren't?
It would seem publications that do this, are subconsciously (or perhaps consciously?) sustaining the widely held belief that women are responsible for the crimes committed against them. When a woman is raped, she is often blamed because of what she was wearing, the time the crime took place in some weird and twisted countries, for provoking a man by being sexy. These justifications skip over the plain simple bottom line:
Someone CHOSE to rape.
Period.
So when crimes against women occur and newspapers decide to report them, the question begs, why are the victims the main subject of headlines but the violent aggressors aren't?
This focus on the victim extends to children as well. Why are children described in the media as "having sex" or being in "a sexual relationship" with an adult? Children, by definition, cannot have sex with adults. It's not sex, it's rape and it's sexual abuse. There is no gray area here. Most important, sex with children IS A CRIME.
No one who has been raped or murdered has ever said anything, worn anything, done anything to cause the crime committed against them. There is only one thing that causes rape or murder and that is the decision to commit rape or murder. Nothing else.
Publicly released crime stats will tell you a lot about the victims. Their age, where they were when they were attacked, their relationship to the offender, their gender, sometimes even their occupation. The same information could be available for offenders, but it’s rarely part of the public release. The process to retrieve offenders information can include contacting the police, waiting however many weeks for the info, and paying a fee to obtain said stats.
With all this, the info is often lacking.
No one who has been raped or murdered has ever said anything, worn anything, done anything to cause the crime committed against them. There is only one thing that causes rape or murder and that is the decision to commit rape or murder. Nothing else.
Publicly released crime stats will tell you a lot about the victims. Their age, where they were when they were attacked, their relationship to the offender, their gender, sometimes even their occupation. The same information could be available for offenders, but it’s rarely part of the public release. The process to retrieve offenders information can include contacting the police, waiting however many weeks for the info, and paying a fee to obtain said stats.
With all this, the info is often lacking.
Journalists and editors have a responsibility to the truth. Headlines that blame victims for violence enacted against them is not journalism, it’s deception. The ideology that women and children are responsible for the violence committed against them by men is not only absurd, but dangerous.
Here's how it usually works.
John raped Mary.
John is the subject and the focus of the sentence (John committed the rape), Mary is the object (the rape was done to her).
Mary was raped by John.
John is still the subject, but now Mary is the focus of the sentence; John is trailing off at the end.
Mary was raped.
Mary is now the subject and the only focus of the sentence; John has vanished from the discussion.
Mary is a rape victim.
Here's how it usually works.
John raped Mary.
John is the subject and the focus of the sentence (John committed the rape), Mary is the object (the rape was done to her).
Mary was raped by John.
John is still the subject, but now Mary is the focus of the sentence; John is trailing off at the end.
Mary was raped.
Mary is now the subject and the only focus of the sentence; John has vanished from the discussion.
Mary is a rape victim.
Not only is Mary now the only subject and focus of the sentence, the rape has become who she is, not what was done to her. Her very identity has become the cause of the rape. John is no longer involved in what happened.
Violence against women.
Violence is the subject, women are the object, and the perpetrators of the violence aren’t part of the discussion.
Jane Gilmore has spent years fixing these headlines with the FixedIt Project.
She redirects focus and blame in headlines to perpetrators, NOT victims. By changing these headlines, she's exposing bias and exposing how headlines are spun by media.
She redirects focus and blame in headlines to perpetrators, NOT victims. By changing these headlines, she's exposing bias and exposing how headlines are spun by media.
Donations are highly encouraged to help Jane keep the project going. Funding will help her provide daily updates, international publications, more public speaking and will help her finish her FixedIt book.
You can Donate HERE
It's beyond important to change the way men’s violence against women, children and other men is reported and understood.
By placing blame where it's accurately due and not subliminally programming people to blame victims, we might be able to reduce the amount of victims in general.
Here some examples of the FixedIt Project at work:
FixedIt: Violent abuse of women and children is more important than property damage"Arsonist". Because a violent, abusive man who nearly killed a woman and two children is defined by damage he did to property.
This report on a man charged with torture, rape and assault after allegedly holding a woman against her will for three days.
Police raided the residence last Friday, before charging the 26-year-old with torture, possession of drug utensils and two counts each of rape, assault occasioning bodily harm and common assault.
It is alleged he knew the victim and held her against her will between October 9 and October 12.
Despite the horrific nature of the charges, the man accused of these crimes is erased from the headlines, he simply doesn’t exist. The victim of the crime is the subject of the sentence.
This report is on a man who appeared in court after he allegedly stabbed, choked, kicked and punched his partner was a comprehensive article that detailed the alleged crimes and quoted police on the context of increasingly severe domestic violence in the region.
But, yet again, the headline completely erases the alleged perpetrator from the story. He’s invisible. In all honesty, the headline doesn't mention if it's a "he" at all. He hasn’t yet been tried so editors do have to be careful about not assuming guilt, but they can and should report that he was arrested and in court. They can and should be clear that police do not think this woman assaulted herself or that some indiscernible entity is accused of committing the assault.
FixedIt: Murder is not how you end a marriage
Posted on November 7, 2017 by Jane Gilmore
Here's a reporting on a man who murdered his ex wife and her new boyfriend.
I don’t think there’s any need for commentary here, the fix is pretty much self explanatory.
FixedIt: Murder is not how you end a marriage
Posted on November 7, 2017 by Jane Gilmore
Here's a reporting on a man who murdered his ex wife and her new boyfriend.
I don’t think there’s any need for commentary here, the fix is pretty much self explanatory.
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