In December 2018, Grace Millane died at the age of 21 years old after being strangled. The man responsible for her death claimed it was a result of "violent sex". Rather than the media focusing on the doings of the man, as he was found to be responsible for murdering the 21 year old girl, they covered the sexuality of the victim. Famous articles such as the New York Post and the London Evening Standards were titled, "Killed backpacker Grace Millane was into choking, BDSM: court evidence" or "Grace Millane was a member of BDSM dating sites and asked ex-partner to choke her during sex, court hears". A victim of murder soon became blamed and seen as responsible for her death. The media chose not to focus upon the fact the man possessed a suitcase at the time to get rid of her body. They chose not to focus upon the fact he set up another Tinder date during the same time period she was dead and present in his room. Her behavior seemed more significant to the media than that of the murderer.
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The fact victim blaming has a presence in our society is shocking, as this behavior has been persistent throughout history. We noticed similar behavior occur in the OJ Simpson case in class, where many believed Nicole Brown was responsible for the beating she received from OJ Simpson. One of the jurors stated in her interview, "Let me tell you, I lose respect for any woman that take an a** whooping when she don't have to. Don't stay in the water if it's over your head -- you'll drown." This proves that even at the level of the decision makers in court, victim blaming can dominate the viewpoints of those in power.
https://www.vox.com/2019/11/21/20976064/grace-millane-death-new-zealand
https://www.bustle.com/articles/167289-nicole-brown-is-shamed-for-staying-with-oj-simpson-by-oj-made-in-america-commentators-which
I also agree that Grace should not be blamed in this case. I think that people need to research all the evidence in the case before they make a judgement. Victim blaming needs to be stopped in society.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on this one. The fact that the media and public get so blinded by the information of the case they tend to forget that a female or male had been killed in the process, and that is something that needs to be changed. Everyone is into their own stuff, but there is a fine line between right and wrong, and what that man did even if she asked for it was wrong. He could've stopped, there was no gun pointed at his head, or someone telling him to continue, he continued even when he knew that he could kill her. That is wrong, and should've been focused on in the case, not the victims fantasy
ReplyDeleteThis case reminds me of both the Steubenville case(Roll Red Roll) and the Ferguson case. In Steubenville, the town's toxic masculine culture built around high school football led to victim blaming and a desire to believe the boys were innocent. Many people wondered why the girl had gotten so drunk that she was unaware of her surroundings or why she chose to go with the boys instead of staying with her girl friends when they should've been wondering how the boys could do such vulgar things to a girl who clearly wasn't in a state to consent. This case also reminds me of the Ferguson case because the media tried to portray Mike Brown as a robber to try to distract from the fact that he was murdered in the street by a police officer who ultimately faced no federal charges. Victim blaming distracts us from the true injustice and perpetuates a culture that protects the people causing harm to our society.
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