This rage at the police is misdirected
EVEN Daniel Andrews has joined the chorus of condemnation of police calls for women to do more to make themselves safe, but they’re not who we should be angry at, writes Claire Sutherland.
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LIKE every woman in Australia right now, I’m livid.
I’m livid that it is not safe for me or any woman I know to walk alone at night.
I’m livid that the one thing that unites every single woman — regardless of age, income, politics, race or nationality — and separates us from almost every single man — is that we have reason to worry when we’re walking alone at night.
But what I’m not livid about is anything the police investigating the Eurydice Dixon case have said.
When Superintendent David Clayton urged people (read, women) to have “situational awareness” and Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper told a press conference they should be “mindful of their surroundings” and should call triple-0 if they had any concerns, it set off a storm of criticism.
There were accusations of victim-blaming and claims the police were ignoring the causes of violence against women and instead handing responsibility back to women themselves.
Even Premier Daniel Andrews put our a series of tweets on the issue.
And I get it, I do.
The collective eye-rolling at statements like these is because the vast majority of women already do those things, and much more to keep ourselves safe. But it’s not always enough.
And in no way is violence against a woman ever her fault. Jill Meagher was not murdered because she was walking home alone late at night in high heels after a few drinks.
She was murdered because a worthless, hateful and murderous misogynist and rapist — and all round waste of precious oxygen — ended her life.
But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take steps to make ourselves safer.
And the advice the police gave this week is nothing women don’t share among themselves.
We share tips with one another, walk each other to our cars, wait until our mates are inside the house before we drive off, and tell each other about how a fast-moving pointy elbow or the heavy metal clip on a dog-lead can be better weapons than a novice’s punch.
I’ve given my stepdaughter this advice, not because I think it’s her job to keep herself safe, but because we live in a world where she might need it one day.
(And yes, I am fully aware that men are also often the victims of random violence on the streets. And in most cases the perpetrator is — guess what — a man.
It’s not too much of a stretch of the imagination to conceive that maybe the kind of man who would do violence to a woman may also be the kind of man who might also throw a coward punch at a bloke.
If we make steps to stamp out this kind of behaviour, everybody wins.)
A woman should be able to walk stark-naked along the road in the middle of the night and be safe from anything but an indecent exposure fine. But we’re not.
And while we’re not, the police will keep giving warnings and advice, and I'll keep being livid and heeding it as best I can.
And treating the police as bearers of grim lessons, and not the enemy.
Claire Sutherland is the acting editor of RendezView.
Originally published as This rage at the police is misdirected