The debut novels of two forceful, intelligent journalists are bold, brash stories of powerful women at the top of their game. One details a horrific sexual crime, the other ugliness in the art world.
International student Aiia Maasarwe was murdered by a stranger in a public place. Is this common in Australia?
James Ross/AAP One
Murders of women in public spaces by strangers are not commonplace. And murders in Australia in general are on the decline. Compared to many countries, Australia is a safe place.
CCTV footage is often seen to be decisive – an authoritative and objective witness that can tell us ‘what really happened’.
AAP/Joe Castro
While potentially helpful in resolving extraordinary cases, an over-reliance on CCTV images to tell ‘the truth’ risks perpetuating certain myths regarding violence against women.
The release of CCTV footage of Melbourne woman Jill Meagher’s last moments via social media channels assisted in apprehending her killer.
AAP
Like many other advancements in communication technology, social media has a good, a bad and an ugly side when it comes to its relationship with crime, criminal justice and the law.
Research has shown that when sex work is illegal, street sex workers who are victims of sexual assault are reluctant to report it to police.
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There is a non-binding precedent in Victoria that allows judges to consider the victim’s sexual experience when passing sentence on a sex offender – but only when the “victim is a prostitute”.
Material in a new media law textbook was manually redacted with a black felt pen after it inadvertently breached a suppression order.
Mark Pearson
It is hard to inquire about a suppression order you do not know exists because discussion of its existence and contents has been suppressed.
The murder of Melbourne woman Jill Meagher sparked much social media comment, some of which threatened to compromise the criminal trial of the accused.
AAP/Facebook
This week, the Standing Council on Law and Justice (which constitutes the attorneys-general of the Commonwealth, states and territories) published a report on the impact of social media on juries. The…
People march through Brunswick in Melbourne after the murder of Jill Meagher.
AAP
The outpouring of emotion for murdered Irish woman Jill Meagher was intense and genuine. But why don’t we see similar displays for all female victims of violence? In Melbourne, an estimated 30,000 people…