In the early hours of January 16, exchange student Aiia Maasarwe was making her way home in Melbourne, talking to her sister on FaceTime. By now you probably know how this story ended – and if you don’t, you can probably guess. She didn’t make it home. A 20-year-old man has now been charged with rape and murder.
The detail I can’t get out of my head is that Aiia was on her phone. Calling somebody while walking home is one of the most common things women do to stay safe; the idea being that it’ll be obvious we have someone who cares about us and knows where we are to any potential attacker.
How many times have I called my mum as I cross a field to make it home after dark? How many times have I been on the line with a friend, listening out for the sound of her keys to tell me that she made it home? Were none of us even a little bit safer?
Hundreds of Australians dressed in black gathered in Melbourne on the steps of Victorian State Parliament on January 18 for a silent vigil in memory of Aiia Maasarwe.
Aiia Maasarwe was FaceTiming her sister.
Eurydice Dixon was texting her partner.
Jill Meagher had just called her brother.
And yet the messages we hear from authorities over and over again are that we need to keep ourselves safe.
They tell us we should make sure you have your phone on you. But look at what’s happened.
Don’t walk home at night and stay in well lit area. But we aren’t safe walking during daylight hours either.
Make sure you take a well-used route, but also make sure you change up your routine so nobody learns it.
Carry your keys as a weapon. Don’t walk too close to a row of parked cars. Always be alert. Don’t wear clothes that are too revealing. Make eye contact with people as they pass by. Don’t get too drunk. Tell the Uber driver you’re going to your boyfriend’s house. Wear a fake engagement ring if you work in a bar. Never sleep with the window open if you live on the ground floor. Put men’s shoes outside your front door if you live alone.
We do. And we still end up dead.
We travel. On an 86 tram full of flowers, receiving more at each & every stop. To Bundoora. Where Aiia Maasarwe should have made it home from safely. #AiiaMaasarwe pic.twitter.com/zfEd1wnddY
— Natasha Mitchell?? (@natashamitchell) January 18, 2019
There is no silver bullet solution that women can use to guarantee they make it home. The only way for this to end is for the people behind these attacks to stop murdering women, regardless of the safety precautions they may or may not have taken. It’s with the heaviest heart that I say I don’t hold out much hope for that.
Seventy-nine women and twenty-two children were murdered in Australia in 2018 – far more than the generally accepted statistic of one a week. It took just over two weeks for Aiia’s death to begin the tally for 2019. There are more to come.
Aiia’s name isn’t the last one we’ll hear. Soon enough, we’ll have another name of another woman who met a brutal end etched into our consciousness. I wonder what she’s doing right now? I wonder if I know her? It’s only a matter of time.