Ahead of the vigils planned for tonight for the Melbourne comedian Eurydice Dixon, who was raped and murdered in Princes Park last week, the small tribute left behind in the park has been vandalised.
According to the ABC the graffiti was spotted during a patrol of the park at 4am. Firefighters were called to the site and the offensive symbols were removed.
The collection of floral tributes was not disturbed but a number of items are missing from the arrangement.
The vigil tonight is still set to go ahead, with over thirty thousand people expressing an interest online and attending in person.
The vigil has been named ‘Reclaim Princes Park’, focusing the gathering on the reclamation of a beloved public space as a safe place for all to enter and in protest of such a horrible crime being committed. Similar meetings have been planned around the country. Set to kick off at 6pm, the gathering intends to hold a quiet reflection and peaceful resistance in solidarity with Dixon and other victims of violence.
In addition to mourning the loss of Dixon, the members of the women’s equality team at the Trades Hall Council who organised the event, hope to send a message to everyone about women’s empowerment and rights.
In the wake of two young women being murdered last week, with Sydney woman Qi Yu allegedly killed by her male housemate, questions about the safety of young women in Australia have been raised.
Law enforcement took to the media after Dixon’s murder to give women advice on staying safe and aware. A public outcry against this response resulted, with figures ranging from the Premier of Victoria to The Good Place‘s Jameela Jamil condemning the rhetoric used by the police.
So tired of being afraid for mine and my female friends’ safety all the time. In Ubers. Car parks. On lonely streets even in the day time. Even in our own houses when we’re alone. When will the messaging to BOYS enter schools and newspapers, rather than us always being warned? https://t.co/KAmTlPLA6J
— Jameela Jamil ? (@jameelajamil) June 16, 2018
As another young life is cut short, @Lisa_Wilkinson ask if it’s time for the advice around women’s safety to change. #TheProjectTV pic.twitter.com/ifiXRLHdTr
— The Project (@theprojecttv) June 15, 2018
Just this year 31 women have been murdered, with 28 of those at the hands of men, and yet it falls to the women to “stay vigilant”.
In the statement by law enforcement there was no mention of the actions that men have carried out or suggestions to change their behaviour. Once again women were blamed for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, instead of focusing on the violent behaviour from men that takes the lives of women every year.
Online the arguments continue, with Mark Latham unable to help himself or see the bigger picture in all of this.
No man could possibly hate women as much as you hate men.
Totally obsessive, totally sick.— Real Mark Latham (@RealMarkLatham) June 17, 2018
Images from the scene and the careful language used by media point to the “lewd symbol” outlined on the grass in thick white paint being the twelve-year-old idiot’s graffiti of choice, and we’re not talking about the Stussy S.
Let’s be clear about what’s happened here. In a week where thousands of people are trying to have a serious conversation about respect for women and their right to safety in public spaces, someone (or a few someones) decided it would be funny to draw a giant dick and balls on the site where a woman who was raped and murdered. They planned it ahead of time, and then went and did it.
And some people are still wondering why women feel our fear isn’t taken seriously.