Women in London were already reeling from the revelation that in 2021 a Met police officer had abducted and murdered a young woman, Sarah Everard. Women pushed for answers about how the Met was going to clean house, and could only get “helpful safety tips” and similar platitudes.
Now it’s been revealed that another Met officer, 20-year veteran David Carrick, was a serial rapist. Several women politicians, including former Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman are pushing (unsuccessfully so far) for a thorough investigation into how previous complaints against Carrick went unaddressed, and for those who ignored the red flags to be fired.
One recent study of British police found that they typically believe rape myths and victim-blame — which might explain why the number of reported rapes that lead to a charge is less than 2%. Jonathan Freedland, writing in the Guardian, thinks the Met should be scrapped & rebuilt from scratch. (That last link includes an eye-opening image of two officers walking past a display of “bad apples” outside New Scotland Yard. 1,071plastic apples, matching the number of officers being investigated for violence against women & girls.)
As always, this diary is a group effort. Thanks to Meteor Blades, mettle fatigue, Angmar, SandraLLAP, elenacarlena and the WOW crew for links and discussion.
Violence:
I think it was Kate Manne who coined the terms “himpathy” and “herasure.” If she ever needed a good example, allow me to point to this week’s glowing obituary about a Utah man, somehow managing not to mention that he’d slaughtered his entire family — wife, mother-in-law, and five children — before turning the gun on himself. Now a new detail has emerged: there was an abuse investigation two years ago, and his oldest daughter (then 14) described him choking her, and expressed fear that he would kill her. And nothing was done.
The inquest regarding accused Plymouth mass shooter Jake Davison shows a familiar pattern: he expressed misogyny, and was fascinated with “incel” culture and serial killers. The 5 victims included Davison’s mother and a 3-year-old girl.
Ana Walsh disappeared on January 1st. Her husband Brian has now been arrested, after the discovery that on that same day he used his young son’s iPad to make multiple Google searches regarding how to dispose of a body.
Feminists vs. the war machine: a new age of international solidarity.
The rise of misogynists like Andrew Tate is always followed by articles blaming feminism and urging women to take better care of men’s feelings. Lexi McMenamin at Teen Vogue has some thoughts on this:
Cue the objectionable, misleading headlines reminding us to be kinder to men, to cater to boys, to basically go all-in on reinforcing patriarchy in hopes that it soothes humiliation and saves lives, that feminists are undervaluing men’s emotions and that’s why romantic relationships aren’t working, that personal writing is getting ruined by women’s self-victimizing tendencies…
“The algorithm isn’t some kind of abstract, preordained, divine creation. It’s basically the preferences of the guys who wrote it, made into a machine, churning away,” writes economist Umair Haque. “The fame of manfluencers is created. It’s not some kind of natural phenomenon reflecting some kind of innate desire in the male psyche.”
And what the algorithms appear to be taking advantage of isn’t as simple as boys feeling sad. In a recent interview with Vox’s “Today Explained” about Tate, Robert Lawson, a UK-based academic who studies how men communicate with each other online, cited Michael Kimmel’s concept of “aggrieved entitlement.” “If you feel entitled and you have not gotten what you expected, that is a recipe for humiliation,” Kimmel told The Guardian in a 2017 interview, commenting on the rise of “angry white men” during the Trump administration.
Reproductive Rights:
Here’s Jessica Valenti’s rundown of the current state of abortion in the US. She highlights and alarming bill proposed in Arkansas to criminally prosecute “causing the death of an unborn child,” starting from fertilization. While it excludes “accidental miscarriage,” it could include anything from a glass of wine to not following doctor’s orders to using birth control that prevents implantation. Note also that it’s very common for someone to engage in self-blame after a miscarriage, worrying that you exercised too much or not enough or did a stressful job. Say any of that out loud, and it can be used against you.
Italian pill abortion pain researchers advocate for women's right to terminate a pregnancy in the most comfortable setting possible", and with effective pain management.
NYC to provide free abortion pills at 4 clinics.
Maternal deaths are nearly 3 times higher in states with abortion bans.
Just days after Illinois enacted new abortion rights, an alleged arsonist set fire to a Planned Parenthood clinic. Here’s a petition demanding the DOJ crack down on this kind of domestic terrorism.
Workplace Issues:
Researchers find persistent gender gap among scientific editors, which has consequences for scientists trying to get published.
As we know, women are paid less than men for the same work, and work mostly done by women is vastly underpaid compared to work mostly done by men. Add to that: research finds: persistent low-wage earning in midlife is significantly associated with faster memory decline in older age.
Environment:
Feminist and climate activist Greta Thunberg briefly detained at a protest at a coal mine in Germany. (They really need all that muscle & equipment for that tiny little woman? I love her smile there.)
Why California’s climate & housing crises hit women harder.
Uncategorizable:
Five locations throughout the US have been renamed to remove a derogatory term for Indigenous women.
A chart of the top causes of death for girls and women by age group. For those under age 45, suicide and homicide are in the top 5.