Our Unsafe Streets !

A murder on the streets of Melbourne caused a huge number of total strangers to bring flowers and create a memorial to a young victim who was robbed of her life in an unprovoked attack.  Aiia  Maasarwe was from Israel and was here on a student visa.   She had attended a gig at the Comics Lounge in north Melbourne and caught a tram home to her residential suburb.   On the short walk through a shopping centre to her home she was talking on the phone to her sister in Israel when a 20 year old man intervened.   The details will be part of the prosecution when he faces court but the outcome is a charge of rape and murder.

This hideous crime will refresh memories of the rape and murder of Jill Meagher who lost her life in similar circumstances on a Melbourne street.  She was returning alone from a night out with friends when she was accosted by a stranger, dragged into a dark lane and raped and murdered.  Her killer is serving a life sentence in prison.

Many people will compare these crimes to the death of Anita Cobby in Sydney some years previously.   Another young woman innocently walking home late at night and dragged into a car by a bunch of hoodlums driving around seeking a woman to abduct.

The men convicted of these crimes pose a severe problem for the prison authorities  charged with keeping them safe.  Their fellow prisoners have wives, sister, daughters and such a killer is both ostracised and marked for retribution.  Solitary confinement may be necessary to ensure their safety in the prison system.

We know little about that twenty year old man accused of raping and murdering Aiia Maasarwe beyond the fact that he is a rapper and is of Aboriginal background.  No doubt his life history will be closely examined by both the prosecution and the defence when he appears in court, but the fact remains that hormonal impulses caused a young man to think he could force sex on a stranger and the force necessary to achieve that objective caused her death.

That is a fear all women face when they walk alone on a deserted street at night - and on some occasions they may be accosted in broad daylight. Fortunately, death is a rare outcome but most women can remember experiences where they felt distinctively uncomfortable with events that were unfolding nearby.  Perhaps someone seeming to be following them, or just the way a passing stranger took notice of their appearance.   At such times the fate of Aiia Maasarwe, Jill Meager and Anita Cobby come to mind.

While it is reassuring that while untold Australian women end their journeys in safety the risk of attack will never be entirely eliminated.   Civilized men do not attack and rape women, but there will always be a few with mental abnormalities or who are affected by drugs or alcohol.  That is simply a fact of life and women would be wise to practice defensive safeguards.

Demanding safety on the streets is not as practical as taking a final cab ride to avoid an area thought to pose a danger.  Realism is accepting where danger can be avoided and making plans accordingly.