On April 13, Cheng Yixuan, a 27-year-old Chinese female student, fell under the knife of the murderer.
She was killed in a busy shopping mall in Sydney's eastern suburbs. It is not only a gathering place for tourists, but also a major place for leisure and entertainment for nearby residents. The nearest resident only needs to walk 200 meters across a road to reach it.
No one could have imagined that on an ordinary Saturday afternoon, a middle-aged man in a tracksuit, looking unremarkable, armed with a thirty-centimeter knife, would rush into the unsuspecting crowd.
According to Chinese media reports, Ms. Hong, a Chinese tourist who was shopping at the time, recalled that she had no idea what was going on at first. Suddenly, I heard a scream, and then I saw someone running outside...... From above, I saw a woman on the third floor lying in a pool of blood with a chest injury...... I thought someone had fallen from the building," she said.
The murderer, Joel Cauch, was intercepted by a passer-by in white using tools as he went upstairs
It wasn't until Ms. Hong hid in the store with the crowd that someone told her in Chinese that someone had killed someone with a knife.
Later, looking at the report, Ms. Hong found that the trajectory of the perpetrator was highly overlapping with her shopping route that day. "If I delay paying at a store for a few more minutes, I'll collide with the killer," she says.
Ms. Hong was lucky, because as the details of the case came to light, the police discovered that the assailant from Queensland, Joel Cauch, did not kill at random, and seemed to deliberately avoid men and attack women.
The attack was the worst mass violence in Australia since 2017, killing six and injuring 12, mostly women, including Dawn Singleton, the daughter of an Australian billionaire. The only male killed was a mall security guard.
Sixth-place beneficiary
Even in a country like Australia, which is pushing for gender equality, there is a serious problem of gender-based violence.
In the past two years, the frequent incidents of gender-based violence in the newspapers have brought to light the insecurity of women in public spaces and intimate relationships.
Women are the target
According to video footage from witnesses at the scene, the perpetrators of the attack did not appear to dare or were inclined to engage in a head-on confrontation with the man.
When the assailant tried to take the escalator to another floor to commit the attack, a white man successfully forced him back by waving the elevator bollard; when the assailant rushed to the family of five, the muscular male owner chose to force himself in front of the family, which made the assailant slow down and finally chose to turn away; even if the male collided head-on with the assailant and fell down in a panic, the assailant did not attack the other party.
Eventually, Amy Scott, a policewoman who was on duty nearby, was the first to arrive at the scene, shouting "put down the knife" to the assailant, and the moment the latter stabbed her, she decisively shot and killed him.
As for whether the perpetrators actually targeted on the basis of gender, NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said: "It's obvious to me, and it's obvious to other officers, it's an investigative direction. ”
Amy Scott, a policewoman on duty
In the face of heated public discussion, the local police said that the investigation process of the case could take weeks or even months, but they confirmed to the public that the perpetrator had a history of mental illness and ruled out the possibility of a terrorist attack.
It is unclear why the assailant targeted the woman, but his father, Andrew, said in an interview that his son may have been "angry that he couldn't find a girlfriend" and revealed that Cauch was "not socially friendly" and "obsessed with knives."
In short, six innocent lives were cruelly deprived by him in this way. Among them are Chinese students studying at the University of Sydney, Dawn Singleton, who has just bought a wedding dress and is ready to get married, and Ash Good, a doctor who has just become a mother and is taking her daughter shopping.
Witnesses said that Good, who was seriously injured, pressed on his child's wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding, and handed over his daughter to passers-by while he still had strength. In the end, the nine-month-old baby girl was saved.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the case "shocking the nation" and called for a full investigation into the attack and "safety lessons" to be learned. At the same time, flags were lowered at half-mast in many places in Australia to mourn the victims, and people spontaneously went to lay flowers near the scene of the incident.
In such a heavy atmosphere, the problem of women's insecurity in public places is once again brought to the fore.
insecurity
Women's insecurity in public spaces is not a sequel of violent attacks in public, but an issue that has long been integrated into daily life.
Back in 2016, Australia launched a national survey on women's safety. Data shows that a third (30 per cent) of young Australian women aged 15 to 19 say they avoid public places after dark, and around 23 per cent think it is unsafe to travel alone on public transport.
How to improve women's sense of security in public space has always been a gender issue that the Australian government attaches great importance to. For example, women are involved in decision-making on how to improve public spaces, such as changing the space of daily life, setting up public toilets, removing fixed walls, and cleaning graffiti.
Such efforts have also brought practical feedback. According to the annual Global Wealth Migration Review released by consulting firm New World Wealth, Australia has repeatedly topped the list of the safest countries for women in the world in recent years.
Indeed, many Australians consider themselves to live in a safe country. After all, Australia has strict rules governing firearms and knives. Every time there is violence like the Sydney mall attack, people realise that there is still a long way to go to address gender-based violence.
In fact, gender-based violence occurs not only in public spaces, but also in undetectable corners of society, and is rooted in widespread gender inequality and cultural norms.
Last October, also in Sydney, 21-year-old water polo coach Lily James was brutally murdered by fellow hockey coach Paul Tijgerson, 24. On the night of the incident, the two met at school and had an argument. Paul then followed Lily into the gymnasium bathroom. When police found Lily in the gymnasium bathroom, she was dead, with multiple blows to the head in place.
The two have reportedly had a brief relationship before.
Studies have pointed out that when mainstream news stories in Australia report on violence against women, they rarely discuss it in the broader social context. As a result, one case after another is shaped into an isolated incident, or an "accident".
The reality beneath the iceberg is this: according to the latest data provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics last year, 39 per cent of Australian women over the age of 15 have experienced violence, which is comparable to that of men, but the proportion of intimate partner or family violence (27 per cent) and sexual violence (22 per cent) is much higher than that of men. Many organizations and academics have described gender-based violence as a "national crisis".
Such figures make many people wonder why such acts of violence continue to increase in a country that is constantly updating relevant legal measures and improving social security mechanisms?
Australia has a clear plan for how to tackle gender-based violence.
In 2010, the Australian Government launched the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and Their Children, detailing goals and strategies to reduce domestic and gender-based violence from 2010 to 2022 and establishing a long-term policy framework for preventing related violence.
In addition to the national programme, Australian state and territory governments have adopted a range of laws and regulations aimed at providing better protection and strengthening responses to domestic and sexual violence.
In May 2022, Anthony Albanese, the leader of the Australian Labor Party, became the new prime minister. Compared to the Liberal-National coalition, Labour is more progressive on gender issues. In October of the same year, the Australian government updated its national plan with a new 10-year national target to end gender-based violence, which is an ambitious ambition.
However, regardless of which party is in power, the differences in gender policy are no longer as pronounced as they were in the past, because neoliberalism has gradually blurred party differences.
In the mid-80s, neoliberal political economy began to sweep capitalist countries, and the emphasis on market liberalization, privatization of public services, and the reduction of direct government intervention in economic activities undoubtedly influenced the way a country dealt with gender issues.
At that time, with the coming to power of the Hawke government, Australia's gender equality legislation also began to shift from social liberalism to neoliberalism. Among them, the Sex Discrimination Act of 1984, which can be regarded as the result of the heyday of social liberalism in Australia, has failed in the following decades in several attempts to improve the effectiveness of the legislation.
When the scales, which had been inclined towards equality, begin to tip in favor of freedom, the impact is all-encompassing.
In the neoliberal context, efficiency takes precedence, which does not mean that gender equality initiatives are not focused, but productivity considerations are becoming increasingly prominent in determining priorities.
One of the reasons why increasing women's labor force participation is widely accepted is that it has a positive impact on productivity gains and economic growth. This positive effect has now become a powerful tool for "financing" gender equality policies.
The win-win situation of women's employment and economic growth has undoubtedly brought about social progress, but the structural problems of gender have not been shaken. Women do enter the labor market, but in the workplace, the "glass ceiling" is still difficult to break, and the challenges are still enormous.
Behind this decision-making is the neoliberal government's success in shifting the responsibility for managing fertility and economic efficiency to the individual. This emphasis on individual agency and self-management also partly explains why gender-based violence remains rampant, as it succeeds in personalizing social issues.
In 2022, women were more likely to be injured than men in the incidence of cohabiting partner violence, emotional abuse, and financial abuse in Australia
As for women's insecurity in public space, British scholar Jill Valentine pointed out in The Geography of Women's Fear that out of fear, women make compromises when using public space every day. To avoid potential threats and insecurity, women often have to change their behavior, route choices, and activity times.
This proactive "strategic choice" is widespread because raising awareness of self-safety and avoiding danger in public spaces is in many cases seen as the responsibility of individual women, rather than a shared responsibility of society.
This is why when sexual assault occurs, there are still remarks in society that emphasize that women should try to avoid walking alone, and even ask to pay attention to dress "appropriately".
The visibility of Nordic paradoxes and violence
Perhaps the challenge to this dangerous tendency lies in the fact that the government should not be too "free" in gender-related matters.
But the problem is that even in countries with a greater emphasis on the role of government, it does not mean that gender-based violence can be said goodbye completely.
The Nordic countries are widely regarded as models of gender equality. According to the World Economic Forum's (WEF) Global Gender Equality Index 2023, Iceland ranks first in the world and retains its top spot for the 14th consecutive year. Finland and Norway ranked second and third, respectively. In Sweden, there is a very high percentage of women represented within the government and in parliament, and there have even been gender-balanced cabinets on several occasions.
Unlike most capitalist countries, the Nordic countries have tended to push for gender equality through strong government intervention, comprehensive legislative measures and extensive social support systems.
Global Gender Equality Index published in WEF2023
It is widely believed that a high level of gender equality also leads to a safer situation for women. However, there is an incredible phenomenon in the Nordic countries, with a high incidence of violence against women and a high level of gender equality, which is clearly contradictory, and this phenomenon is called the "Nordic paradox" by the academic community, and has not been explained by a consensus.
In 2014, the European Union's Institute for Fundamental Rights surveyed that despite the Nordic countries having the highest gender equality scores, the lifetime incidence of physical or sexual violence against women was also the highest among the European Union. Denmark and Latvia ranked first, with 60% of women experiencing gender-based violence, followed by Finland. A 2023 report by the Lloyd's Register also shows that Nordic women experience the highest rates of violence and harassment in the workplace in the world, with Finland (48%), Iceland (42%), Denmark (42%), Norway (42%) and Sweden (37%), much higher than the global average of 21%.
Some scholars have interpreted this violence as a backlash from the gender equality movement and other unintended risks that followed, or that the Nordic alcohol consumption patterns exacerbate violence against women, or that there is a disconnect between policies that promote gender equality and the reality of maintaining gender power imbalances. Therefore, some have questioned whether the Nordic model has failed.
The backlash theory is prevalent in academic circles, arguing that demands for equality may make gender conflict visible and lead to more friction, conflict, daily power negotiations, and violations.
Nearly half of the members of the Norwegian Cabinet are women
Further, violence may not be "necessary" to maintain gender privilege when the gender hierarchy is not disturbed. When the patriarchal nature becomes less apparent, resorts to violence against women may be resorted to. As has become popular in Europe and the United States in recent years, involuntary singleness (Incel) is believed to be the right to take away their mating power, which has led to widespread misogyny. According to the U.S. FBI, from 2015 to 2020, at least 50 murders in North America were directly linked to Incel's incitement.
Back in Northern Europe, does a high level of gender equality really mean a higher level of gender conflict? Not necessarily, but the more likely reality is that women's fears and experiences are seen and recognized.
In 2021, a quantitative study based in southern Sweden showed that the Nordic paradox reflects a point where the level of disclosure and visibility of gender-based violence is generally higher in Sweden than in other societies. In fact, due to the differences in laws and cultural norms in different countries, the definition, discussability, and recognition of violent crimes are also different.
In any case, there has to be a beginning, and even if in some cases the steps are not very big, the action is still meaningful and there is still value in appealing to the public discussion. Source: South Wind Window