more on Reeva Steenkamp's death - and something YOU can do

I receive a weekly action alert from Miss Representation, the folks who made a wonderful documentary about ways in which the media misrepresents women.  They have a lot of excellent information about what's happening around the world and terrific ideas about how to make a difference.  I've copied their more recent letter here so you can get a sense of it, and because it's all about Reeva Steenkamp, whom Shirley wrote about in the previous blog post.  I love letters like this because they not only make me aware of issues, they also give me very specific actions I can take to make a difference.  I hope that YOU will decide to do something THIS WEEK to help end violence against women.  Perhaps you'll decide to write your paper as it says below.  If you live in the Richmond, VA, area, here's the info for writing the Editor of the Richmond Times-Dispatch:

Editorial/Opinion:

Letters from Times-Dispatch readers, intended for publication may be sent by fax (804-819-1216), mail (Editor of the Editorial Pages, Box 85333, Richmond, VA 23293), or e-mail letters@timesdispatch.com.

Dear Susan,

Yesterday we joined the One Billion Rising global day of action to call for an end to violence against women and girls. From Afghanistan to the United States, it was a truly inspiring 24 hours of women and men worldwide expressing unbridled hope for a better tomorrow - for all of us.

Yet yesterday also brought the sad news that Reeva Steenkamp, a South African model who campaigned against violence against women herself, was tragically murdered, allegedly by her boyfriend Oscar Pistorius - the celebrated Olympic runner. The subsequent media coverage has been appalling, with many media outlets plastering images of Steenkamp modeling underwear next to headlines about her murder - using her as a sexualized object to attract readers, even after death. Furthermore, publications as prestigious as The New York Times have decided to focus on the "adrenaline-fueled" life of Pistorius and the loss of a sports hero, rather than the woman whose life was truly taken.

Unfortunately, our work to shift the way society addresses violence against women is far from over. In the United States this week, the Senate passed the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), and did so with the support of every single woman present - a bipartisan group of Republicans and Democrats. It may not be a surprise that all 22 votes against VAWA came from Republican men. This is the second time in less than a year that the Senate has passed VAWA, but there is growing concern that the House of Representatives will once again block its passage as they did in late 2012. If you live in the United States, you can use your citizen's voice to contact your local representative and demand respect for women today.  (Susan's note:  if your representative is Eric Cantor, he asks that you note which issue you're addressing - he doesn't even have a category for Women's issues - I pointed this out to him and ask that he remedy that since he'll be getting a LOT of letters from us women in the near future.  I think we should begin to flood Cantor's mailbox with requests that he pass VAWA.)

In addition to government policy, the media has such a huge influence on how our society at large views violence against women, and as long as the media continues to demean and degrade women as they've done in covering the murder of Reeva Steenkamp, we will continue to suffer as a global community.

This week's action is: Email or write the editor of your local paper to bring awareness to the coverage of Reeva Steenkamp's death. It can be something as simple as:

"Dear Editor,

I'm writing you to express concern over how the media has covered the death of South African Reeva Steenkamp. She has been sexually objectified and her loss of life has been trivialized. I ask that you please avoid sexualizing her in this publication, avoid glorifying the man who stands accused of her murder, and be more acutely aware of how you report violence against women generally – an issue that impacts at least 1 billion women worldwide every year."

Which image do YOU think it more appropriate to post when a woman has been murdered?  Which one do you think will get the most attention at the newstand? 

If just 5% of us on this email list send this letter to our local editors, that's over 4,000 messages asking for change delivered to those holding media power worldwide. Make sure to CC us (editorial@missrepresentation.org) when you send these letters so we can track our impact! 

Together let's take this small step to change the way women are treated around the world. Let's take yesterday's positive energy and continue to rise! 

Onwards,The MissRepresentation.org Team