ABSTRACT

In 2011, in Australia and Canada, two Aboriginal women – Lynette Daley and Cindy Gladue – died in suspicious circumstances suggestive of sexual homicide. At the time of their deaths, little media attention was given to their cases. However, several years later, as their cases progressed through the criminal justice system, the media would become intensely interested and numerous reports were subsequently published. These news stories, however, demonstrated that when colonialism, racism and sexism intersect they result in victims being to apportioned blame for their subsequent deaths. This paper reports on findings from a research project that examined print and online news media from 2011 to 2018, as these cases traversed the criminal court system. It illustrates that, when taken together the colonialism, racism and sexism prevalent in the news reporting served to characterise the victims as unworthy of the public's sympathy. This paper also provides a reflection on what it might take to reform the media's engagement in cases such as these, to achieve a reimagined justice where Aboriginal women's lives are valued and respected as victims of crime.

摘要

2011 年，在澳大利亚和加拿大，两名原住民妇女——Lynette Daley 和 Cindy Gladue——在可疑的情况下死亡，暗示性谋杀。在他们去世时，媒体很少关注他们的案件。然而，几年后，随着他们的案件通过刑事司法系统进行，媒体会变得非常感兴趣，随后发表了大量报道。然而，这些新闻报道表明，当殖民主义、种族主义和性别歧视相互交织时，他们会导致受害者为他们随后的死亡承担责任。本文报告了一个研究项目的结果，该项目调查了 2011 年至 2018 年的印刷和在线新闻媒体，因为这些案件涉及刑事法庭系统。它说明，当把殖民主义放在一起时，新闻报道中普遍存在的种族主义和性别歧视将受害者定性为不值得公众同情。本文还反思了如何改革媒体在此类案件中的参与，以实现重新构想的正义，使土著妇女的生命作为犯罪的受害者受到重视和尊重。