All these men killing women, and you say we are not oppressed?

I have been following the news of the Ipswich prostitute murderer, the 'bus stop killer' and the Sally Anne Bowman case recently.

The sensationalist coverage of these men and the murders have been ridiculous, the media are having a field day rehashing the grisly details. In particular the tabloids jumped on Mark Dixies claim that he raped Bowman after she was killed.

Then I read an article in The Guardian today, highlighting the fact that these men not only had histories of committing sexual attacks in the past which went unpunished, but pointed out that these men are just the tip of the iceberg - unpunished violence against women is rife in the patriarchal society in which we live in.

Why did the women previously abused by these killers not speak out? the article asks.

"Perhaps because they recognised the misogyny that runs through our criminal justice system...Maybe they read about Ian Huntley who was investigated for nine allegations of sexual offences - without a single conviction...Maybe they had read that only 5.3% of rape cases ends in a conviction, that one in five women are abused in childhood, or that one in four women experience domestic violence...that people joke about violence towards women...(that) models are reduced to nothing more than holes to be violated"

This analysis is important. Rather than rehash the gory details and sensationalise the facts, people should be asking these questions.

Why are such men allowed to roam free in society to commit abuse against women again and again? and more importantly, what is wrong with our society that men hate women so much in the first place? why do men feel the need to so brutally display and assert their power over women? And why do we let it happen?