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Original poster

The Murder of Julia James

130 replies

saraclara · 02/05/2021 09:57

Why is it getting no real publicity? Why aren't all the women who wanted to hold a vigil for Sarah Everard equally angered and wanting to do something about Julia James' murder? Where is Kate with her posy?

I got pretty much ripped apart back then when I questioned why specifically Sarah Everard's murder got the attention it did when others hadn't.

Both murders seem to have been of women minding their own business and attacked by strangers.

I still can't help feeling that the difference in media and the public's reaction is based on entirely superficial differences of age, attractiveness and...I don't know? What else?

Many people go missing. Many women are murdered. Obviously my heart breaks for what happened to Sarah Everard, but why are other murdered women not given that same attention? The anger then made people feel so strongly that they defied covid regulations to make their point. But I suspect barely anyone could come up with Julia James' name

OP posts:
tecatea · 02/05/2021 15:56

Can you really not understand why it's more shocking if a woman is abducted at a time that most of us can quite imagine being out and about at quite safely?

But lots of murders happen like this for example Julia James!

SunIsComing · 02/05/2021 15:58

Where’s the protest....?

Yanbu OP.

tecatea · 02/05/2021 15:58

Lots of life is going on at 9.30 and we can put ourselves in shoes of someone walking at that time.
Once it gets to midnight or 1am most of us aren't routinely out at that time so we don't quite identify with it, we think of it as a more dangerous time to be walking alone so something bad happening is a little less shocking.

And this was my point, people can put themselves in those shoes but not those of someone walking late at night because apparently that is less safe when statistically I don't think it is but it feeds into the narrative that a women shouldn't be out late alone.

tecatea · 02/05/2021 16:00

Look at the victim blaming of Peter Sutcliffe's victims. Many wrongly labelled as prostitutes because those women are worth less than a "normal professional" women.

lollipoprainbow · 02/05/2021 16:01

People identified with Sarah Everard, it could have been them, their sister, daughter, girlfriend.

And they couldn't with Julia?? Plus she was a mum.

Nodal · 02/05/2021 16:04

I identify with Julia more as she is closer to my age. I indentified with Sarah thinking back to when I was that age but I am far more likely now to be walking a dog in a rural setting than walking home from a night at a friend's in Clapham, where I used to live.

There are 100s of thousands of women in their 40/50/60s in this country - more so than 20/30 somethings.

StartingGrid · 02/05/2021 16:06

@tecatea

Lots of life is going on at 9.30 and we can put ourselves in shoes of someone walking at that time. Once it gets to midnight or 1am most of us aren't routinely out at that time so we don't quite identify with it, we think of it as a more dangerous time to be walking alone so something bad happening is a little less shocking.

And this was my point, people can put themselves in those shoes but not those of someone walking late at night because apparently that is less safe when statistically I don't think it is but it feeds into the narrative that a women shouldn't be out late alone.

We were in lockdown during the time Sarah Everard was abducted and killed, there were far less people about even at that time as we were supposed to be staying at home.
VladmirsPoutine · 02/05/2021 16:44

You know that whole 'identifying' with a victim because they could have been your sister, best friend etc etc - I wonder if this is why in order to get men to care about the rights of women's and girls; especially the safety of women&girls men always have to link it back to themselves which is rather terrible tbh.

Viviennemary · 02/05/2021 16:53

I think the same. But then Sarah seemed to disappear. So there was a mystery surrounding the case. I don't think anybody wants vigils and protest marches. And the usual woke type folk won't want to be seen supporting the police much easier to hate them.

Bluntness100 · 02/05/2021 16:59

Op there are two people a day murdered in the Uk. Sarah’s was unusual because her friends and family drummed up coverage when she went missing, and then when it was found to be a police officer it was so unusual it hit max coverage.

But remember the day Sarah sadly died, so did someone else. Someone else was murdered. Why aren’t you asking about them? And the two who were murdered rhe day after? In female murders a woman is murdered every two days, so many women have been murdered since Sarah died. Not just Julia sadly

IrmaFayLear · 02/05/2021 17:10

Agree with OP -I thought this too about the two cases.

Actually at the time of Sarah Everard’s murder I thought all the people (indeed posters on here) calling for curfews were idiotic. Maniacs do not need it to be dark to attack women - they need it to be lonely. I have encountered disgusting men in empty train carriages, in quiet streets and indeed walking my dog. In fact I cannot walk alone any more due to an incident.

toocold54 · 02/05/2021 17:25

It’s different because Sarah Everard was killed by a police officer someone who is meant to protect you against these dangerous men.
It’s the same as why we are more outraged when police officers kill black men than when they’re killed by civilians.

Women die everyday at the hands of men so it’s not possible to hold vigils every single time.

VladmirsPoutine · 02/05/2021 17:50

@toocold54 you do realise that the outrage over Sarah's case because the alleged perp is a police officer is a million miles away from the outrage over police killing black men? Confused

toocold54 · 02/05/2021 17:57

@VladmirsPoutine no it’s not. They’re actually extremely similar.
One attacks women because they believe they’re above them and there is an inherent idea/system which somehow makes it ok and there’s little consequences so women are just taught to protect themselves as much as possible but knows the dangers they face and the other one kills based on race for the exact same reasons and deals with extremely similar consequences.

In both instances they’re both usually male but of course being killed by people who are meant to stop you getting killed is going to cause bigger outrage.

What makes you think the outrage is so different?

CovidCorvid · 02/05/2021 18:29

@lollipoprainbow

People identified with Sarah Everard, it could have been them, their sister, daughter, girlfriend.

And they couldn't with Julia?? Plus she was a mum.

Ive explained the reasons why they might be less likely to in my post if you’d read all of it. That they might try and think she’s been killed because of being a pcso which isn’t relevant to them or that it was because she was walking by herself in secluded woods which they might also not have felt relevant to them.
andymoan · 02/05/2021 18:29

@Nodal has it been confirmed she was murdered by a man?

Nodal · 02/05/2021 18:31

And ALM yeah?

VladmirsPoutine · 02/05/2021 18:34

@toocold54 I see your point. My point was just that little girls don't grow up fearing the police in the same way little black boys do. Sort of how cops kill black men as though it's a hobby sport which they don't women.

Quirrelsotherface · 02/05/2021 18:44

I think there is a slight difference in that Sarah went missing, so a lot of the publicity was around that, and finding her. Julia was already found, though obviously equally as unspeakably awful.

toocold54 · 02/05/2021 18:51

@VladmirsPoutine yes I agree. I just think the reason there was more outrage or media attention in Sarah’s case was because he was a police officer.

Charley50 · 02/05/2021 19:00

@VladmirsPoutine - in the UK women and girls are more at risk from men (all men) than black boys and men are at risk from the police.

Read the full article about the 10 year data: www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/52890363.amp

I'm not saying this to say police racism in the UK isn't an issue, but i am mindful that we shouldn't treat the UK as if it was the USA. In my opinion it's just causing more problems and division.

The Murder of Julia James
Standrewsschool · 02/05/2021 19:02

I live in Kent. There’s lots about her locally.

Charley50 · 02/05/2021 19:07

Following up my post, I know those stats are still awful, but it's not the US, and it's not really comparable to violence against women and girls; it's a different issue.

Chicchicchicchiclana · 02/05/2021 19:10

I feel it was to do with the fact that SE was missing for many days and her friends, well done to them, had created a lot of awareness of the case.

It was similar with Joanna Yeates - quite some time had passed between her going missing and her body being found.

The murder of Julia James has been first item on the news on BBC Radio at times in the past few days.

Shocking and horrible crime it is.

Skyliner001 · 02/05/2021 19:12

I was thinking this just today. It's really sad.

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