A few days ago, a young woman, Mayang Prasetyo, was tragically killed by her partner in Brisbane.

Instead of focusing on the violent crime, the Courier Mail -- Murdoch’s Brisbane newspaper -- focused on how the young woman dressed and what she did for a living. Splashed on the front page was a highly sexualised image of Mayang Prasetyo, with continual offensive references to her job as a sex worker. 

This reporting on domestic violence reinforces the community attitude that women, especially transgender women, are to blame for this crime. If we’re to tackle this persistent problem, we have to change the conversation and put an end to these damaging stories.

Tell Murdoch’s Courier Mail to publicly commit to consulting with domestic violence experts before reporting on these incidents. 

It's straightforward: this woman was killed by a man in an act of domestic violence. It’s not OK because she’s transgender, or because was a sex worker. But Murdoch’s Courier Mail would have you thinking that she was to blame for her own murder. A newspaper should never use a tragic act of domestic violence to sell more papers -- and the Murdoch empire should know better. 

Domestic violence is a real problem. One woman is killed every week in Australia by a current or former partner. And the problem’s worse for transgender women -- over 36 percent reported being in a relationship where their partners abused them.

The Courier Mail's non-apology, issued yesterday, said "it had no intention of diminishing the value of Mayang's life." But that's not good enough. If enough of us act now, we can make sure that the Courier Mail doesn't do this again, and we can make this an issue so other media outlets take note too. 

SumOfUs members like you have been committed to making sure the media reports responsibly. We acted last year when a columnist of the UK tabloid, the Daily Mail, attacked a transgender woman who then committed suicide. This time, we're calling out the Courier Mail. 

Join us in telling Murdoch’s Courier Mail to publicly commit to consulting with domestic violence experts before reporting on this issue.

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More information: 

Mayang Presetyo's murder and the problem with domestic violence reporting, Daily Life, 7 October 2014