Last week, I was confronted with a news story too close to home. It was revealed that a year ago, a woman escaped with her life from a violent partner after he tried to run her down at a local MacDonalds restaurant. He was on drugs and tried to ram his car into the front of the establishment. Unfortunately, this man is one of the millions who see women as objects of possession.
While I have never been confronted with a violent partner. Though I live near the area where the attack occurred, so it felt personal. It was a Maccas I have been to a million times and never would have thought it would be the location of a domestic violence incident.
Domestic violence is no laughing matter. The Australian publication, Crikey, reported in a recent article that in twenty days, ten women were killed in domestic or family violence incidents. It made me wonder. Why do some men see women as beneath them?
The Story Of Hannah Clarke And Her Children
This question makes me of a couple of years ago, just before COVID-19 became widespread. In Queensland, a young mother of three, Hannah Clarke, was about to start the school run when her estranged husband jumped into her car, doused her and their two daughters and son in petrol and set them alight.
The children died in the car. The ex-husband kept the public at bay to stop them from saving his wife. He then stabbed himself, dying at the scene. Hannah was rushed to the hospital but died hours later. This incident, like so many others, caused national outcries for action.
Rowan Baxter: The Monster Who Saw Women As Objects
In the wake of Hannah and her children’s deaths, the true persona of Rowan Baxter started to unravel. His son from a previous relationship, Isaiah, told of what his dad was truly like. He even went on record to say that if he could take the place of his three half-siblings, he would have. They did not deserve to die.
Even a couple of Rowan’s female cousins came out and said he had multiple girlfriends on the fly, and he wasn’t shy about it. However, he then accused Hannah of cheating on him. Pot meet kettle. In an interview with 9News, one of the killer’s relatives said that he was raised to see women as inferior.
Sandra Taylor, the cousin in the interview, said that the men in the Baxter family were raised in only one way. In no way did she defend Rowan. Instead, she said she feared for her own life when she reached out to Hannah after she decided to leave Rowan.
From what she mentioned in her sit down with 9News after she reached out to Hannah, Sandra found a ton of dog poo in her yard. She added that she had never once had a stray canine in her domain. She implied it had been dumped by Rowan or someone in his circle.
The Guilt Felt By Hannah’s Family
There was also an interview (by 9News) with Hannah’s parents and brother, who are now advocates for domestic violence. They said that not all domestic abuse cases are physical. It can be psychological, verbal, psychosocial and mental too.
Hannah’s dad, Lloyd, said the abuse was there from the beginning. Rowan would tell Hannah she couldn’t wear shorts and that she had to cover up at the beach if she had a bikini. He even admitted that the family didn’t see it at first.
Why Did Rowan Hate Women So Much?
So, this begs the question. Why did Rowan see Hannah as a possession or object rather than a human being?
As mentioned earlier, Rowan’s opinion of women was flawed because of his upbringing. The men before him saw women as objects not worthy of having any form of independence. Women were to be seen and not heard, a stereotype of the female populace being seen as burdens on society.
In old stories like mythology, women are often seen as the objects of men’s affections, where they are viewed as damsels in distress and ditzy blondes who cannot think for themselves. For example, we recently did an article on Helen of Troy for the Agrippina Files, where we spoke about how she was kidnapped 400 times before she turned 20. Perhaps this is where the stereotype started. Whatever the case, it is one in a thousand possible scenarios where women are treated as objects by their male counterparts.
A domestic violence television campaign a while ago showed how violence towards women often starts at a young age. So the Australian government also set up an organisation for teaching kids to respect each other, regardless of gender.
