The recent press coverage of British backpacker Grace Millane’s murder trial has served as a shocking reminder of the prejudicial treatment of young women, and the unwillingness of the media and the public to distinguish between consensual ‘rough sex’ and sexual violence. Grace (whose parents are pictured above) was 21 years old, travelling alone in New Zealand, when she was strangled to death on a first date. Her killer, whose name is subject to a court ‘suppression’ order, subsequently photographed her naked, before bundling her body into a suitcase and burying her in a forest. His defence was that they had engaged in rough sex, including choking, and Grace (pictured below) had died accidentally.
‘Friends of Grace Millane give evidence about her BDSM [bondage, domination and sadomasochism] interests’; ‘She asked him to choke her during sex’; ‘Grace Millane used a safe word whilst practising BDSM’; ‘Strangled tourist liked being choked’. These are just some of the sensationalised, clickbait headlines, which contribute towards a wider
