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Episode 25: Conversation with Janey Starling, feminist and singer from We Level Up Campaign.
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In today’s episode, our host Madalena Alberto meets feminist activist, writer and musician Janey Starling, who is responsible for strategy and campaigns at the UK gender justice organisation We Level Up. Janey produced the first UK media guidelines on reporting domestic abuse deaths, backed by all UK press regulators, and regularly does training in newsrooms on this subject. She is currently focused on a campaign to end the imprisonment of pregnant women and new mothers.
Janey’s writing has featured in The Guardian, Independent, Refinery29, OpenDemocracy and The I, and she has co-authored several self-published zines. A seasoned Sisters Uncut activist and punk singer who has toured and connected with feminist communities across Europe, Janey lives to create public spaces for women’s collective rage, joy and solidarity.
Janey believes that murder is contextualised in relationships. Quoting Luke and Ryan Hart, reports should be memorials for the victim and not propaganda for the perpetrator. Janey adds that journalists should report with accuracy and accountability, and images should be dignified.
She says, “There is no such thing as a perfect victim; that’s a fairy tale myth and no such thing as a monster perpetrator.”
Abusive men are incredibly charming, very good at managing their perceptions, and always in control, whether through charm or violence. Survivors of abuse often cope by using alcohol or drugs to escape or take their own life. Using the Amber Heard and Johnny Depp case, there is a noticeable power difference as Depp’s status is more extensive than Amber's. Regardless of what she did, it does not change their power difference.
Janey quotes Helena Kennedy: “We live in a society of misogyny; any woman who strays outside gender norms is punished.”
Misogynistic society portrays women who commit crimes as evil and manipulative - they need to be punished because they do not fit society's standards. Women who are traumatised and locked up are not supported. Janey’s guidelines on reporting domestic abuse have encouraged publishers to look at domestic abuse cases through a more nuanced lens. She has held training on writing about domestic abuse for journalists and this training has been reported by the BBC.
Domestic abuse is a public health issue. Identifying what abuse looks like can help both survivors and perpetrators in their situations. The media has two key roles in preventing domestic abuse: public information that is truthful and justice for families.
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Chapters
1. Episode 25: Conversation with Janey Starling, feminist and singer from We Level Up Campaign. (00:00:00)
2. Introduction by Siqi and Janey Starling, what is We Level Up? (00:00:20)
3. Janey's experiences at University (00:01:00)
4. Why did We Level Up start? (00:02:00)
5. Avoiding secondary trauma for families (00:03:30)
6. Women with complex backgrounds and Amber Heard (00:06:27)
7. Women in prison and domestic abuse (00:08:38)
8. Is the press reporting more sensitively? (00:10:20)
9. Examining systemic oppression, rather than the isolated incident that the police peddle (00:11:09)
10. Domestic Abuse as a public health issue (00:12:44)
11. Truth in reporting (00:13:36)
12. What does success look like for We Level Up? (00:14:36)
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