“It’s not knowing where she is which is the hardest.” Samantha Murphy’s community is still in shock – and women are on edge.
Even one year on from the disappearance of her close friend, Ballarat woman Samantha Murphy, Bianca Card cannot force herself to stop looking for the woman whose children grew up with her own.
“You try not to dwell on what could have happened. But, you know, everything runs through your head. There are so many unanswered questions.”, Card began her own quest for answers, one she cannot bear to abandon until details of Murphy’s final hours and fate are eventually revealed.Card says that particularly for women who enjoy running along the region’s beautiful bush tracks, Murphy’s disappearance has lost none of its disturbing impact.
Locals opened Facebook pages to arrange searches and share information – causing speculation, conspiracy theories and rumours so intense that both the police chief and the then Ballarat mayor, Des Hudson,By February 23, police announced they suspected Murphy was deceased, and believed “one or more parties” may have been involved in her disappearance.
By April 10, with still no evidence found of Murphy, and following the killings of two other women in the region – 42-year-old Rebecca Young and 23-year-old Hannah McGuire – Ballarat woman, and violence survivor, Sissy Austin, gauged that there was enough concern over the shocking toll of violence against women to arrange a community march that was so well-supported, it made national headlines.
Lack of facts about what is known regarding Murphy’s disappearance has meant fears for women’s safety are unresolved. “As a result of the seemingly limited information conveyed to the community as to what’s happening, there’s this continuing negative conversation point,” she says. “One reflection is, over the past year, we have very frequently woken up to a news story saying the police are again conducting a search, and they announce these searches are taking place in advance, which first of all is triggering,” says Hendron.
“Crime statistics show the incidence of violence against women in Ballarat is up since COVID at about the same rate as everywhere else : around 10 per cent pretty much across the board,” she said. “A feature, post the murders in Ballarat, that is really striking to me is the number of men who get in touch with us saying they want to be a part of change, and asking how can we be part of making a difference,” says Hendron.
“My fear is, this is something that people are going to use in the forthcoming election; I fear that our pain and suffering, the town is going to be dragged through this election campaign,” says Austin, whose Take Back The Track movement – supported by champions Robert de Castella and Steve Moneghetti – launches on the two-year anniversary of the attack on her while jogging, February 9.
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