The creator of an Australian anti-sexism Facebook group has been the target of three death threats.
Jenna Price, the woman behind the group “Destroy the Joint,” which aims at fighting sexism in public and political positions, has taken screenshots of the threats and will be reporting them to the police.
“They’ve said they hope I die,” Price told The Age. “I feel incredibly sorry for a person who can only express themselves through abuse.”
The Facebook group was started on Sept. 1 after popular Australian radio host Alan Jones accused women in politics of “destroying the joint.” The comment was said live on the air during a segment about a new $320 million program from Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard aimed at encouraging more female participation in politics, the Guardian reported.
“She [the prime minister] said that we know societies only reach their full potential if women are politically participating,” Jones said live. “Women are destroying the joint – Christine Nixon [chief commissioner of Victoria Police] in Melbourne, Clover Moore [Lord Mayor of Sydney] here. Honestly.”
Price started the page shortly after Jones’ comment went viral. The page collected more than 1,000 likes in less than a day and quickly became a place for women to stand up against sexism. It currently has more than 15,300 likes.
“It has been really good to come on this site and see all the united voices. I have been feeling for quite some time that I don’t really identify anymore with so much of what goes on,” Tracy Nelson commented on a post made Saturday. “However, seeing all these comments makes me feel that people do still genuinely value decency, fairness and have respect and empathy for others.”
Jones, 71, has been a lightning rod for controversy over his long radio career. He has been involved in six defamation suits brought by a police officer, politician, and rugby referee. After the death of Gillard’s father in late September, Jones was secretly recorded saying the man “had died of ‘shame’ because of Ms. Gillard’s ‘lies,’” the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
Price alerted members of the Facebook page to the death threats in a post that has collected more than 800 comments.
“We have to stand against the ugly, polarised, tribal form of politics that AJ[Alan Jones] seeks to use against those worse views he opposes, yet can’t handle popular revulsion and protest against his abusive approach,” Andy Hardy commented. “Pathetic little man, now seeking to turn his (smaller, misguided) mob against those of us who are vocal in our opposition to not only his worldview but to his abusive style.”
Photo by Eva Rinaldi Celebrity and Live Music Photographer/Flickr