In The News.

We've all heard the news about the serial killer in Suffolk. I do not dispute that this is an awful series of events, and the sooner the culprit is found and this is stopped, the better. Unconditionally I feel truly sorry for the families of the victims, and naturally for the victims themselves.

However, I was concerned by a discussion on the radio this morning. The debate centred around whether or not is was appropriate for the media to refer to the victims as prostitutes, as the term undermines them and does not reflect that they were real people, with real families, and lives outside of their "work". Instead, it was argued, they should be referred to as a sex worker.

I'm not a big fan of the media in this country, but for once I found myself on their side. If my understanding is correct, someone who solicits and accepts payment in return for giving sexual satisfaction to their clients is a prositute. This is different to a porn actress, adult store clerk, lap dancer, or some other "sex worker" as there is a direct connection between the worker, and the result; in other words, they prostitute themselves, not an image of themselves or from a distance, or some product or other.

Now let me be clear - this wasn't a perjorative term being used such as nigger, cracker, whore, or whatever, but a term that has recognition in the law of the land, regardless whether the individuals used it themselves.

As a side point, if the killer appeared to be targeting entirely bank clerks (this was argued in the debate) then the media would most likely point this out. Would this undermine the memory of the people involved? Well, no... largely because this role isn't outside of societal norms.

Should one be offended that these girls were prostitutes? Maybe we should be, but we should still refer to them as such, for that is what they were. Maybe we should be offended that there is someone out there who has decided that killing girls is a good course of action to take to solve the 'problem', and just maybe we should be offended that the problem exists in the first place. Maybe we should be offended that they found that life to be the solution to their own problems, or despite them, or because of them.

Covering something untasteful with a more respectable name helps nobody in particular. Sometimes the undermining is not done by a label, or by how they are remembered, but by the actions of the person themselves.