Two years ago this morning, Samantha Murphy went for a run. She never came home. She was only 51.
Sam set out for a run around 7am on February 4, 2024 in an area where many women exercise.
It’s alleged Patrick Orren Stephenson murdered Samantha. Sam’s body has not been found and he will face trial in April.
Sam was the 15th of 105 Australian women lost to violence in 2024 and she is just one of 188 women killed since January 1 that year.
Help get a Royal Commission into the Killing of Women and Girls. Sign the petition at Change.org/FemicideRoyalCommission
Three women were murdered in Samantha’s home region of Ballarat that year. We also lost Hannah McGuire and Rebecca Young.
The murders of Sam, Rebecca and Hannah were deeply traumatising for the region.
Following their deaths, Respect Victoria and the Ballarat community worked together to make change.
A four-year program – called Respect Ballarat – is now in place to prevent gendered violence. The model aims to disrupt and shift the social dynamics underpinning male violence in the region.
But women are also killed by men they know who are not relatives (I call this associate violence and it is present in 35% of the femicides I document). And they are killed by strangers. Samantha did not know her alleged killer.
We cannot change Sam’s story but her story is creating change in her community.
And you can help make change by joining my call for a Royal Commission into the Killing of Women and Girls. Sign the petition at Change.org/FemicideRoyalCommission
SAMANTHA MURPHY MATTERS!❤️
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