Monday was the day that duck shooting should have been banned in Victoria. Instead it was the day we saw the government betray parliamentary processes, our wildlife and our community. And somehow, that day ended with a bizarre form of sexism against me.
I won’t pretend public life since my election as an MP has been easy, especially as a young woman.
I never thought it would be, particularly because I didn’t want to – and couldn’t – pretend to be the kind of woman people easily accept as a politician.
It’s why I chose to share parts of my story, including that I am a former sex worker, and my experience with abortion.
I’m a member of the Animal Justice party and, to me, that means defending the non-human constituents largely ignored in politics. It means going up against traditionally patriarchal, inherently violent systems where animal abuse and sexism can form a dangerous alliance.
Being on the front foot has always felt like an important form of self-preservation and protection. But it shouldn’t have to be, and it is apparent to me that it is not this way for my male colleagues.
Monday marked a new low. Against a backdrop of shooter bravado, and woven between endless messages from men vowing to kill more ducks “for me”, a mainstream TV news channel betrayed not just me but all women.
An image of my outfit and my body was altered without my permission; my dress was turned into a two-piece, revealing my stomach, and my breasts were enlarged. Even if accidental, for this image to be broadcast on TV was not something I thought I’d face at the end of the worst day of my career to date.
This is not my first experience of having personal images misused. Like many women, I have had images shared, leaked and distorted.
The issue at the core of these experiences for women is consent. And while I accept the apology provided by Nine News, its explanation of how it occurred fails to address this issue.
I was a victim of image-based abuse while studying at university and I have since been diagnosed with PTSD. So the explanation that this was an AI editing error came too late for me to feel anything but that my body had been violated once again.
The image was out there and, once again, my determination and commitment to my work were overshadowed.
I can deal with this personally. While it is tiring, I won’t stop talking about my experiences because it reflects what women face broadly, especially young women. If men won’t stand up in newsrooms, parliaments or offices around the country, then I must, even on my worst days.
I’ll leave the commentary about the possibility of an AI image error to the experts. What’s important to me is that this doesn’t happen again. I want women’s words to be enough, without bringing our bodies into it. The media undoubtedly controls much of the gender narrative and for that reason, they should be held to high standards.
Because my dedication to end recreational duck shooting has been met with sexist and misogynistic rhetoric, I took the government’s gutless decision to ignore the recommendation of its own parliamentary inquiry, its choice to continue the slaughter of native waterbirds, as a personal blow.
This campaign has captured my heart and soul for more than a decade. Every year, for months at a time, while loved ones enjoy weekends, I’m with animal rescuers, camping near wetlands where the shooters are, up before sunrise to the sound of gunshots. Waiting for the first bird to fall but not be retrieved, I know well the stark contrast of our beautiful wetlands with the bloodbaths they become.
Ending recreational duck shooting has always been my No 1 priority and one of the biggest reasons I wanted to get elected.
The government knows exactly who it supports by backing the less than 1% of Victoria’s population who continue to shoot ducks for fun.
And while the government takes a year to work on so-called “reform” it has rewarded shooters with a final free-for-all by ignoring the science and increasing the bag limit and season timeline from last season. It is rewarding bullyboys who kill native birds for fun.
These are men who the inquiry showed cannot be trusted to do the right thing. Compliance, training and regulation has not worked and will not work. Yet here we are giving them the green light. We have formally approved their behaviour on and off wetlands.
I’m not done fighting. Not for animal rights and not for women. Because, like all women before me have had to do, I will continue calling out injustice as long as it exists.
• Georgie Purcell is Victorian upper house MP for the Animal Justice party
