THE PERFECT PREY?
powerful, can
play a part
in sexually violent crime.”
The way that the body
responds to fear can
also create a troubled
association that remains
later in life. “I have known
individuals who say the
only time they feel alive
is when they are being
violent – this is because
their nervous systems
were raging with
adrenaline when they
were younger and [abuse]
was happening to them.
I also know someone who
associates thoughts of death and dying
with sexual feelings, because these are
the thoughts that were put into their
head when they were younger and
being abused,” says Bailes.
But the sad truth is that many young
children deal with sexual abuse. What
makes the small few turn to killing?
“Every last one of them, without
exception, will have been fantasising
about committing serious crimes
for many years,” says Steve Morris,
author and editor of newcriminologist.
com. “Then, in later life there are
psychological stressors such as
alcohol, gambling and stress that
threaten to tip them out of their
violent reverie into the real world
of actions and consequences.”
A DAMAGED VICTIM
The reason killers target prostitutes
specifically is multifaceted and has
a lot to do with the complex way
society views women. Dorothy Row
says, “There’s a view that’s been held
by some men for thousands of years,
that women are divided into either the
Madonna or the whore. The first are
entirely virtuous, like Mary. Then there
is the harlot, an entirely wicked, dirty
woman who can be used and abused.”
◆ UNITED KINGDOM
Britain is one of the few
countries where it’s illegal
to run a brothel and
solicit sex on the street.
Some commentators
suggest that legalising
prostitution would make
it more regulated and
controllable and
therefore make sex
workers less vulnerable.
◆ NEW ZEALAND
Since 2003, prostitution,
����WWW�STYLIST�CO�UK
Prostitutes fit into the second
category and are often viewed as
second-rate citizens by society, making
it easier for predators to justify their
murder. “If someone kills an innocentlooking
child, that offender would be
viewed as a monster because the victim
will be widely viewed as a ‘true victim’,”
says Ryan Spohn, project evaluator at
UNL Center on Children, Families &
The Law. “However, if the victim is
stigmatised as having questionable
morals or being a criminal, then their
status as a victim is called into question.”
Morris agrees. “For the anger and
vanity-driven obsessive murderer,
prostitutes embody his most vivid
affirmation of women as impure,
improper and disposable.” As they
are dehumanised, killers can avoid
feelings of remorse. “In his mind,
he is killing something rather than
somebody. It isn’t a coincidence that
sexual killers of street workers have
brothel ownership and
pimping have been
decriminalised. Brothel
owners require a certificate
and operate under public
health and employment laws.
◆ GERMANY
Now legal, contracts
even exist between a
prostitute and client.
A portion of earnings goes
to pensions and health
insurance and a 40-hourwork
week is enforced.
AN ARTIST’S IMPRESSION OF
STEPHEN GRIFFITHS DURING
HIS HEARING LAST MONTH
claimed they were performing
a ‘public service’.”
KILLING TO BE FAMOUS
There is also another category of
criminals, one that David Wilson
calls the ‘power control serial killers’.
These men kill “because they can
express a power and control through
murder that is denied to them in other
aspects of their lives.”
Peter Sutcliffe revealed some of
these tendencies, according to Steve
Morris. “A lot of what Sutcliffe said was
driven by pure ego. He was gratifying
his own acute narcissism with each
attack by holding a nation in a grip of
fear and revelling in the secret power
he felt this bestowed upon him.”
For Wilson, the Bradford killings
bear a lot of these hallmarks. “This is
somebody desperate to be famous.”
Our fame culture, Wilson believes, has
created an atmosphere where name
recognition and empty celebrity is a
potential driver for crime. “We live in
a ‘me’ culture, a celebrity-dominated
world where everybody wants their
15 minutes of fame.”
Wilson points out that Griffiths
lived in the same area as Sutcliffe and
attended the same school as previous
serial killer, John Haigh, the Acid
Bath Murderer, who killed six people.
Interestingly, the murders took place in
exactly the same red-light district as
the Yorkshire Ripper murders.
Griffith also had an extensive online
life, he stated on his MySpace page
that his state of mind was “evil”,
and listed interests as reading about
“multiple homicide and capital
punishment”. Wilson’s interpretation?
“This could be about trying to shock,
trying to appear extraordinary as
opposed to being ordinary, trying to
draw attention to oneself.”
As for the rest of ‘the crossbow
cannibal’ case, facts are still emerging.
A bag filled with hacksaws, knives,
razor blades and some body tissue was
found dumped in a river on 31 May.
And while police are not yet formally
linking other cases to the inquiry,
suspected serial-killer investigations
are routinely widened to explore
other missing person files in the area.
The final number of sex workers slain
may be many more than three.
Many of us are potentially accusable
of viewing prostitutes in a negative
light, dismissing the route that
might have led them to that lifestyle.
Interestingly, the media refers to
them by their profession rather
than as people – ‘missing prostitutes’
rather than ‘missing women’. But
with many sex workers currently
missing in the UK, it’s time society
woke up and took some responsibility
for this incredibly vulnerable group.
“We missed an opportunity after the
Ipswich murders,” says Wilson, “and
if we miss an opportunity after
Bradford we will soon see another
red-light area with a serial killer
active. It’s inevitable.”
THE LEGALISATION OF PROSTITUTION AROUND THE WORLD
◆ AUSTRALIA
The law varies depending
on the state, from
decriminalised, to legally
regulated, to criminal.
◆ DENMARK
Since 1999, prostitution
has been decriminalised
but brothels and pimping
are still illegal.
◆ FRANCE
Brothels and pimping are
illegal, as is solicitation, but
the exchange of sexual
SHELLEY ARMITAGE
CAPTURED ON CCTV
“THESE MEN KILL BECAUSE
THEY CAN EXPRESS A CONTROL
OTHERWISE DENIED TO THEM”
services for money is not.
◆ BELGIUM
Prostitution itself is legal,
but brothels and pimping
are not. Human trafficking
or exploiting individuals for
financial gain is punishable
for a maximum prison
sentence of 15 years
◆ CANADA
Prostitution is legal but it
must be done in a private
place. Owning a brothel can
mean two years in prison,
pimping can mean up to
10 years in prison.
◆ GREECE
Prostitution is legal as
long as the woman is at
least 21, is registered as a
sex worker and has health
checks every two weeks.
◆ NETHERLANDS
Legal since 2000.
Prostitutes must be over
18 and clients must be
over 16. Prostitutes must
register and pay taxes.
PHOTOGRAPHY��REX�FEATURES��PAPHOTOS�COM
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