Man hijacks online Ashling Murphy vigil to display porn during gender violence discussion
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A man appearing to masturbate hijacked an online vigil in memory of Ashling Murphy as one of the speakers was addressing the issue of gender violence.
The all-woman event was held on Sunday evening to allow women who could not go to a vigil to share their anger and distress.
The speakers came from a wide range of backgrounds, including Traveller activist, Rose Marie Maughan; rights advocate and journalist, Christine O’Mahony; poet, Kathy D’Arcy; singer, Emma Langford, and artist, Erin Darcy.
When Ms O’Mahony logged on to the Zoom event, she quickly spotted her name was appearing twice on the screen, but she could not work out why, she said.
It turned out someone had hacked into the event, using a link shared publicly on social media, and was using her email to access the session. This person's screen then showed a man masturbating, which was visible to all attending. She said:
“I’m really shocked that someone would do something this disgusting at a vigil for a murdered woman,” she said.
“I don’t know yet who it could be, I don’t think I know anyone who could be so disgusting as to hijack a vigil for a murder victim.”
Emma Langford was already feeling emotional when she joined the event, as she has been subjected to online abuse since appearing on the on Friday evening.
She had called for ‘meaningful change’ on the show.
“I’m so angry I can’t even express it. We can’t have anything, we can’t do anything without it being tarnished by someone who can’t get their head around it that this is not acceptable behaviour,” she said.
“I’m exhausted.”
Ms Langford said the panel was deliberately inclusive of women from different backgrounds, and she is furious this was “exploited” by the man.
“We were all there to join in the collective conversation around what is happening right now, and for someone to exploit that is sickening,” she said.
The event was organised by West Cork advocate and activist, Evie Nevin.
“The fact that this vigil is now being talked about because of this "man" and not because the speakers, poetry, and music were BEAUTIFUL makes me absolutely sick to my stomach,” she posted on social media afterwards.
The fact that this vigil is now being talked about because of this "man" and not because the speakers, poetry and music were BEAUTIFUL makes me absolutely sick to my stomach.
— Evie Uí Cnáimhín (sí/í) 🏳️⚧️ 🇵🇸 (@Evie_Nevin) January 16, 2022
Ms O’Mahony is planning to contact the gardaí, and they hope the man will be traced.
Tony Groves, co-founder of the podcast is assisting them, as he was also part of organising the event.