RACHEL CHANDLER

May 26, 2014

People all over the world have taken to social media in a show of solidarity against the misogynist rantings of California mass murderer Elliot Rodger.

Rodger, who killed six people and injured 13 others in Santa Barbara on Friday, recorded a retribution video blaming women for rejecting him and referring to them as ‘sluts’.

“It’s not fair. You girls have never been attracted to me. I don’t know why, but I will punish you all for it,” he said on the video

The #YesAllWomen hashtag has since trended internationally on Twitter with people determined Rodger would not have the final word.

Elizabeth Mulhall from UN Women Australia said the social media response to Rodger’s actions was one step towards an increased awareness about violence against women.

“Any exposure, any conversation about violence against women is really important,” she said.

The women’s advocacy group had found social media to be a good way for women to tell their stories.

“We are seeing women report on individual experiences and harassment so I think it starts the conversation, but hopefully what we will see is action taken from that conversation,” Ms Mulhall said.

The Santa Barbara tragedy had shown how relevant and necessary it was to address negative attitudes against women.

Perth PR consultant Beth Bolt was one of the tweeters who responded to the #YesAllWomen hashtag.

“When something as harrowing as the Santa Barbara shootings happens, it’s no surprise that people are going to talk about it,” she said.

“I wanted to help this event to make an impact on the minds and eyes of the world.”