When it comes to understanding violence against women, there's an extremely effective model that helps visualise how pervasive and insidious it is.

Picture a pyramid, on the bottom are bigoted attitudes and beliefs, sexist jokes, problematic language, the most socially acceptable expressions of misogyny frequently dismissed under the guise of plausible deniability.

Further up is cultural stereotypes and stigma, followed by threats and harassment, progressing to rape, sexual assault and abuse. At the top is femicide, the murder of women as an act of gender based violence.

There's hardly a news cycle that passes without ever more stories of women being killed. We are living in a culture of perpetual mourning, failing women not only throughout their lives, but in the way we treat them posthumously.

I want to reiterate the importance of style guides, professional advice given to newspapers to cover topics with the requisite sensitivity, to avoid sensationalising a crime or perpetuating the attitudes which facilitate it.

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Every time a story involving violence against women and girls gets reported, it's clear either some outlets are unaware of the style guides, or they're ignoring them altogether.

In an era where headlines are often the first and final engagement readers have with the news, we must ensure they prioritise clarity and compassion, over clickbait.

Social media makes news more accessible than ever, but striving for clicks and shareability over responsible reporting has left some outlets seemingly bereft of empathy.

The UNESCO guide for reporting on violence against women states of news headlines, “a sensationalist or casual policy in this area has consequences which should not be minimised. When writing a title, journalists should ask themselves a few simple questions: does it avoid the pitfalls of touting and voyeurism? Does it respect the victim(s)? Does it focus all its attention on the perpetrator?”.

In the wake of the murders of Carol, Hannah and Louise Hunt, I've lost count of the number of articles which directly contradict the advice around reporting femicide.

Dehumanising headlines call them “women victims of ‘crossbow killer’”, or “triple crossbow attack suspect's 'ex-girlfriend’”, or worse still, name the perpetrator without offering them the same courtesy.

This is indicative of a sad, but common experience - victims are not centred in reports of their own death. If newspapers do this because they know people are less likely to click on articles without famous names or grizzly details, we must ask ourselves why stories approaching femicide with sensitivity, not sensationalism aren't enough to grab our attention.

'If you have space to name a killer, you have space to name the people whose lives they took''If you have space to name a killer, you have space to name the people whose lives they took' (Image: free)

These women shouldn't have their lives defined either by familial relationships, or the manner in which they died. We devote more attention and space in our headlines and our cultural consciousness to the perpetrators than those they harm. If you have space to name a killer, you have space to name the people whose lives they took.

When femicide occurs with a deadly weapon, in this case a crossbow, there is often, understandably, a desire for lawmakers to spring into action to control or prevent access to the weapon in question. Questions have been put to the Home Secretary of restrictions on the sale, and possession of crossbows.

Domestic violence charity Refuge responded to the proposed legislation, saying, “Whilst we would support an outright ban on dangerous weapons like crossbows, we also need to be clear that the danger from crimes like this is from the perpetrator, not the tools used to enact their violence.”

They added: “The focus needs to be on tackling violence against women and girls more widely and addressing misogynistic culture that is the root cause.”

Carol, Hannah and Louise did not die solely because the perpetrator had a crossbow, however this is the main talking point on the minds and agendas of politicians in the wake of their murder.

This is not to say that crossbows shouldn't be more tightly regulated, of course they should, and the fact they aren't is as ludicrous as it is concerning, but we shouldn't consider regulating crossbows to be the first and only solution to what is demonstrably an established pattern of violence.

In nearly half of femicides, the method of killing involves a sharp object, with the next most common being strangulation, followed by blunt force trauma. As many survivors of domestic abuse will tell you, not only can any object be a weapon in the hands of an abuser, but the hands themselves, even empty, are no less dangerous.

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Reporting on violence against women comes with huge responsibility, but also an opportunity to educate and inform. Using stereotypical headlines reinforcing stigma might get more clicks and generate controversy, but it's both disrespectful to those harmed in the story itself, and contributes to a wider culture of misogyny and ignorance around violence against women.

Additionally, it risks alienating and triggering people currently experiencing violence, who may feel disempowered and less likely to report or leave violent situations. Abuse is complex, often it involves deep-rooted manipulation and complex emotional relationships which make it incredibly difficult for someone to walk away, particularly if they have nowhere to go and no support network upon which to rely.

All too often instances of violence against women and girls are portrayed as isolated incidents, and reported on accordingly. Violence does not happen in a vacuum, rather it exists in a personal, societal and global context.

It is only through acknowledgement of the systemic problem that we can mitigate and prevent the cycle it perpetuates. Nearly half of the perpetrators in a 10-year report on femicide had a prior recorded history of violence against women, most commonly domestic abuse, coercive control, rape, harassment, and stalking.

Viewing femicide not as a random, outlying attack but instead as the culmination of cumulative misogyny, might help us prevent violence against women, before yet more perpetrators scale the pyramid.

I would strongly encourage anyone who wishes to learn more about femicide in the UK to read both the annual Femicide Census, and the 10-year report, detailing a decade of violence against women.

At the beginning of the report is a dedication including the names of the majority of women killed during the parameters of the study. The list fills 4 pages. These names represent the people behind the statistics, who deserve to be seen, and remembered. Behind every sensationalist headline, there are real women, like Carole Hunt, Hannah Hunt, and Louise Hunt, whose lives are so incredibly important, and whose legacy must be one of change.

Scotland's Domestic Abuse and Forced Marriage Helpline is available be phone, email or webchat 24 hours a day. Call 0800 027 1234 or go to https://www.sdafmh.org.uk/en/