REXIn the aftermath of the London terror attack, social media users have criticised a woman who was photographed walking over Westminster Bridge.
The image showed a woman in a hijab speaking on her phone as she walked past an injured victim of the terror attack, who was lying on the floor.
The photograph was used to spread hateful and racist Islamophobic messages as the public reacted to Khalid Masood’s afternoon rampage, which killed three civilians and one police officer, injuring 50 more.
GettyToday, the freelance photographer, Jamie Lorriman, who captured the moment in time has defended the ‘distraught’ woman, who remains unidentified.
Lorriman told ABC News:
The people who took on that picture are being rather selective. In the other picture in the sequence she looks truly distraught. Personally I think she looks distressed in both pictures.
Disgusting. #Islam #ISIS #Muslim #Westminster #prayforlondon #RefugeesWelcome pic.twitter.com/FHssEwSDKF
— All Passing Things (@AllPassingThing) March 22, 2017
Reacting to the social media shaming the unidentified woman has since been subjected to, Lorriman condemned those who were quick to judge.
He said:
It’s wrong it’s been misappropriated in that way. She probably just wanted to get off the bridge. I feel so sorry for the woman in the picture. If she’s seen this, she must feel awful.
https://twitter.com/SouthLoneStar/status/844644675415937024?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.abc.net.au%2Fnews%2F2017-03-24%2Fwoman-wearing-hijab-at-london-attack-scene-was-distressed%2F8383662
He added:
To assume she was ignoring someone is impossible to know, the look on the woman’s face, she’s horrified, she’s in the middle of a traumatic situation.
Lorriman went onto deny the claims that she has simply ignored the injured victim.
It just goes to show, images are worth a thousand words, but reacting to a snapshot in time without context can further poison an already toxic debate.
A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.