a case of “missing white woman syndrome”?

Delphine Jubillar disappeared in December 2020 and since then, the case has had a huge impact in the media and on networks. Why such a fascination with the young nurse’s affair?

“Delphine Jubillar is a young woman with whom everyone can identify”. It is with this formula that Me Jean-Baptiste Alary, lawyer of Cédric Jubillar, questioned by aufeminin on September 21, 2021, summarizes the profile of the missing nurse and the interest shown in her by the public. Another element explaining the media rush on this affair: “She is a young woman, mother of two, who is only 32 years old”, who also lives in a small village without history. A kind of girl next door whose mysterious and undoubtedly tragic fate arouses the curiosity of crowds. The lawyer also points out that in December 2020, when Delphine Jubillar disappears, “We didn’t talk about much in the news. Then there was a sort of soap opera: the white marches, the various searches and the mystery around this case, where there is no crime scene”, he continues. We are also at the end of the Daval affair and the public saw a parallel to be drawn, even if the comparison is not right “. The lawyer admits, however, that the hypothesis of the voluntary departure of Delphine Jubillar is far from being the most likely today.

If Me Alary comes to wonder if the Jubillar affair does not become a new benchmark in terms of media frenzy, or even a new standard of feuilletonnage to the extreme, we must not forget that it occurs in a context very particular: public opinion is more and more aware of feminicides, which are more and better relayed by social networks and the media.

Still, being young, pretty, from a profession that played a decisive role at the height of the coronavirus crisis, Delphine Jubillar gathered all the characteristics so that her case calls out. This is what American academics and media analysts call the “missing white woman syndrome” : statistically, the disappearance of a profile like that of Delphine will be relayed more than another.

These disappearances that we never talk about

Obviously, it is positive that there is a lot of talk about the case of Delphine Jubillar. As we know, the public interest, if it is well managed by the authorities, can make it possible to obtain testimonies and encourage the police to resolve cases, in this case, an immense tragedy for them. children and relatives of the young nurse. But what about the others, the forgotten ones of the various facts? In France, more than 40,000 people disappear each year. More than 30,000 have been found. There remain about 10,000 unresolved disappearances and classified as worrying, according to 2015 figures from the Ministry of the Interior.

So many unresolved dramas and less relayed by the press. Who is moved by the disappearance of Mr. Terrak, suffering from Alzheimer’s disease whose son, Hisham, has been investigating since 2015? However, the latter has been trying to mobilize for 6 years via social networks, via posters and media interventions. Who is moved by Regularly murdered trans prostitutes in France ? In the United States, the case of Gabby Petito, a young influencer who disappeared then found dead in Wyoming, is currently making the headlines, when dozens of indigenous women, missing in the same area as her, are forgotten. A difference in treatment whose racist and classist biases question, particularly underlines Reuters.

The story of Delphine Jubillar is therefore an opportunity to continue to mobilize on possible cases of feminicide, but also to reflect on why the media and the public pay more attention to certain stories than others.

Missions: Mathilde is an expert in subjects related to women’s rights and health. Addicted to Instagram and Twitter, never stingy with a good …


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