Setting aside the fact that the “system” wasn’t involved in this family’s case in the first place – there were reportedly no parenting orders or proceedings before the Family Court at all – the outpouring of sympathy for a violent man is, disappointingly, not without precedent.

When Brock Turner was first accused of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman behind a dumpster on campus, reports focused on his straight A grades, his wholesome good looks, and his future as an “All-American swimmer”.

His victim, on the other hand, was described as an “unconscious intoxicated woman” – a fact which she herself later pointed out in an open letter to her rapist.

Similarly, when Reeva Steenkamp – a law graduate, television presenter and women’s rights activist – was shot and killed by her boyfriend, Oscar Pistorius, she was consistently referred to as nothing more than the world-famous athlete’s “model girlfriend”. And when school teacher Alan Hawe stabbed his wife, Clodagh, in a violent murder-suicide, reports focused on his role as a “valuable member of the community”, and a “quiet and a real gentleman”.

They reminded the public that he was “very committed” and the “most normal person you could meet”, and that he must have been in a very “vulnerable state of mind” at the time of the murders. Clodagh, however, was referred to as the “murderer’s wife”: her photo was not included in the news reports, and nothing was said about her role in the community (she was also a teacher).

The discourse around Hannah Clarke’s death exposes just how far people go to deny male violence