Emotions ran high during The Edge Breakfast show on Monday as host Megan Annear paid a tearful tribute to slain British backpacker Grace Millane.
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Millane's week-long missing person case took a devastating turn over the weekend as police confirmed a body had been discovered in what was now being treated as a homicide investigation.
Annear delivered a powerful speech about the young artist, who was allegedly killed by a 26-year-old male now charged with her murder.
"She was young, vibrant, adventurous and travelled to New Zealand alone. I too have travelled alone. When I was 19, I flew to LA and did camp America. I know of many women who have done the same," Annear said on The Edge.
"And they all come home, full of stories and memories and life experiences they never would have been able to achieve by staying still.
"Grace won't be going home and telling her stories. She won't get her friends to crowd around her over brunch and flick through her photos in her phone with memories of new friends. She won't be able to fulfil her dreams, fall in love, tick more things off her bucket list.
"She was unfairly, gut-wrenchingly taken away from us. And it wasn't her fault."
Through her tears, the radio host took aim at online comments that victim-blamed Millane for being a solo traveler, or possibly having met her killer on Tinder.
"I'll say it again louder for the people in the back, this was not her fault. Nor was it her parents, who would've proudly dropped her off at the airport with a backpack on her back and a smile on her face," she said.
"The question we should be asking is why did a 26-year-old man feel he had the right to take her life?"
Annear urged all women to always tell friends who they are with and where they are, before demonstrating how to use the built-in distress signals on a cell phone.
"There is an alarm on your iPhone you can activate that will call the police if you feel scared. Press the on-off button 5 times in a row and you will hear a siren sound," she said.
"Samsung users, press that button three times and it will call your emergency contact."
The broadcaster also asked men to call their mates out for any disrespectful behavior towards women.
"We have a long way to go in Aotearoa to be the safe oasis we advertise ourselves as," she said.
"Rest in peace to Grace, whose only crime was chasing an adventure and living her life."
Vigils for Millane are due to take place across the country this week, with the hashtag #herlightoutlove being used to post images of sunsets and skylines in tribute online.
Newshub.
