Murder of Reena Virk

Reena Virk
Born(1983-03-10)March 10, 1983
DiedNovember 14, 1997 (aged 14)
Saanich, British Columbia, Canada
Cause of deathHomicide by forcible drowning
NationalityCanadian
Parents
  • Manjit Virk (father)
  • Suman Virk (mother)

Reena Virk (Punjabi: ਰੀਨਾ ਵਿਰਕ; March 10, 1983 – November 14, 1997) was a 14-year-old Canadian girl who was beaten and killed by a group of teenagers in Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. Her status as a victim of bullying prior to her murder attracted substantial media scrutiny in Canada. Six teenagers were tried and convicted for their participation in her death. The Globe and Mail commented at the time that her case was "elevated into a national tragedy".[1] A pair of Canadian sociologists have described the case as a watershed moment for a "moral panic" over girl violence by the Canadian public in the late 1990s.[2][3][4]

  1. ^ "Reena Virk's short life and lonely death". The Globe and Mail. November 27, 1997.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Slate was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Barron, Christie; Lacombe, Dany (February 1, 2005). "Moral panic and the Nasty Girl". The Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology. 42 (1): 51. ISSN 0008-4948.
  4. ^ Jiwani, Yasmin (September 1, 1999). "Erasing Violence: The Story of Reena Virk". Canadian Woman Studies. 19 (3). ISSN 0713-3235.