Bound woman ute art enrages Townsville

Queensland motorists have been horrified to spot a lifeless young woman apparently lying in the back of a ute with rope tied around her arms and legs.

Fortunately, the alarming scene is only a photorealistic image on the rear of the ute but some residents have accused the image of glorifying violence against women and say it should not be permitted on the road, reports the Townsville Bulletin.

Townsville police said a number of complaints have been made about the ute in the past six months but say they are powerless to act because there are no laws against "bad taste".

"There is no legislation that covers it," said Townsville Station officer-in-charge Senior Sergeant Tony Melrose.

"Given it is a fictitious image there is not a lot that can be done," he said.

Surprisingly, police revealed the ute was registered to a woman.

Local woman Jane Chester told the Bulletin she "felt quite threatened" when a friend forwarded her a photo of the ute's art recently and said such images should be illegal.

"It is bad enough that there are people living with the pain and fear of domestic violence without them having to see this image condoning and glorifying abuse," she said.

Author: Sam Downing. Approving editor: Matt Henry