Five weeks into 2026 and already, six women have been killed, allegedly by men who were known to them.
So four weeks out from International Women’s Day, ending violence against women in Australia was always going to be a key agenda item as Prime Mininster Anthony Albanese and Opposition leader Sussan Ley shared a rare co-hosting moment.
Speaking at the annual State of Gender Equality at UN Women Australia’s International Women’s Day Launch in Canberra, the two leaders shared historical wins and achievements on gender equality, but couldn’t ignore the sad reality of women’s safety.
While Albanese could speak to a number of actions his government has taken on gender equality, in addition to progress wins on the gender pay gap and women’s workforce participation in the past couple of years, violence against women continues in 2026, just as it did in 2025.
And the killing of women continues just as it did in 2024 when Albanese described men’s violence against women as “a national crisis”, following the murder of six people, including five women, at Westfield Bondi Junction.
“Addressing the scourge of violence against women is about action across our society,” he said today.
“The test for our generation, for all of us, is action and outcomes.”
Albanese said his government are seeking to take “tougher and more targeted action against perpetrators” and to ensure financial systems can’t be used for abuse and control. He said they’re seeking courts and the legal system to “serve as instruments of justice, not trauma”.
“We are also putting a new focus on preventing violence, rather than waiting until it escalates. Including early intervention for young men, to break the cycle of abuse.”
“Because one of the great evils of family violence is that its victims can grow up to become perpetrators.”
“It will take all of that – and it will take all of us. Women and men.
“Because men have a responsibility here – to talk with our sons and our mates.
“To be accountable for the culture we are part of, the standard and example we set.”
Albanese also shared how Australian women have organised and campaigned for rights, noting that “generations of women have made the personal, political — and delivered political change as a result.”
Historical changes include removing discrimination from laws.
But he added, “It’s not enough to assume that the playing field is level and opportunity is equal, just because there is nothing in writing that says otherwise.
He also took the opportunity to highlight how the Labor Party adopted affirmative action at its national conference in 1994: “In doing so, we made ourselves accountable for the outcome, not just the ambition.”
The result is that Albanese now leads the first majority-female government in Australian history.
Opposition leader, Sussan Ley
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley also centred the issue of violence against women in her speech today.
She said moments of national attention highlight efforts to eradicate violence against women and seek justice for victims.
“Often here in this building and in our parliament, we are shocked when we hear of intimate partner death.
“We mourn. Women talk about how this new victim could have been their sister, their daughter, their mother, their friend.
“Men may not understand this lived empathy.
“When we see reports which don’t carry photos or names we know these are often Indigenous women who have been killed.
“The prevalence of violence against Indigenous women is devastatingly higher, with around one-third of intimate partner homicides being Indigenous.
“And we mourn that we don’t know more about these women.”
Ley said the media has played a strong role in reporting the violence, with some journalists continuing their investigations “long after the front pages of tabloids have moved on.”
She highlighted increased attempts to understand the signs and risk factors, describing the biggest such factors as “well known” and involving alcohol, mental health issues and “relationship stressors, especially financial strain.”
Ley also raised recent analysis findings that eight per cent of offenders were on bail at the time of the murder.
“So clearly the justice system is letting women down.”
“While we continue to support the primary prevention efforts that have been led by bipartisan, intergenerational campaigns, we must also confront reality.
“There is more to be done to address risk factors, to support men to change and to see the justice system operate to keep women safe.”
Ley described this year’s International Women’s Day theme of “Balance the Scales” as powerful because “justice, equality and freedom are not just abstract ideals, they are lived realities. They shape whethere a young woman feels safe walking home at night … whether a girl in rural Australia — where I live — has a real change to shape her future.”
“But from my perspective, equality is not about uniformity,” Ley said.
International backsliding on women’s rights: Penny Wong
Also this morning, Foreign Minister Penny Wong addressed the backlash against the rights of women and girls that is occurring internationally.
“In the face of backsliding and resistance elsewhere, Australia is persevering for progress because we believe Balancing the Scales makes communities, countries and our region more inclusive, more resilient and makes us all more secure,” she said.
This year’s theme is Balance the Scales: For ALL Women and Girls, aiming to ensure that every woman and girl, regardless of background or identity, is safe, heard, and free to shape her own future. It reflects the urgent need to address the systemic barriers that persistent inequalities that continue to hold women and girls back in all areas of life.
As Simone Clarke, CEO of UN Women Australia said, it’s a theme underscored by urgency.
“This International Women’s Day calls for bold leadership as we Balance the Scales for all women and girls – because equality is not negotiable.”
UN Women Australia will continue marking International Women’s Day with events held in Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney and online on Friday, 4 March 2026.