As 16 days of activism against gender-based violence came to a close this week, the number of women killed by violence in Australia overtook the number of women killed by violence in 2022.
Last year there were 57 women killed, according to statistics from Destroy the Joint. This year, the figures is now already at 59. And the year isn’t even over yet.
This is a national crisis, and the urgency of the situation cannot be overstated.
The global 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is a key international moment to call for an end to violence against women and girls. It runs from 25th November (the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women) until 10th December, Human Rights Day.
During that period, here in Australia, three women were allegedly murdered by their partners: Catiuscia Machado, Maria Dimasi and Siva Auvae.
A Brazilian teacher, 41-year-old Machado was found dead in her home in Sydney’s inner west. Her former partner, 40-year-old Diogo de Oliveira was charged with murder.
A well-known member of the Italian community in Adelaide, 85-year-old Dimasi was found dead inside her home. Her 91-year-old husband, Francesco Dimasi, has been charged with her murder.
A New Zealand mother of four, Auvae was days away from her 32nd birthday before her life was cut short in Queensland by her 32-year-old partner on the second to last day of the UN’s 16 days of activism against gender-based violence.
And only one day after the campaign, on 11th December, we learned that a woman and her baby were murdered inside their suburban Perth home. These reports have not yet been included in Destroy The Joint’s figures as yet.
Community attitudes towards gender-based violence
“It just doesn’t happen here”, one of the neighbours told News.com.au regarding the most recent murder– an all too common phrase uttered after violence occurs behind closed doors.
The thing is, “it” did happen. And it’s happening all around the country at alarming rates– Intimate partner homicide is Australia’s most common form of homicide.
The ANROWS National Community Attitudes Towards Violence Against Women (NCAS) 2021 report shows a majority of Australians don’t believe that violence against women occurs in all communities, including their own, and yet, 91 per cent of respondents believe that violence against women is an issue in Australia.
Overall, one woman is killed by an intimate partner every two weeks. And Indigenous women in Australia are eight times more likely than non-Indigenous women to be murdered.
“Ending domestic, family and sexual violence should be a national movement and one that is the responsibility of every Australian,” said Katherine Berney, Executive Director of the National Women’s Safety Alliance. “We need definitive leadership with messaging and call to action that matches the unprecedented commonwealth investment in this issue.”
At the beginning of the UN’s 16 days of activism against gender-based violence, Parliament House was lit up in bright orange– the universal colour recognising the issue.
In Question Time, two weeks ago, Independent MPs Zoe Daniel and Zali Steggal asked Prime Minister Anthony Albanese about men’s violence against women and children.
Albanese replied by noting the work his government had already accomplished in the space, including establishing a national 10-year plan to end family and domestic violence and legislating 10 days of family and domestic violence leave for Australian workers, alongside other reforms in the respectful relationships education and family law.
“We need 16 days of activism, but we need 365 days a year of action and commitment to rid our society of this scourge,” he said.
If you are concerned about your behaviour, or about someone using violence, call Men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491.
If you or someone you know is in need of help due to sexual assault or family and domestic violence contact 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732
In an emergency, call 000.