A man has been arrested in regional Victoria, suspected of killing a woman in her home on Sunday night.
Just before midnight, police arrived at the Bendigo home to find two primary school aged children, uninjured, and the unresponsive woman. She was taken to hospital but pronounced deceased shortly after.
Authorities have established a crime scene at the home, with homicide squad detectives investigating the woman’s death.
Meanwhile, a 44-year-old man was arrested in Harcourt North on Monday morning. He is now assisting police with their enquiries.
The woman is the 42nd to have died this year from family and domestic violence, according to figures from Destroy the Joint’s Counting Dead Women.
Last week, the death of Lillie James, a 22-year-old water polo coach at St Andrew’s Cathedral School in Sydney’s CBD, made headlines all around the country. The man who is suspected to have been responsible for her alleged murder was a colleague. James and her alleged murderer reportedly dated for just five weeks.
Family and domestic violence for First Nations women
Research shows First Nations women are at higher risk of experiencing family and domestic violence. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, the rate of hospitalisations of First Nations people due to family and domestic violence was 29 times higher than the non-Indigenous rate. First Nations females were 27 times more likely to be hospitalised for assault than non-Indigenous females.
A coronial inquest into the domestic violence deaths of four Aboriginal women in the Northern Territory resumed on Monday, with two weeks of scheduled hearings to come.
The investigations by the Northern Terrotiry’s coroner, Elisabeth Armitage, found 81 women have died as a result of domestic violence since 2000, 93 per cent of whom were Indigenous.
“For the past 23 years, on average more than three Aboriginal women have been killed each year in the Northern Territory by domestic partners,” Armitage said.
“This is not somebody else’s horror. This is our horror.”
The violent deaths of Kumanjayi Haywood, Ngeygo Ragurrk, Miss Yunupingu and Kumarn Rubuntja will be investigated by the Coroner’s Court to uncover failures in the system that contributed to their deaths.
As the court understands, prior to their deaths, all four women told either a loved one or authorities that their partner was going to kill them.
If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, family or domestic violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit www.1800RESPECT.org.au.
In an emergency, call 000.
UPDATED 1/11/23 – The headline and the figures on the total number of women killed by family and domestic violence were changed on 1/11/23 to reflect the data from Destroy the Joint’s Counting Dead Women.