Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has described domestic violence as a “national crisis” and expressed outrage at a rise in the number of killings of women by their intimate partners as he cracked down on misogynistic content online.
The measures announced on Wednesday came after tens of thousands of Australians gathered across the country, including in the cities of Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney and Perth, demanding that the government declare the issue a national emergency.
The protests were sparked by a wave of violence in which one woman was killed every four days as a result of domestic violence this year, according to campaign groups.
They also followed an April knife attack in Sydney in which an attacker armed with a knife killed six people in a busy shopping center.
Five of his victims were women and police said it was “obvious” the attacker targeted women.
Here’s what you need to know about the issue.
How dangerous is Australia for women?
Activists called for weekend rallies after a week of killings of three women, allegedly by men they knew. They included Molly Ticehurst, a 28-year-old mother who authorities say was murdered by her former boyfriend, weeks after he was granted bail following his incarceration on rape and stalking charges.
According to campaign group Destroy the Joint, a total of around 28 women have been killed by their current or former partners and family members this year.
According to public broadcaster ABC, the number is almost twice as high as in the same period last year.
Samantha Bricknell, head of research at the Australian Institute of Criminology, told the ABC that recent data suggests a rise in violence against women, with the rate of women killed by an intimate partner increasing by 31 per cent from June 2022 to June 2023. About 34 of these murders occurred during this period compared to the same period last year when 26 women were killed.
The rise bucked a longer-term downward trend in Australia.
“What we’re really interested in going forward is: Is it a sustainable increase? That’s what Australia has to worry about,” Bricknell told the ABC. “Recent data suggests an increase, but we are hopeful that this slight increase will reverse and continue to decline.”
Government statistics also show that one in four women in Australia have experienced violence from an intimate partner or family member since the age of 15. Although this is a concern, the number is lower than in countries such as France, the United Kingdom and the United States. In the latter case, more than one in three women said they had experienced physical and sexual violence from an intimate partner.
What did Albanese say?
Albanese, who joined protesters in Canberra on Sunday, said he viewed the rallies as a call to action.
“We have to change the culture. We have to change our attitude. “We need to change the legal system,” he told the crowd. “We need to change the approach of all governments because it is not enough to support victims. We need to focus on the perpetrators and focus on prevention.”
Albanese also responded to calls to declare the issue a national emergency, saying such decrees were a short-term legal remedy intended to be used during natural disasters. However, he described domestic violence as a “national crisis” and called an urgent Cabinet meeting on Wednesday to discuss the issue. He said violence against women was the only item on the meeting’s agenda.
What measures does the government promise?
Following the cabinet meeting, Albanese announced that his government would invest 925 million Australian dollars (US$599 million) over five years to provide financial support to women and children trying to escape violence.
Those eligible for the Leaving Violence program can access up to 5,000 Australian dollars (US$3,300) in financial support, as well as referral services, risk assessments and safety planning, a government statement said.
The national cabinet also unveiled new measures to combat factors it said exacerbated violence against women, “such as violent online pornography and misogynistic content aimed at children and young people.” Those steps include laws banning deepfake pornography and additional funding for testing age security technologies, it said in a statement.
The Cabinet also promised to explore options to improve the police response to high-risk and serial offenders.
It added that ministers will meet again in three months to discuss progress.