Following murders, Australians want stricter legislation against violence against women

Following murders, Australians want stricter legislation against violence against women

Australia has seen a spate of recent violence against women, which has prompted rallies.

Protesters want stringent legislation to eradicate gender-based violence and the declaration of a national emergency.

Anthony Albanese, the prime minister, described the problem as a national emergency.

So far this year, Australia has seen the death of a woman once every four days on average.

"We want alternative possibilities for reporting for victim survivors to let them own their stories, their healing, and their reporting journey," organizer Martina Ferrara said.

"And we want the government to understand this is an emergency action that requires immediate action."

Speaking during a march through Canberra's capital city that drew thousands of demonstrators, Mr. Albanese acknowledged that all tiers of government needed to improve.

"We need to change culture, the attitudes, the legal system and the way by all governments," he said.

"We need to make sure that this doesn't appear to up to women, it's up to men to change men's behaviour as well," he said.

In response to demonstrators' requests for the designation of violence against women as a national emergency, Mr. Albanese said that such a designation is often used in times of floods or bushfires to provide a short-term financial boost.

"We don't need one month or two months - that we require to address this in a serious way, week by week, month by month, year by year," he said.

Both jeers and applause greeted his remarks.

However, Mark Dreyfus, Australia's federal attorney general, has declined to convene a royal commission to look into gender-based violence.

Although Mr. Albanese has often referred to gender-based violence as a pandemic, there have been marches against accusations of sexual misconduct in government in 2021 around the nation.

An estimated 3,000 people demonstrated on Saturday in front of Adelaide's parliament building.

Around Friday and Saturday, there were protests in Newcastle, Brisbane, Melbourne, the Gold Coast, and 9News.

An assault on women that has wreaked havoc throughout Australia

The topic is once again in the news due to recent murders.

A guy fatally stabbed six people in a Sydney retail center earlier this month. The authorities are investigating whether or if the five female victims were the intended target.

According to Karen Webb, commissioner of the New South Wales Police Force, "the attacker focused on women and avoided the men".

The charges against a man for the suspected murder of Erica Hay, a 30-year-old mother of four who was discovered dead after a home fire in Perth earlier this month, also coincided with the demonstrations.

Based on statistics provided by the advocacy organization Destroy the Joint, 27 women have died in the first 119 days of 2024.