7 months into 2015 and 52 women have been killed - Women's Agenda

7 months into 2015 and 52 women have been killed

In January Rosie Batty was announced as the 2015 Australian of the Year. She is the most influential, prolific and articulate anti-family violence campaigner we’ve ever seen. Nine women were killed violently in January.  

In February the Governor of Victoria appointed a Chair and two Deputy Commissioners to the Royal Commission into Family Violence. The Commission will inquire into and provide practical recommendations on how Victoria’s response to family violence can be improved. The ABC’s Q&A broadcast an episode dedicated entirely to the subject of domestic violence. 8 women were killed violently in February. 

In March the Commonwealth Government committed to launching a $30 million national campaign to raise awareness of violence against women and children. Fourteen women were killed violently in March. Masa Vukotic tragically became the 23rd woman killed in Australia this year, and her death, inexplicably, prompted a conversation about women not walking in parks.

In early April more than 60 organisations dedicated to dealing with domestic violence wrote an open letter to the Prime Minister requesting urgent action to address the 31 deaths that occurred in the first 15 weeks of 2015. Five Australian women were killed violently in April. 

In May Waleed Aly delivered a powerful message about the Budget on Channel 10’s The Project.

“I’d like to put my hand up on behalf of a group of Australians who might be unable to, or are too afraid to. Or when they do ask for help, they’re too often turned away,” Aly explained. “I’m talking about Australian women, who are regularly beaten, abused and killed by Australian men, usually their partners.”

He asked what it would take for the government to show these Australians the money.

Also in May Rosie Batty called on employers to follow the lead of companies like Telstra, K-Mart & NAB to introduce paid leave for victims of domestic violence. Seven Australian women were killed violently in May. 

In June the Counting Dead Women Australia researchers of Destroy The Joint added 6 women to the list of Australian women killed through violence in 2015, taking the total number to 48

Bootmaker Blundstone introduced paid domestic violence leave for its employees. 

The Australian Financial Review published a “trollumn” by Mark Latham denigrating Rosie Batty and Our Watch, to which Anna Bligh replied

In July Australia’s first Royal Commission into family violence began in Victoria, new research showed that Australians consider family violence to pose a greater security threat than terrorism. As of July 21, 52 women have been killed violently in Australia in 2015. Two-thirds of those were killed by a former or current partner.  

So what does this mean? It provides context for a few things. First, the fact that domestic violence is on the public agenda. Second, that whilst there is some appetite for leadership on this issue, meaningful leadership largely eludes us. Rhetoric abounds but it hasn’t corresponded with decisive action. It’s also clear that raised awareness is doing little to arrest the number of women being killed through violence.

Seven months into 2015, 52 women have been killed. This picture needs fixing. 

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