The number of Australian women and children killed by domestic violence perpetrators continues to grow, but politicians are losing interest in meaningful action, an activist says.
In May, Perth man Mark James Bombara killed Jennifer Petelczyc and her daughter Gretl while searching for his estranged wife.
A month earlier Daniel Billings allegedly murdered his ex-girlfriend Molly Ticehurst at her home in central-western NSW while out on bail.
And in July, a 28-year-old allegedly frustrated attempts to rescue his children from a burning Western Sydney home, resulting in the deaths of a six-year-old, a two-year-old and a five-month-old.
Over the weekend, calls to end violence will fill Australian streets as not-for-profit group What Were You Wearing holds rallies at more than 20 locations across the nation.
For Awabakal woman Sarah Williams – who founded the organisation – it will be an opportunity to educate, unite the community and heal.
But it also presents a vital chance to put pressure on politicians.
“There’s been a lot of talk, but not enough action,” she told AAP.
“We’ve already seen that there’s been a lot less politician interest which is, in my opinion, not good enough.”
The federal government has allocated almost $1 billion to a program that will provide $5000 payments to people fleeing domestic violence.
But Ms Williams says that is not enough for women fleeing with children, and can’t help when domestic violence services are already at capacity.
Protesters will echo calls for more funding to frontline services, women’s refuges, grassroots Aboriginal organisations and men’s behavioural change programs.
“To actually end the crime, we do need to look at our perpetrators, start rehabilitating them and trying to get to the bottom of why this is happening so much,” Ms Williams said.
The latest report card from violence prevention advocates Our Watch showed there had been a 66 per cent drop in the number of women killed by men in the past 30 years.
The number of young men supporting harmful ideas of masculinity had fallen by 13 per cent since 2018.
But the trends came against the backdrop of a spike in the number of women killed by men in 2024.
While the findings were welcome, more work needed to be done, the organisation’s chief executive Patty Kinnersly said.
“In a year where 42 women have been killed by men’s violence, it’s difficult to reconcile we are making progress in ending this national crisis,” she said.
“But when we look at the longer-term picture, we can see significant reductions.”
Findings showed a drop from 49 per cent to 37 per cent in the number of men aged 18 to 30 who felt pressure to conform to rigid ideals of masculinity.
While the report showed there had been an increase in sexual violence carried out between 2012 and 2017, the figure had plateaued in the years since.
Findings about attitudes of young men towards women showed there had been improvements, Ms Kinnersly said, but policy progress had been slow-moving.
The Queensland government on Friday announced a four-year domestic and family violence strategy targeting men.
It aims to boost support and interventions for violent people and children exposed to domestic violence, increase accountability for offenders and raise community understanding through various initiatives.
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