There has been much media focus in the last few days about who said what and when at the march in Canberra against violence against women.
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The obscene amount of media time and effort spent analysing what Anthony Albanese said and what Sarah Williams said is appalling when, in the time since these events happened another three women have been killed by men in domestic violence settings.
These three killings bring the total of women killed so far in 2024 to 30 ... in 18 weeks. That is one woman killed in a domestic violence related incident every 4 days.
It is time to put all the BS of political point scoring aside and just focus on addressing the issue.
LNP female MPs, who had no sympathy or empathy for fellow women marching in Canberra a few years ago have spent a lot of time and energy trying to score political points off Anthony Albanese in the last few days. They should be ashamed!
We all need to focus, at all levels of government and in our local family and social contexts on addressing and combatting this issue.
Men need to step up. They need to be positive role models for their children and other children around them. They need to challenge misogynistic comments and behaviour when they encounter it.
But this is not enough.
Up until last year the rates of deaths from domestic violence were falling year on year. Then it turned around.
There has been much speculation on potential causes, including the influence of social media through the very misogynistic rantings of people like Andrew Tate and the Incel (Involuntarily Celibate) demographic.
I even heard on the radio tonight a suggestion that cost of living pressures had an impact.
In the long term, various social programs and cultural change can have an impact.
In the short term, I am of the same view as Geoffrey Watson SC from The Centre for Public Integrity that more effective control measures need to be put in place with regard to domestic violence offenders, and those accused of serious domestic violence offences. Apprehended Violence Orders (AVOs) have proven to be toothless tigers, not worth the paper they are written on.
We are facing a crisis.
It is about time that more serious consequences and control measures were implemented, regardless of human rights concerns.
Women are dying at the rate of one every 4 days. It is time to get serious and implement strategies that protect potential victims, even if it is at the inconvenience of perpetrators.
Ideas like no bail at weekends, ankle bracelets that will alert both police and the potential victim of the perpetrator's movements, regular reporting to police and other measures need to be considered and implemented.
The safety of potential victims needs to be put ahead of all other considerations. We already do it in relation to child protection, so why is it so hard when it is women who are the targets of violence?
