So far this year, 27 women have allegedly been murdered by men, many by men “known to them”. That’s a phrase we in the media commonly use when recounting these horrific murders… and at this stage, I take it as read that those who follow the news know exactly what that means.
Those of us in the media who write regularly about men’s violence against women also frequently cite the following (now equally familiar) statistic to highlight the seriousness of the issue: on average, one woman is violently killed each week. But just four months into this year, that already shocking statistic has rapidly escalated to one woman every four days.
The nation is indeed at the peak of what has long been a crisis. I don’t want to waste time having a semantic debate about whether we need to call it a “national emergency”. It was bad before, and it’s even worse now. It’s always been a national crisis.
Recent events have, however, prompted renewed nationwide protests and high-profile calls for change. Yesterday on the ABC’s RN Breakfast, Sally Sara asked if we were at a “tipping point”.
I believe we are. Something feels different this time.
I have been writing about men’s violence against women as a journalist in Australia for nearly 10 years, and I have worked in varying capacities in the women’s safety sector for nearly 30. In many ways, I have seen this show before.
I have witnessed countless, broadly similar, cycles. Following a spate of murders, we see community leaders on the front pages of various newspapers, their arms crossed, accompanying headlines saying “Stand up”, “There are no excuses” or “This has to stop”.
And those headlines are usually accompanied by vague statements and platitudes from our political leaders that “this needs to change” and “men need to step up” or some such. Political leaders also, incidentally, remind everyone that “change takes time” or “it’s everyone’s responsibility”. That’s important, and I’ll come back to that.
Then the band moves on. Wash, rinse, repeat.
And while this all too familiar pattern has certainly been evident in recent weeks, there is also a far more specific debate emerging. It’s a debate led by those who work on the front line of women’s safety and those with lived experience. It’s a debate that outlines very specific calls for change that have real immediacy. Most importantly, it’s a debate that’s cutting through in the media and at the national policy level in a way that I have not seen in nearly a decade.
We are now talking about the kinds of things that will save lives today, not in some promised future following some hoped for — but frustratingly slow to materialise — “generational change”.
Many, most prominently Jess Hill, author of the award-winning book on domestic abuse See What You Made Me Do, are now calling for a re-calibration of what we consider the “primary prevention” of violence against women in Australia — and they are questioning the amount of money that has been invested in what one front line expert described as the “exorbitantly” funded national primary prevention body, Our Watch, at the expense of other front-line work.
Taking aim at a national primary prevention strategy that Hill believes focuses almost exclusively on changing the underlying social drivers of gendered violence by tackling harmful attitudes and beliefs, she writes, “The problem with this strategy is that it outsources its results to future generations.”
“Even the major prevention agencies driving this work say we can’t expect to see results anytime soon,” Hill writes in a white paper co-authored by Michael Salter, a professor of criminology at UNSW. “Instead, we recommend that state and federal government prioritise innovative, results-based prevention strategies that will be accountable for reducing violence over the short, medium and long term.”
I’ll add a personal observation. The focus on prevention as “generational change” has let our political leaders off the hook. They can, effectively, put it not necessarily in the “too hard” basket but in the “it takes time” basket, thereby avoiding accountability for failing to heed — and invest in — the recommendations from frontline workers and survivor advocates for more immediate measures that save lives.
Many who work on the front line of women’s safety have been quick to back in Hill and Salter’s analysis. And they have taken the opportunity to reiterate what they believe needs to change now. Like right now, even yesterday. Their frustration is palpable.
Annabelle Daniel, the chair of DV NSW, points to the need for “meaningful accountability”, including legal and social accountability for those who use violence, safe and affordable housing so victims can afford to leave, and meaningful investment in recovery.
Angela Lynch, chairperson of the National Women’s Safety Alliance Sexual Violence Working Group, says that “we need (the prime minister) to engage on an urgent basis with gender violence experts to listen to what’s happening on the ground and the front line”.
Likewise, Dr Jane Wangmann, an associate professor of law at UTS, echoed that sentiment saying: “It seems to me that across the system, we still have a failure to really understand the nature of domestic violence and the risks associated with it.”
Kate Fitz-Gibbon, a leading violence against women scholar and chair of Respect Victoria, has written that a focus on “high harm” and “high risk” perpetrators is “long overdue”.
Antoinette Braybrook, CEO of Djirra, the community-controlled family violence prevention and legal service for Aboriginal women, says, “We’ve been calling year after year for increased funding for our services, our frontline legal and non-legal services, and that has not been forthcoming.”
This is just a small sample of the kinds of conversations that are now being had — and the kinds of solutions that are now being discussed. They will all, no doubt, get a proper hearing when the domestic, family and sexual violence commissioner Micaela Cronin convenes a historic emergency roundtable of 60 experts next week to focus tightly on the questions of why women are being murdered, who is perpetrating those crimes and how can we stop them.
Cronin, the country’s first dedicated gendered violence commissioner, was appointed in 2022 and tasked with bringing some focus and accountability to our nation’s efforts to tackle gendered violence. This roundtable, and the conversations we’re now having (not to mention those leading them), will go a good way towards achieving that goal.
Forget the crisis national cabinet meeting tomorrow. Seen that show before too.
And forget confected debates about whether the prime minister was invited to speak at the protests or not. It’s a distraction.
This is the main event. This is where those who do the work at the front line and those who’ve personally experienced the devastating impacts of this violence will have a seat at the table — and be heard.
If you or someone you know is affected by sexual assault or violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000.
For counselling, advice and support for men in NSW, Victoria and Tasmania who have anger, relationship or parenting issues, call the Men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491. Men in WA can contact the Men’s Domestic Violence Helpline on 1800 000 599.
Is something about to change for women in Australia? Or is it just more of the same empty platitudes? Let us know your thoughts by writing to letters@crikey.com.au. Please include your full name to be considered for publication. We reserve the right to edit for length and clarity.
