Intimate partner violence is on the rise in Australia, according to new data published following a spate of tragedies.
Data from the Homicide in Australia 2022-2023 report shows that there were 247 homicide victims between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023.
Of these, 38 incidents occurred between intimate partners, and 89 percent of these occurred against women.
Dr. Rick Brown, deputy director of the AIC, said these figures were four percent higher than the previous year.
The newly released data comes at a time of heightened tensions in Australia, as women take to the streets to take a stand against gender-based violence.
In 2024, 27 women have been murdered so far, which equates to one every four days.
The Prime Minister acknowledged that all levels of government must tackle domestic violence differently
Queensland Premier Steven Miles (pictured) praised his state’s residents for turning out at rallies in Brisbane to support the cause
The victims included five women who lost their lives after knifeman Joel Cauchi, 40, carried out his stabbing attack at Westfield Bondi Junction on April 13.
Since then, 28-year-old Forbes woman Molly Ticehurst and 49-year-old Emma Bates were both found dead in their homes in separate incidents. Two men have been charged in connection with each of the tragedies.
Rebecca Young, 42, Samantha Murphy, 51, and Hannah McGuire, 23, have all tragically passed away in the past two months, while mother Chaithanya Madhagani, known as ‘Swetha’, was found in a bin on March 9.
In the dataset published today for the period 2022-2023, fourteen women had been murdered in April of that year. That is 13 fewer than this year.
The report found that there were “160 incidents of murder… where the motive applied.”
‘Most murder incidents are immediately preceded by an argument between victim and perpetrator. About a fifth of homicide incidents were preceded by a domestic dispute.’
Four incidents were described as motivated by revenge, two by jealousy, a further two by desertion, eight by ‘apparent delusions’, 33 due to a domestic dispute and 16 had no apparent motive.
While the majority of male victims were murdered by a friend or acquaintance, half of female victims were murdered by a current or former partner.
Seventeen percent of women were murdered by another family member.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he would convene an emergency National Cabinet meeting on Wednesday to discuss the crisis with state and territory ministers.
Anthony Albanese gave a fiery speech at a rally in Canberra on Sunday (pictured) saying Australia must change its culture and attitudes to end violence against women
Molly Ticehurst (pictured) was allegedly murdered by her ex-boyfriend Daniel Billings in the central western NSW town of Forbes on Monday
Speaking at the meeting in Canberra last weekend, Mr Albanese described the problem as a “national crisis” and said one or two months of funding would not be enough to solve it.
“It’s up to men to change men’s behavior too,” he said.
“Yes, people need to be accountable and I will be accountable for what my government does.”
Organizer Sarah Williams later lambasted Mr Albanese on social media, accusing him of being entitled to a scathing post.
“Albanians abused his power by aggressively saying when I asked the crowd if we should let him speak: ‘I am the Prime Minister of this country, I govern this country,’ demonstrating what he was entitled to,” she wrote.
Video of the event shows Ms Williams telling Mr Albanese “that’s a lie, that’s an outright lie” after he claimed he had previously asked to speak.
“That not only did he demand to speak because he was being harassed, but that lying was shameful,” she later wrote.
‘Today he showed what justice looks like. A man with power trying to belittle a vulnerable young woman.”