Massive protest in Australia against femicide, after number of femicides in the country grows: “Enough is enough”

Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Canberra. These are just a few of the many Australian cities where thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets in recent days to protest gender-based violence.

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A woman is killed every four days

Figures show that a woman has been killed in the country every four days so far in 2024. According to the feminist action group Destroy the Joint27 women have already been killed, almost twice as many as in the same period last year.

For example, a few weeks ago a stabbing took place in a shopping center in Sydney, in which the perpetrator clearly targeted women, according to the police. Joel Cauchi (40) stabbed eighteen people, thirteen of them women. Of the six fatalities, five are women, the sixth victim is a security officer who tried to stop Cauchi.

“National crisis” and “epidemic”, but not a state of emergency

“Enough is enough,” could be read on a large number of protest signs. The activists are demanding stricter legislation against gender-based violence and want Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to declare a state of emergency due to the incessant wave of violence. “We want the government to recognize that this is a state of emergency and take immediate action,” said organizer Martina Ferrara.

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Prime Minister Albanese gave a speech in the Australian capital Canberra. He called violence against women a “national crisis” and “epidemic”. According to the Prime Minister, the culture and the legal system must change. “We must ensure that this problem is not just left to women, it is also up to men to change their own behavior,” he said.

However, the Prime Minister did not declare a state of emergency. According to Albanese, a state of emergency is intended to quickly release money, such as with the intense forest fires at the beginning of 2020. This is a long-term process. “We have to tackle this week by week, month by month and year by year,” he said. On Wednesday, the Australian cabinet will hold an emergency meeting to discuss men’s violence against women.

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And it is not the first time that Australians have taken to the streets en masse against gender-based violence. Protests also took place across the country in 2021, after stories emerged about sexual abuse and violence within Australian politics.