NOS News•today, 10:50 PM
There have been protests against violence against women in several cities in Australia over the past three days. Thousands of people took to the streets in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, among others, to draw attention to new figures on femicide.
The figures show that an average of one woman has been killed in Australia every four days so far in 2024. According to the Australian news channel ABC, there are already 27, almost twice as many as in the same period last year.
Australians took to the streets in Melbourne and Canberra, among others:
Australians protest violence against women: ‘So many have lost their lives’
The demonstrators are demanding stricter legislation against gender-based violence. They also want Prime Minister Albanese to declare a state of emergency because of the wave of violence.
For example, earlier this month a man stabbed six people to death in a Sydney shopping centre, including five women. According to police, the man deliberately sought out female victims.
‘National crisis’
Albanese gave a speech at a protest in the Australian capital Canberra. In it he called for culture change and emphasized the need for men to change their behavior. He previously called violence against women a “national crisis” and an “epidemic”.
But he rejected the request to declare a state of emergency. According to Albanese, the state of emergency is intended to quickly release money in the event of serious forest fires, for example, while this is a long-term process. “We have to tackle this week by week, month by month and year by year,” he said. The Australian cabinet will meet on Wednesday for an emergency meeting on men’s violence against women.
It is not the first time that attention has been drawn to violence against women in Australia. 2021 also saw protests across the country after stories emerged of abuse and sexual violence within Australian politics.
