Djab Wurrung woman and former Greens Senate candidate Sissy Austin was brutally attacked on 11 February 2023 while out trail running in Lal Lal– roughly 20 km away from where Murphy reportedly disappeared in Ballarat on 4 February 2024 while out for a regular run. 

Last year, Austin was allegedly attacked by a man with a homemade weapon (a rock tied to a stick) and knocked unconscious. Police at the time said they believed the attacker to be a Caucasian male wearing black jeans, a cap and no shoes or shirt.

Despite the brutal nature of the assault, her alleged attacker has yet to be found. Now, Austin says the police are revisiting her case with regards to Murphy’s disappearance but have failed to contact her regarding the investigation. 

In a scathing social media post on Wednesday, Austin laid bare the hypocrisy surrounding the police’s investigations into a missing white woman compared to her own case as a proud Aboriginal woman. 

“When a First Nations woman is attacked running, there’s little to no investigation. Then a year on a white woman goes missing running in the same town and now highly regarded detectives want to revisit my case, not because my life matters, but because the missing white woman’s does,” writes Austin.

“This is one of those clear examples where if police fail one of us, they fail all of us.”

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A post shared by Sissy Austin (@sissyxxaustin)

Police scaling back the ground search for Murphy

Murphy, 51, went missing over a week ago after leaving her Ballarat East home to go for one of her regular runs at around 7am. She was captured by her home’s security camera dressed in an exercise shirt and with her hair pulled back. 

The alarm was sounded after Murphy failed to attend a brunch she had planned later that day.

Emergency services and locals from the area launched a full-scale search of bushland, with no trace of her found. On Saturday, however, police announced they were scaling back the ground search. 

Retired homicide detective Charlie Bezzina told the ABC, that it’s likely the police have a specific line of inquiry to justify scaling back this land search. He believes investigators could be looking at the same suspects who attacked Austin last year. 

Having spent three-and-a-half decades investigating some of the nation’s worst crimes with Victoria police, Bezzina said that if he were on the case, he’d “be looking very closely about the whole investigation, did they have suspects, whether you need to go back and talk to her.”

“I’d be looking at the investigation file. Let’s start re-interviewing those suspects, let’s get them alibied.”

As community members join the search and social media groups post theories on Murphy’s disappearance, Victoria Police have discouraged people from speculating on the case while investigators continue to look for evidence. 

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“I’m very proud to lead the first government in Australia with a majority of women in our membership,” Albanese said to government leaders who gathered together at Parliament House on Wednesday morning to officially launch Australia’s 2024 International Women’s Day (IWD) celebrations. 

“You can see across every portfolio, this makes a difference. Because of women campaigning with the union movement, making it clear that no one should have to choose between safety and their job, we now have 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave.”

“Because of women’s advocacy and the work of experts like Anne Summers, emphasising the way that poverty and financial dependency trap people in violent relationships, we’ve delivered more support for single mums,” he said.

“When women are seeking help, they should be heard and seen, believed, supported and empowered.”

“While women are shaping these policies and driving these responses, ending this epidemic of violence has to involve men stepping up. Because violence against women is not a problem that women should have to solve.”

The tragic number of women killed in Australia shows that the epidemic of violence plaguing the nation. In 2023, Destroy the Joint data revealed a staggering 64 women’s lives were stolen by violence, and already this year, six women have lost their lives to violence. 

The gender-based nature of this violence is clear, as men are often the perpetrators of physical violence, sexual harassment and sexual violence. This reality makes Albanese’s call for men to “take responsibility” all the more critical. 

Ahead of the UN Global Day of Observance on 8 March, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Leader of the Opposition Peter Dutton co-hosted the annual UN Women Australia event. 

“The lead-up to International Women’s Day is an opportunity for all of us to recognise the progress that women are driving across our economy and our society,” Albanese said.

“It’s a chance to re-affirm our commitment to true gender equality – in the community, the boardroom, on the sporting field, in our parliaments. Above all, this is a time when we must face-up to where we are falling short and look for new ways to do better.”

Also present at the event were some of the government’s most high profile womne, including Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong, Minister for Women Katy Gallagher and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth.

This year’s official theme for IWD is ‘Count Her In: Invest in Women. Accelerate Progress’, based on the priority theme for the United Nations 68th Commission on the Status of Women, exploring the pathways to greater economic inclusion for women and girls everywhere.

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On Tuesday, the European Parliament and officials announced that the bloc had reached an agreement on the law that aims to protect women in the 27-nation European Union from gender-based violence. 

The legislation will also criminalise cyberstalking, cyberharassment and cyber incitement to hatred or violence across the European Union.

The agreement comes almost two years after The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, first proposed the law to mark International Women’s Day 2022. 

EU lawmaker Frances Fitzgerald told reporters in Strasbourg after the announcement that the agreement sends “a clear message across the union that we take violence against women seriously.”

Posting images from her meetings in the northeastern city of France, the former Irish senator wrote on Instagram: “It takes a great team, hours of hard work and determination to get any deal over the line.”

“Thank you to all those who played their part in securing agreement on a new landmark Directive to combat Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence. This is a good day for the women and men of Europe.”

Swedish socialist MEP and fellow EU lawmaker, Evin Incir said the agreement is “a directive that the women and girls all across the European Union have asked for for over 30 years.”

Fitzgerald and Incir have been the key players in leading the process to introduce EU-wide laws to tackle violence against women. Last October, Fitzgerald expressed her dismay at the lack of urgency from governments to tackle gendered violence across Europe.

“The seriousness of the crime is still internationally not being matched by the intensity of the approaches needed, and this is a symptom of that,” she said at the time. 

“A city the size of Marseilles, Amsterdam or Zagreb disappears every 10 years as 858,000 women are murdered globally. So I can’t help but think it is part of misogyny, and it’s part of a patriarchal society that we live in, that we’ve had such a job getting (crimes against women) to the top of the agenda.”

Earlier this morning, the Vice-President for Values and Transparency at the European Commission, Vera Jourova, wrote on X, “For the first time ever, we criminalise widespread forms of cyberviolence, such as non-consensual sharing of intimate images.” 

“Way too many #women still suffer domestic violence or violence online in the EU.” 

She also posted a video, saying “Today is a very important day because just a few minutes ago we finalised the trilogue on the violence against women directive.”

“Why we needed a legally binding rules against violence against women. Because simply, as I sometimes say, Europe is a good address for women, but not for all.”

“Many women are suffering from violence and we need to stop this horrible practise and the perpetrators have to be punished and the society also have to take a stronger stance against the violence.”

“So that’s why this directive, which is historically the first one which covers and which seeks to combat violence against women, should cause the big difference we have for the first time addressing addressed cyber violence, we have addressed also the non consensual distribution of in images, all these horrible things which see lately, together with the technological development. So now we have the directive, we will have to finalise the process and after some time when the directive will be implemented into the national laws, we will, I hope, see the difference.”

“The European women and girls need and deserve much stronger and better protection.”

Under the agreement made this week, the commission will report every five years on any potential changes to the rule that need to be made. 

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A post shared by Frances Fitzgerald MEP (@frances_fitzgerald_mep)

Defining ‘rape’ disagreement 

EU member states and lawmakers have not included a common definition of rape in the law, as countries remain divided on how to define the crime. 

In a statement, the parliament said member states will seek to improve awareness that non-consensual sex is considered a criminal offence. 

Countries including Belgium, Greece, Italy, Spain and Sweden sought to include a definition of rape in the law, but faced knock back from countries including France, Germany and Hungary — who argued that the EU was not equip to do so and that rape lacks the cross-border dimension for it to be assessed as a crime with common penalties in the bloc.

This argument was strongly refuted by the parliament and the commission who challenged that rape could fall within the definition of “sexual exploitation of women” for which a joint set of penalties already exists. 

“We could not get consent-based definition of rape into this directive. So that is a very big disappointment,” Fitzgerald said on Tuesday.

Last month, various international rights organisations criticised the countries who refused to define rape in the law. 

“It is utterly unacceptable that some member states are stubbornly unresponsive to the need to combat rape across the EU,” an open letter from eleven organisations including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Center for Reproductive Rights expressed. 

“Consent-based definitions have proven to guarantee greater protection and access to justice for women and other victims of rape, including increased reporting and prosecution rates.” 

“We urge governments to act in accordance with their international and regional human rights obligations, particularly under the Istanbul Convention, and agree on the most robust Directive possible to prevent, prosecute and redress violence against women.”

Last October, Fitzgerald said the hesitation towards introducing an EU-wide consent-based definition of rape was “not acceptable”.

“There isn’t enough political motivation at the moment from some member states to include rape,” Fitzgerald said at the time. 

“You can get somebody moved from Ireland to Germany for murder, but when it comes to rape, they’re saying ‘No, let the member states deal with that’. They don’t say ‘it’s because we don’t like the definition’.”

“They don’t say ‘it’s because what are you talking about with consent?’ which is the belief of certain member states, they really find it hard to get their heads around the idea of consent.”

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The teenager, from Bellbird Park Ipswich, was found and arrested at a unit block also at Bellbird Park shortly before 3pm on Monday. Along with murder, the boy has been charged with unlawful use of a motor vehicle and three counts of stealing. 

He is due to appear in the Ipswich Children’s Court today. 

Four other teenagers have been charged as well, with unlawful use of a motor vehicle. The two 16-year-old boys and a 15-year-old boy are also due to appear in court today. 

The other 16-year-old, a boy from Goodna, was located and arrested in Riverview around 11am Monday. 

One of the 15-year-olds, a boy from Bellbird Park, was arrested at Redbank Plains shortly before 3pm on Monday. The other 15-year-old boy faced court yesterday, charged with unlawful use of a motor vehicle and was granted bail to reappear again later this month. 

Police have said investigations remain ongoing into the homicide at Redbank Plains on Saturday. 

White was allegedly fatally stabbed in the chest in Town Square Redbank Plains Shopping Centre’s underground car park around 6pm, in front of her granddaughter. 

The woman’s car was allegedly used as a getaway car by the five teenagers and found dumped at Springfield Lakes just 20 minutes later. Police released CCTV footage of the teens getting out of the car after launching a major manhunt and public appeal for help. 

White’s daughter, Danice White, spoke to the Courier Mail to express her grief, saying the tragedy should never have happened. 

“She was always praying for people, that’s why I am still around,” she said.

“My mum’s faith is very important.”

White’s daughter also said her mum was about to celebrate 50 years of marriage, and now, her father, who is blind, is struggling to come to terms with what happened to his wife. 

“We are all pretty numb and shaken up,” White’s daughter said. 

Friends of White have described her as a “selfless woman”. 

A close family friend, Katherine Jenkins spoke to ABC Radio Brisbane yesterday to explain how White’s death was affecting her family. 

“There’s a lot of shock as to what’s happened and they’re going through a time that’s very confusing to come to terms with,” she said, adding that the tragedy is still “relatively fresh for the family”. 

Speaking to who White was as a person, Jenkins said, “she loved to help anyone that she came into contact with.”

“She loved her family, her granddaughter, her grandchildren and she was a loved teacher of the community.”

“She touched many hearts around her.”

Jenkins has set up a Go Fund Me page to help the family with life and funeral expenses.

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Emergency services were called to the Redbank Plains car park in Ipswich around 6.30pm on Saturday following reports of the stabbing. 

Attempts to revive the woman, identified as Vyleen White, were unsuccessful and she died at the scene a short time later. Her six-year-old granddaughter, who witnessed the attack, was assessed at the scene, but wasn’t physically injured.

Police have confirmed White sustained life-threatening injuries in an armed robbery, calling the scene “confronting”.

At a press conference on Sunday, Detective Acting Superintendent Heath McQueen said the woman had been grocery shopping and was near her car when the random attack occurred. 

“It’s an abhorrent, cowardly violent attack on a 70-year-old grandmother in front of her six-year-old granddaughter,” said McQueen. 

“It’s extremely confronting to watch, it’s extremely confronting for first-responding officers and bystanders who intervened.”

On Sunday, police released CCTV footage of the incident and images of the four persons of interest they wish to question in relation to the murder. 

Footage shows White’s car being driven from the shopping centre following the stabbing, with four individuals exiting the car. 

At around 9.30pm on Sunday, a 15-year-old Ripley boy presented to Ipswich Police Station. He has been charged with one count of unlawful use of a motor vehicle in relation to the alleged stolen car, and is expected to appear at Ipswich Children’s Court today (February 5). The three others depicted in the CCTV footage remain outstanding.

“This is a significant investigation and I want to thank the community of Ipswich in the last 24 hours,” McQueen said on Sunday, noting that apprehending the offender and ensuring the community feels safe is of the utmost importance to the police.

Floral tributes have been left outside the Queensland shopping centre for the “beloved” grandmother. White’s daughter spoke to 9News, describing her as the light of their family and that she was “the most loving, compassionate and caring person you could ever meet.

A former religious education teacher and worker in wiring electrical motors, White was on the verge of celebrating 50 years of marriage. 

Her daughter has said their family wants justice for their loved one so that nobody else has to go through such a tragedy.

One of the witnesses and local, Emmanuella George told 9News she now felt unsafe after news of the murder and that “this type of stuff doesn’t happen in this area”. 

This is a common response heard by journalists following violent attacks on women throughout Australia, and highlights the disconnect between community attitudes of the all too prevalent rates of violence against women. 

Statistics from ANROWS in Canberra, the National Community Attitudes Survey (NCAS), show that while 91 per cent of Australians believe violence against women is a problem in Australia, only 47 per cent of respondents believe it is a problem in their own suburb or town.

White is among six women who’ve been killed by violence in Australia this year, according to Destroy the Joint statistics. In 2023, the harrowing number came to sixty-four women killed. 

Investigations into White’s murder are ongoing, and police are urging anyone with information to come forward. 

“Now is the time to step up and come forward and provide us with information about who the offender is,” said McQueen. 

Ipswich district officer superintendent Kylie Rigg said police had already begun increasing patrols and visibility around the area and would continue to do so to help restore community confidence and safety. 

If you have information for police, contact Policelink by providing information using the online suspicious activity form 24hrs per day at www.police.qld.gov.au/reporting or call 131 444.

Report crime information anonymously via Crime Stoppers. Call 1800 333 000 or report online at www.crimestoppersqld.com.au.

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“This has been a long sad journey for us as a family. After nearly 11 years the police have finally charged the man who last saw our granddaughter, daughter, mother, sister, niece, aunty and cousin alive,” said the family in a statement.

Painting a picture of their loved one, the family said she was “a cheeky little girl who grew into a quiet, proud and loving mother”. 

“Many do not know that Ms Bernard is a Kowanyama woman who lived all her life in her community where the Mitchell River flows into the Gulf of Carpentaria.”

“She loved to dance and to swim in the freshwater on her country. Her favourite flower was an orange hibiscus.”

“Many of you would not know that we laid her favourite flowers around her framed photos at her inquest. Today we still grieve for her to come home.”

Continuing the search

“Our women do not go missing and they don’t run off into the dark for no reason,” the family of Ms Bernard has said, noting their frustrations at the police’s investigation into her disappearance.

Ms Bernard was 23 when she was reported missing. On February 10, 2013 the mother of two was seen at a pub in Coen on Cape York before allegedly travelling to Archer River Quarry with quarry caretaker Thomas Maxwell Byrnes, where she was last seen. 

For the next 11 years, no charges were laid after subsequent police investigations and colonial inquiries were unsuccessful in piecing together her disappearance. And last year, a $500,000 reward for information was announced. 

Byrnes, now 62, has been a person of interest throughout the investigation and has repeatedly denied wrongdoing. He told the inquest she left the property later in the night to go “walkabout”.

In April 2022, the coronial inquest ordered police to undertake fresh searches at Byrne’s property after finding fault with initial investigative efforts. 

Byrnes has now been charged with murder, with Ms Bernard’s family urging him to reveal her location so she can be brought back to her “traditional homeland” and “buried alongside her loved ones”. 

“When we reported our loved one missing to the police in 2013 they believed the man who is now charged with her murder and who told police that she ran off in the middle of the night for no reason,” said Ms Bernard’s family. “The police never suspected his involvement in her death and in the disposal of her body which has never been found.”

Having never let up pressure on investigators to find Ms Bernard, the family also thanked efforts from their lawyer, human rights activist Debbie Kilroy and the coroner who “ensured the police did their job” and followed up “their failed investigation” from 2013.

Detective Acting Superintendent Mick Searle said police recognised there had been “challenges and shortcomings” with the initial investigation into Ms Bernard’s disappearance. He said the investigation would continue despite Byrne’s arrest. 

13YARN 13 92 76

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A minute of silence was given to honour Hoskins’ memory before the start of the women’s road race at the Australian road cycling championships on Sunday morning in Buninyong, near Ballarat. 

Alongside the cyclists at the event, former Australian track and road cycling champion Kate Bates addressed the crowd, saying: “Let her unyielding spirit inspire us to push forward, to strive for excellence, and to cherish every moment of this race and of our lives.”

A popular figure in the sport of cycling, Hoskins was a two-time Olympian and world champion. The mother of two died in Adelaide last week from injuries suffered in a traffic incident. Hoskins’ husband, Rohan Dennis, faces several driving-related charges over her death. 

“Mel was a beacon of strength, determination and bravery. Her vibrant spirit and resilience inspired everyone around her,” said Bates. 

“Mel was a mother, a daughter, a sister, a very much-loved friend and beyond this she was an Olympian, a world beater and one of the best athletes Australian cycling… will ever see.” 

Hoskins’ parents, Peter and Amanda, and her sister, Jess, released a joint statement last week, saying they are “utterly devastated” and are “still struggling to process what has happened”. 

“Words cannot convey our grief, sadness and the tragic circumstances of Melissa’s passing,” the statement said.

“Not only have we lost a daughter and sister, her children have lost their mum, a freewheeling spirit, a giver with a big heart, patience and zest for life.”

“She was the rock of their life and ours and we need to honour her memory so they can grow up knowing who she was, what she stood for and what she gave to everyone whose life she touched.”

Women’s Tour race director Annette Edmondson said this is “a really, really hard situation and we feel for everybody involved.There will be moments and it will be tough at times”. 

A national teammate of Hoskins on the track in the team pursuit, Edmondson also said the world had “lost a shining star” in Hoskins, describing her as a “a fun, loving, hilarious person, who was so talented in so many areas.”

“A force to be reckoned with, she took the cycling world by storm, before pursuing her next dream; starting a family & becoming the ultimate Mum.”

Hoskins’ family has asked for privacy to deal with their grief. A funeral will be held for Hoskins in her hometown of Perth, followed by a memorial service in Adelaide after this month’s Tour Down Under. 

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I’m sitting on the Victorian coast listening to bird song at the start of the day- it’s January 2, I read this news headline and my head hurts: “Horrifying new details of Olympian Melissa Hoskins’ death emerge”.

The photos accompanying the article on Melissa’s horrendous death are mainly of Melissa and her husband who is arrested due to his alleged role in her death.

Newspapers have mentioned no less than 15 times across coverage they lived in a “luxurious” suburb. The local paper even went as far as to outline their retirement plans of potentially opening a winery. I’m sure her parents must love to see that.

The subtext of all of this of course is to say “this is a complete aberration, this is a nice guy, an OLYMPIAN no less, we need the whole story. This should never have happened”. I really had hoped we’d moved past this lazy narrative in the media- we certainly need to.

I agree- it should never have happened. There is a shattered family, community and most importantly two children now without a mother. Where they lived and what careers they had has zero bearing on the “chance of being a victim”.

This story is awful, and it’s a story that rings true for the 64 families and communities that have been impacted by the alleged murders of women in 2023.

I had journalists contact me over the break looking for comment on the alleged murder on Christmas day on cable beach- they wanted a solution of “how this can and must be stopped.” I understand their shock and anguish. I wish I could provide simple advice to stop women being murdered. Two women (that we know of) brutally lost their lives between Christmas and new year. Two men known to them are arrested for their alleged murder.

And whilst I can’t speculate of the exact events that took place in the lead up to the alleged murders, I can unequivocally say that both women deserved more.

This is not a new conversation. Last year, white ribbon documented 48,000 articles specifically published about violence against women.

I, and many others before me, have been clear- there isn’t going to be a linear solution. Violence is a process, not an event. We have to treat the symptoms to prevent the outcomes.

In the week between Christmas and new years, every year the data shows us frontline service demand surges. There can be expectations and heightened emotions around the holidays; we are in a cost of living crisis and alcohol and other drug usage can exacerbate violence- it’s the perfect pressure cooker.

Thousands of women and children everyday in Australia flee violence. They then are funnelled into an imperfect system that often has them make an impossible choice between poverty and safety.

2024 will be different, because it has to be. Change is not impossible, but it will take a concerted effort across all of society.

I don’t want to spend the next year reading and writing anguished words about the murders of women.

I want to see leadership and innovation in how we look at community attitudes and gender equality. I want better media standards that insist publications do more than telling us all about the “good guy who snapped”.

Moreover, I encourage anyone who wants change to be involved- there is no contribution that can be considered too big or too small and we need all of them.

I look forward to working with you.

If you or someone you know is experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, domestic, family or sexual violence call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, chat online via 1800RESPECT.org.au or text 0458 737 732. 

If you are concerned about your behaviour or use of violence, you can contact the Men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491 or visit www.ntv.org.au.

Feeling worried or no good? No shame, no judgement, safe place to yarn. Speak to a 13YARN Crisis Supporter, call 13 92 76. This service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

In an emergency, call 000.

The post Gender biased media coverage follows Olympic cyclist Melissa Hoskins’ alleged murder appeared first on Women's Agenda.

This makes Hoskins the 63rd woman in Australia to be killed by an alleged violent assault in 2023, according to Destroy the Joint statistics. 

The 32-year-old mother of two died after paramedics rushed her to hospital with serious injuries on Saturday night. 

Her husband, 33-year-old former professional cyclist Dennis, was charged with causing her death by dangerous driving, driving without due care and endangering life. He was released on bail to appear in the Adelaide Magistrates Court again in March.

Known for her many achievements in track cycling, Hoskins leaves behind a remarkable legacy.

She was a member of the Australian track cycling team pursuit that finished in fourth place at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Hoskins also won gold in the women’s team pursuit at the 2015 world championships and retired from professional cycling in 2017. 

Tributes have been flowing in for the beloved Hoskins, as loved ones and those in the cycling community grieve her life. 

In a statement released on New Year’s Day, AusCycling CEO Marne Fechner described the “shock and sorrow” felt by Hoskins’ “tragic death”, as the cycling force had been an inspiration to many. 

“Melissa, a mother, daughter, and wife, was also a champion cyclist who thrilled and inspired us with her exquisite skills on the track and road,” Fechner said.

“Melissa began her competitive cycling career at just 16, and by the time she retired at the age of 25 she had shown the world that she was an athlete of rare prowess.”

“Melissa described her team Pursuit Gold Medal at the 2015 UCI Track Cycling World Championships as the highlight of her career, but for the rest of us, the highlight was just having her around.”

Media coverage of women killed in Australia

As more information is released on Hoskins’ alleged murder by her husband, many advocates have begun calling out the media’s reporting of her death. 

“Even though she was a world champion, her accomplishments are repeatedly being ignored while those of the man who allegedly killed her are featured in the headlines,” writes Director of the American Medical Women’s Association, Dr. Arghavan Salles on the platform X (formerly Twitter). 

Many of the media headlines have referred to Hoskins’ as “Rohan Dennis’ wife” rather than stating her full name. Dennis’ cycling career has also been placed front and centre despite Hoskins’ own towering list of accomplishments. 

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Pointing out the disparity and need for better media coverage surrounding the death of women in Australia, Non Executive Director of Full Stop Australia, Fay Calderone has written on LinkedIn that “we must do better”. 

“Heartbroken for her children, family and those who loved her,” Calderone writes about Hoskins’ death.

“I truly hope 2024 is a better year.”

If you or someone you know is experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, domestic, family or sexual violence call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, chat online via 1800RESPECT.org.au or text 0458 737 732. 

If you are concerned about your behaviour or use of violence, you can contact the Men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491 or visit www.ntv.org.au.

Feeling worried or no good? No shame, no judgement, safe place to yarn. Speak to a 13YARN Crisis Supporter, call 13 92 76. This service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

In an emergency, call 000.

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The South Australian police have named the victim as Julie “Julez” Seed, 38, in what they suspect was “a random attack”. A second woman, aged 50, sustained injuries and was taken to hospital where she’s reportedly in stable condition.  A 30-year-old man has been arrested, and police said he is expected to be charged with murder. 

With this latest life lost, the total number of women killed by violence in 2023 ticks over to a chilling 61. 

In 2022, that number sat at 57 at the end of the year, according to statistics from Destroy the Joint. Just last week, Women’s Agenda reported that Australia had surpassed this number in a tragic conclusion to the annual 16 days of activism against gender-based violence.

Since then, another woman was killed in a stabbing at the National Zoo and Aquarium in Canberra. On Tuesday, a man was charged with her murder. 

While it can be hard to make sense of all this violence, one thing is for certain— when it comes to ensuring women’s safety in Australia, we’ve found ourselves in a very grim place this year. 

One woman is killed by an intimate partner every week, while Indigenous women are eight times more likely than non-Indigenous women to be murdered. 

One in six women have experience physical or sexual violence by a partner, and over half of women in their twenties have experience sexual violence. 

And for those women fleeing family violence, only 3 per cent receive the long-term housing they need. 

The director of the National Women’s Safety Alliance, Katherine Berney, has shared her thoughts on Women’s Agenda this week on these unacceptably high domestic violence rates.

“This year, there have been close to 50,000 articles published specifically focused on violence against women. There have been so many words written, roundtables, conferences, and discussion. People are anguished, they are angry and rightly so,” she says

“These statistics paint a horrendous and uncomfortable picture about how we value survivors’ experiences across the nation.”

Steps taken in 2023 to improve women’s safety

It’s obvious that more must be done to prevent the epidemic of violence against women that Australia is facing. Nevertheless, there have been some proactive steps taken this year for women’s safety that are worth highlighting.

For the first time, the federal government set targets for ending violence against women and children, including a dedicated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander action plan. The five-year plan aims to reduce the number of women killed by intimate partner violence by 25 per cent each year.

As part of the National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children 2022-2032, the Albanese government announced a $15 million investment into First Nations-led research on family, domestic and sexual violence.

Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS) launched a five-year plan to address the next steps towards ending violence against women. This framework is helping guide researchers, funders, policymakers, survivor advocates and social impact organisations who work in the domestic and family violence space.

In November this year, the New South Wales government introduced new legislation against choking. The proposed amendments place serious strangulation offences into definitions of “serious violence offence” and “serious sex offence”, which are in the same category as other crimes including murder and manslaughter.

The telephone helpline 1800RESPECT also expanded its services to provide support for victims of family, domestic and sexual violence via SMS text message.

And, this month, the South Australian government has announced it will hold a royal commission into family and domestic violence following the horrific alleged murders of several women in recent weeks.

With all of this momentum towards ensuring women’s safety, many are asking themselves why we aren’t seeing a change. The number of women being killed by violence has increased this year and the statistics are painting a horrendous picture. 

“If you want to make change, sit with these statistics, feel uncomfortable with them,” Katherine Berney says. 

“Resist the temptation to look for cause and effect and to think ‘this won’t happen to me, I’m way more careful’. Start from a position of empathy rather than framing what interventions from the victim could have prevented the violence that has occurred.”

“The simplest thing that anyone can do to make change in domestic family and sexual violence is to start by believing.”

If you or someone you know is experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, domestic, family or sexual violence call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, chat online via 1800RESPECT.org.au or text 0458 737 732. 

If you are concerned about your behaviour or use of violence, you can contact the Men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491 or visit www.ntv.org.au.

Feeling worried or no good? No shame, no judgement, safe place to yarn. Speak to a 13YARN Crisis Supporter, call 13 92 76. This service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

In an emergency, call 000.

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Emergency services were called to the zoo at about 12:50 pm on Monday after reports of a disturbance. When ACT Police arrived, they found the woman deceased in a commercial kitchen.

The person of interest, a 29-year-old man from the Canberra suburb Oaks Estate, was taken into custody and transported to hospital under police guard. 

The zoo has now been closed for investigation, and police say there’s no ongoing threat to the public. No charges have been laid over the incident but a homicide investigation has commenced. 

Detective Superintendent Hall O’Meagher of ACT Criminal Investigations said in a press conference that the victim and the suspect were co-workers at the zoo but “it’s unknown at this point in time if they had any further relationship outside of that work arrangement”. 

“A post-mortem examination will be conducted in coming days, but at this stage it looks like she’s been stabbed to death with a knife,” he said, adding that “the knife was located at the scene”. 

While police do not believe there are direct witnesses to the incident, Detective Superintendent O’Meagher said witnesses around the commercial kitchen area described a disturbance and responded by alerting authorities.

“The deceased was located in situ at a storeroom out the back of the commercial kitchen within the zoo,” he said.

The 29-year-old male suspect was taken to the Canberra Hospital from apparent self-inflicted wounds and is reported to be in stable condition.

“The investigating police have spoken to the family of the deceased, and our thoughts are with them at this very difficult time for them,” said Detective Superintendent O’Meagher.

The National Zoo and Aquarium has also released a statement expressing sympathy for “the families along with those staff “affected in one way or another”, adding that they have organised trauma counselling for all staff involved.

“A young woman has been stabbed to death in our nation’s capital,” said Sussan Ley, the acting leader of the opposition and shadow minister for women, in a statement on the alleged murder.

“This is yet another horrific tragedy which appears to have happened in a workplace.”

“As a woman I am angry, and I am shattered,” she said. “This is a national crisis. We must stop this violence.”

The total number of women killed by violence this year in Australia has reached sixty, according to Destroy the Joint’s tracking. This dreadful number is already higher than last year, as fifty-seven women’s lives were stolen by violence in 2022.

Police are urging anyone with information that could assist police to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or via the Crime Stoppers ACT website, and quote reference 7623644.

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The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan has said this confinement “would amount to an arbitrary deprivation of liberty” and that “confining women who are already in a situation of vulnerability in a punitive environment would also likely have a negative impact on their mental and physical health, revictimization and put them at risk of discrimination and stigmatization upon release”.

Taliban authorities told the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan that women who don’t have a male relative to with, or whose male relatives are deemed a threat to their safety, are being sent to prison. 

It was unclear if the orders were based on court referrals but the report states that where some de facto (Taliban) officials “had safety concerns for a survivor, she would be sent to the women’s prison, for her protection, akin to how prisons have been used to accommodate drug addicts and homeless people in Kabul”. 

Before the Taliban seized power in 2021, the UN report said there were 23 state-sponsored women protection centres in Afghanistan where survivors of gender-based violence could seek refuge. 

None of these shelters exist anymore as the Taliban has described them as a Western concept and told the UN there was no need for them. 

The UN’s report is a snapshot of legal and judicial responses by the Taliban to complaints of gender-based violence against women and girls. It covers incidents from August 2021 through March 2023, including murders, honour killings and rapes.

“The lack of clear delineation of responsibilities among the various de facto institutions on the handling of complaints of gender-based violence against women and girls and referrals between entities creates a gap in accountability for justice actors and makes it difficult for women and girls to know which entity to approach when they have a gender-based violence complaint,” said the report. 

Women denied human rights in Afghanistan

Afghanistan ranks as the worst place in the world to be a woman, according to this year’s Women, Peace and Security (WPS) index, which measures a country’s inclusion, justice and security for its female population. 

In early July this year, the Taliban announced beauty salons – a traditionally safe space for women – would be forced to close across the country. Beauty salons were often run by women, and may have been the only source of income for households. 

Afghan women are also barred from parks, gyms, denied a post-secondary education, cannot work (except in health care and some private businesses) and can’t leave the house without a male chaperone. 

Many Afghan women have escaped the Taliban’s regime by fleeing to Pakistan. However, since October 31 of this year, a deadline from the Pakistani government has seen more than 200,000 Afghans cross back into Afghanistan where they’re at grave risk of being persecuted.

“Afghan women have been denied the most basic human rights in what can only be described as gender apartheid,” said Vrinda Narain, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law in McGill University’s Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism. 

“The world needs resolute collective international action to end the war on women.”

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