Stand Against Violence Against Women.

While Australia is relatively immune to mass killings like the tragedy that occurred at Bondi Junction’s Westfield Shopping Centre on Saturday, we’re not strangers to violence against women. This tragic event along with the recent death of Hannah McGuire, once again reminds us of the need for urgent action to curb the gender-based violence epidemic that is plaguing this country.

In a press release and in Parliament today, Zoe Daniel Independent Member for Goldstein said,

“We need to do more to change the culture among men and boys.

Not all men disrespect women and not all disrespect towards women results in violence.

But all violence against women starts with disrespectful behaviour.

And until every man across the country recognises the role they can play in changing the culture of disrespect, in ceasing to be a bystander, this will not end”.

The heartbreaking incident in Bondi takes the total women killed in Australia this year alone to 28. Another 12 people were hospitalised after the attack - most of them female. The majority of those 28 women that have already died in 2024, just like the 74 women murdered in 2023, were allegedly killed by someone known to them. In the Westfield Shopping Centre deaths however, the alleged attacker was a complete stranger to his victims, but with women the primary target.

Intimate partner homicide is the most common form of domestic and family homicide, and while the majority of these homicides involve a female victim, males and children are also victims.

Domestic violence is felt across the entire community.

These deaths and violence directed against women desperately shines a light directly on men's mental health and need to tackle toxic masculinity in our country. It also highlights the essential role everyone must play to contribute to halting domestic violence and violence against Women.

The Chair of Respect Victoria Kate Fitz-Gibbon says:

“A sustained and long-term commitment to working with young men and boys, and to tackling the underlying drivers of violence against women, is essential. It will save lives and change the trajectory of the lives of boys and men.”

As a Man first and foremost, and someone who is looked upon a a leader, I take a stand.

Enough is enough.

Two women per week have now been killed since the beginning of the year.

Which mother, daughter, sister, or two, will be killed next week?

We must come together to support those affected and work towards a brighter future of shared respect and equality.

Everyone has the right to feel safe.