Australia’s last month of headlines have been dominated by one horrifying subject—women’s deaths.
We’re only five months in 2024 and already, the country has already lost 34 women to violence, with 13 of these deaths being within the month of April, according to research by the Australian Femicide Watch.
As the country attempts to processes the devastating consequences of these deaths, more statistics about the state of male-perpetrated violence in the Australia have emerged.
This is what you need to know.
Australia’s Gendered Violence Statistics
Intimate Partner Homicides Have Increased By Nearly 30 Per Cent
New data from the Australian Institute Of Criminology‘s (AIC) National Homicide Monitoring Program has found that the rate of intimate partner homicides in Australia in 2022-23 has increased by nearly 30 percent compared to the previous year.
In the 2022-23 financial year, there were 34 women killed in intimate partner incidences, which is the equivalent of 0.32 per 100,000 people.
In the previous year, this rate was 0.25 per 100,000 people, demonstrating an increase of 28% per cent.
While the rate of women killed in intimate partner incidents has been declining since the early 1990s—a 66% decrease over 34 years—the rise in last year’s homicide rate and number of women killed in early 2024 has Australia concerned.
First Nations Women Are Disproportionately More Likely To Be Victims Of Intimate Partner Violence
The AIC data has also made clear that First Nations women are the most at risk of intimate partner violence.
In 2022-23, the data shows the homicide victimisation rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander females was 3.07 per 100,000, compared with 0.45 per 100,000 for non-Indigenous females.
This means the rate of Homicide Victimisation for First Nations women was seven times higher than it was for non-Indigenous Australians.
Homicide Is Overwhelmingly Committed By Male Perpetrators
The data confirms what we already know—that homicide is mostly committed by male perpetrators.
The AIC data shows that of the homicide cases in 2022-23 where the sex of the perpetrator was known, 86.4 per cent were male and 13.6 per cent were female.
Of the 34 women killed by an intimate partner last year, all were killed by a male partner.
What Is The Australian Government Doing About It?
In response to the sharp rise in gendered violence this year, the Australian government has announced a set of new strategies to prevent domestic and family violence.
These measures include $5000 support payments for people fleeing violent relationships, regulations against deepfakes, increased safeguards for young people online and a proposed law to ban doxxing.
The measures are part of the new Leaving Violence Payment, which will cost $925 million over the next five years.
“We want women to know if they need to leave, they can afford to go,” social services minister Amanda Rishworth said in a statement.
The National Cabinet will meet later in the year to discuss progress on the new measures.
A roundtable led by national Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commissioner Michaela Cronin will take place on the 7th May, to discuss better intervention methods, and address the high rates of violence against First Nations women.
If you or someone you know is experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, domestic, family or sexual violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, text 0458 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au for online chat and video call services.
