Australian PM says violence against women a 'national crisis'

SYDNEY - Australia's prime minister on Wednesday declared violence against women a "scourge" and a "national crisis", days after protests in several major cities.

Meeting state premiers, Anthony Albanese announced a raft of measures and funding to tackle "toxic male extremist views", curb deep fake pornography and fund help for victims.

Albanese told Australians that "we all have to take responsibility" for stamping out violence.

So far this year, 28 women have been killed in the country - an average of one death every four days.

By comparison, 14 women died in the same period in 2023.

The deaths have sparked a reckoning, with domestic violence survivors and support services demanding stricter laws at nationwide protests last week.

Albanese on Wednesday announced new legislation to ban deep fake pornography and additional funding for the country's online watchdog to pilot age assurance technologies.

He also announced Aus$925 million (US$598 million) in funding to bolster support services for those fleeing violent situations.

Among the deaths that have rocked the country is that of Molly Ticehurst, a 28-year-old mother who was allegedly murdered last month by her former partner after he was given bail for other serious alleged offences.

These included the alleged rape, stalking and intimidation and destruction of Ticehurst's property.

New data from the Australian government shows that between 2022 and 2023, there were 34 women killed by a former or current partner, a 28 percent increase from the previous year.

But last year's figure remains one of the lowest in the 30 years of data collection.

Our Watch chief executive officer Patty Kinnersly told AFP every death reflected a woman who had been "robbed" of her future.

"This is why the only acceptable number is zero," she said. "Violence against women in Australia is a national crisis, but this violence is preventable."

Australia's domestic violence rates are below the OECD average - with Argentina, Turkey and the United States among the worst offenders, data from 2019 shows.

But University of Technology, Sydney domestic violence expert Kathleen Baird said Australia's statistics are still too high.

"One in four women will experience some form of violence in their life - that is too high," she told AFP.

"The statistics show that the rates are much higher for Indigenous women."

Baird added that it was difficult to say what had driven this spate of deaths, but it was clear that current processes were not working to protect women.