Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus will call out a crisis of male violence in Australia and demand that men step up to prevent it, after the number of women killed in violent incidents so far this year reached 24. Source: Sydney Morning Herald.
In a speech that places responsibility for the scourge of violence squarely on Australian men, the chief law officer will also acknowledge the distress being felt across the country following recent murders.
The Victorian town of Ballarat rallied last Friday after three women were killed in two months, while the next day in Sydney, five women died in Joel Cauchi’s stabbing rampage through Bondi Junction.
Mr Dreyfus will say that his speech, to be given at a family violence event today, takes place “against the backdrop of shocking acts of violence against women in recent months, weeks and days”.
“Police investigations and judicial processes must be allowed to run their course without interference. But we must acknowledge the devastating consequences of this violence and the deep distress being felt in our community right now,” he will say.
“We have a crisis of male violence in Australia. It is a scourge in our society and it must end.
“To create lasting change, women cannot be expected to solve violence against women alone. It’s time for men to step up. It’s our responsibility to educate ourselves, our sons, our colleagues and our friends. We must focus on prevention, working together and finding new ways of doing things.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday said that women should not have to change their behaviour.
“Men are overwhelmingly the perpetrators of this violence and men as a group have to change their behaviour,” he said.
A new set of national principles has sought to raise awareness about coercive control, while the Australian Law Reform Commission is also holding an inquiry into improving how sexual assault cases move through the justice system.
FULL STORY
‘We have a crisis of male violence’: Attorney-general says men must step up (By Natassia Chrysanthos, Sydney Morning Herald)
