Grim violence against women figure that should terrify us all

Our country has a big problem that we can no longer ignore. If nothing changes, 222 Aussies will be dead by 2028.

OPINION

By the time the next federal election rolls around in 2028, 222 women who are alive today will, statistically, have been killed or allegedly killed by men.

That is, unless something changes.

Australia is in the grips of a gendered violence epidemic and yet it has barely registered even as a sad, half-beep on the election radar.

In late March, as Australia teetered on the edge of official electioneering, Audrey Griffin, Cecilia Webb, Czarina Gatbonton Tumaliuan were all allegedly murdered by men.

Then on March 28, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited the Governor-General and officially blew the starter whistle.

In the month since then, while Mr Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton have been in full pelt hustings mode, Louise Hunt, Thi Kim Tran and a 39-year-old woman from the Kimberly region were also allegedly killed by men.

In the time it’s taken for Mr Albanese and Mr Dutton to try and persuade voters of their charms and policies over the last month and a bit, at least six mothers, sisters, friends and daughters have lost their lives.

Women are dying and it barely feels like it’s even a footnote of this election campaign.

The tragedy of this issue was driven home last week when police charged Adrian Torrens, 53, with Ms Griffin’s death and 11 unrelated domestic violence charges.

Last week, more than 1000 people gathered on the beach at Terrigal wearing white to remember Ms Griffin.

Audrey Griffin, 19, was murdered in late March, 2025. Picture: LinkedIn

The community was left reeling after the shock after her death. Picture: Facebook

Only hours later, Torrens died by suicide in his Sydney jail cell.

The same week, both the Labor and the Liberal parties laid out their separate anaemic proposals and spending commitments to combat what experts have called an “epidemic of violence” against women in our country.

On this issue and this issue alone pretty much, Labor and the Liberals have demonstrated they are on the gosh darn same page – a largely blank one with a scribbled promise in the margin to have a bit of a go at doing better.

As we enter the final dash for the ballot box, both parties seem to have failed to make violence against women a real priority and we should be bloody angry.

Ready to be simultaneously horrified and incensed?

Statistically, since the election officially began,390 women have been hospitalised because of violence against women, per Our Watch.

Adrian Torrens, 53, was charged with the murder of Central Coast teenager Audrey Griffin. Picture: Facebook

At least 4000 women will have been turned away by women’s legal services, according to numbers from Women’s Legal Services Australia.

Fourteen women have been killed this year so far, according to Counting Dead Women Australia which is run by Destroy The Joint.

2024 was one of the worst years on record, with a woman killed, on average, every four days.

Seventy-eight women lost their lives last year to gender-based violence.

I know, I know. You’ve heard these sorts of chilling numbers before but consider them another way.

Imagine if one man was dying every four days on the golf course or 390 men per month were being hospitalised playing video games.

Or how about if an Australian was on average being killed every four days while eating sausage rolls.

Czarina Gatbonton Tumaliuan was allegedly murdered in the backyard of her home. Picture: Facebook

There would be a national outcry and then some sort of massive inquiry into golf or sausage rolls.

This would be followed by thundering denunciations and lectern-thumping performances from pollies of all stripes in Canberra as they vied to out-do one another in the forcefulness of their response.

And yet little if nothing changes on the violence against women front.

The deja vu can feel overwhelming. Every week or month when there is a horrible new story about a woman being killed or allegedly killed by a man, there is some ourtage and a few plaintive calls for more anti-violence funding and the needle never seems to move.

If anyone had been hoping this election might see either the Labor or Liberal parties step up and to really press the issue with urgency and a burning conviction and gobs more money, I have only bad news.

While both Mr Albanese and Mr Dutton support the 10-year National Action Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children, which was established in 2022, three years on, at a time when they are meant to be wooing voters and laying out their visions for a better Australia, all that they have put on the table feels horribly limp.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has made big promises. Picture: Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images

In 2024, Mr Albanese called branded gendered violence a “national crisis” however Labor’s “Commitment to Women” plan launched last week, lays out “much” of “what the party has already done to address women’s safety”, according to Dr Hayley Boxall, Research Fellow at the ANU Centre for Social Research Methods, pointed out in the ANU Reporter

Then it was Mr Dutton’s turn to have a go, with him announcing a $90 million package to augment the National Action Plan plan.

Consider the numbers: $90 million. And yet the Liberal Party can find $6 billion to cut the fuel excise.

Here’s another number: $26 billion. That’s the estimated immediate and long term cost of gender-based violence, according to Dr Boxall.

Six women have died since late March and yet their deaths have failed to make any dent in this election; their deaths failed to register as a burning, major issue.

Women are dying while our pollies are tit-for-tatting and talking about petrol and visa fees.

Daniela Elser is a writer, editor and commentator with more than 15 years’ experience working with a number of Australia’s leading media titles.