In my 55 years, I’ve never felt such fear for women and girls as I do right now.
In the past week:
* A man allegedly murdered a woman in Queensland;
* There were two gang rapes of girls in Sydney, allegedly perpetrated by boys from private schools;
* A Sydney Swans player is at the centre of investigations into the sexual assault of a woman in Melbourne;
* Two Perth men claimed their attack on a 14-year-old girl in Perth was consensual sex;
* Australian women do not want to be MPs because of threats of violence; and
* A study found 33% of boys believe gender equality has gone too far.
The reality is men harming women is not unusual. Indeed, it is very much normal.
As I write, we have lost more than 45 women & girls to male violence this year.
The three sexual violence cases in the headlines right now are only the tip of the iceberg – there are many thousands of acts of sexual violence happening everyday across the country. These are crimes that will never make the media.
And the appalling attitudes of boys is being fueled by the manosphere, social media pages spreading disinformation and the proliferation of AI content that’s designed to warp how humans think.
We are watching sexism and misogyny flood our feeds as men – and many women – slut shame and victim-blame the woman who was allegedly violated by a Sydney Swans player in Melbourne early on Monday.
Being a woman in the public space is also becoming harder, with many talented and intelligent queens turning away from careers in politics because they know they will endure sexism and threats of rape and other physical harm simply for existing and wanting change.
If you haven’t checked it out, I recommend you read the results from the University of Melbourne’s recent survey of young people. It shows how hostile attitudes towards women and girls are festering in young males and leading to acts of extremism.
Misogyny and violence are our new-old normal.
I’ve been campaigning for a Femicide Royal Commission over the past six months. The petition is almost at 150,000 signatures. Please consider signing and passing the petition to those in your circle. Every signature brings us closer to change.
THE HEADLINES AROUND AUSTRALIA IN ONE WEEK SHOULD BE A WAKE-UP CALL
