This week, about 15 women will die by suicide. More than half will have experienced intimate partner violence in the lead-up to their deaths.
These are the forgotten women – the victims of Australia’s femicide epidemic whose stories you will rarely hear, whose names you will not be told and whose perpetrators will get away with murder by proxy because our criminal codes do not capture this type of crime.
You can help me get a Royal Commission into the Killing of Women and Girls by signing the petition
An inquiry into domestic violence-related suicide is being held by the Federal Government closed on March 13. They allotted just five months to receive submissions and to examine a deeply complex form of abuse and the failures in the systems designed to save women’s lives.
A Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide ran for 3.2 years and cost $174m. It had 5000 submissions and held 12 public hearings. One serving or ex-serving member of the ADF dies by suicide each week (on average).
I’ve been lobbying for a Royal Commission into the Killing of Women and Girls since January 24.
It would look at all aspects of violence against women including suicide.
The Federal Minister for Social Services Tanya Plibersek says advocates and the sector do not want an RC.
Her comment goes against all the conversations I’ve had these past five or so months. Conversations with exhausted frontline workers, activists and families of victims including women who have taken their own lives.
When I look at the money, time and care the Federal Government (rightly) gave to ADF suicides compared to the victims of Australia’s femicide epidemic I am deeply frustrated.
Women make up more than half the population. We are the primary victims of domestic violence, stalking and sexual violence and we are most likely to die as a result.
At what point will they take our lives – and our deaths – seriously?
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