opinion

It has been a devastating weekend for women. Make it stop.

We don't yet know their names. But we know how they died. 

We don't yet know the circumstances of their situation. But we know they were all alleged victims of domestic violence. 

We don't yet know who they left behind. How many times they called for help. Their hopes and dreams and fears. 

But we can predict what's coming today — condolences from those in charge, well wishes to their families, declarations to do more and a promise to investigate what went wrong. 

Watch: Let's face up to DV. 


Video via Australian government

Then next week we will do it all again, because this is the grim cycle we live in. This is the reality for women in Australia, one of the 'safest' countries in the world. 

Even though we don't have many details yet, the ones we have are harrowing enough.

A woman's body was found in a home at Coconut Grove in the Northern Territory on Saturday. She was 36. 

A 43-year-old man has been charged with murder, breaching a domestic violence order and sexual intercourse without consent. 

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On Sunday police in the ACT found a 78-year-old woman's body inside a home in Gordon. It is being treated as a homicide. 

The woman's 86-year-old husband is in custody, but is currently in hospital after suffering a medical episode. He is yet to be charged. 

Police have confirmed they are treating it as a 'family violence' incident. 

Also on Sunday, the bodies of a man in his 40s and a woman in her 70s were found in Brisbane's north. 

Femicide researcher and journalist Sherele Moody is of the understanding the elderly woman was allegedly murdered by her son who then took his own life. Police are yet to confirm, but a neighbour told The Courier Mail "one is always yelling at one another". 

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This weekend, three women were allegedly murdered in Australia by men. It is not front-page news. It is not sparking urgent reform to save lives tomorrow. Next week. Next month. We have a 10-year plan, but there's no endemic response here.

Why? Because somehow this kind of horror has become normalised. We marched the streets in April, but it didn't stop the deaths. So now there's apathy — there's only so much people can try.

Over the coming days we'll learn more about these three women. Their stories might get front-page coverage — if the photos are good, and the stories heartbreaking enough. But then as quickly as we learn their names we'll be moving onto more deaths. 

More women. 

More murder. 

More domestic violence. 

There's simply too many to dwell on one death for too long. 

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It's only June and we've written more stories about this than we can count. It's only June and we've already lost 42 women, according to the Red Hearts campaign. 

The same memorial reports we lost 74 women in 2023. If the figures continue on the same trajectory as they are, we'll lose a dozen more women than last year by December. 

This story shouldn't surprise you, but it should enrage you. We live in a wealthy, prosperous country with more than enough power to drive meaningful change. 

Women shouldn't be dying, allegedly at the hands of men, ever. But especially at the rate they are currently. 

Make it stop. 

Make it stop. 

We're dying over here. 

If this has raised any issues for you, or if you just feel like you need to speak to someone, please call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – the national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service. 

Mamamia is a charity partner of RizeUp Australia, a Queensland-based organisation that helps women and families move on after the devastation of domestic violence. If you would like to support their mission to deliver life-changing and practical support to these families when they need it most, you can donate here.