Women of all nationalities, in all sectors, and in all classes are being killed — by men. The most extreme violence that women can suffer is termed femicide, which combines “femina,” the Latin word for woman, with the suffix “-cide,” as in “homicide.”
As of September 4, 2024, 58 Australian women have lost their lives at the hands of men in 2024
It has been this country's legacy that 1 in 4 women (nearly 27% of the population) will experience gender-based violence, emotional abuse, or economic abuse by a partner from the age of 15. Or that one woman has died at the hands of gender-based violence every four days this year (that number was 27 women in 2024, 64 women in 2023, 50 women in 2022).
An Australian crisis
Last year, the Albanese government launched a second National Plan to End Violence Against Women. The first 10-year plan failed to combat the rising casualties. Labour has also struggled to fulfill its promise of hiring domestic violence staff, filling out only 17 of its promised 500 roles. Social services minister Amanda Rishworth reported that states and territories had agreed to a target of hiring 352 of the 500 workers by 30 June this year. But the latest statistics, released in June, found just 94.4 full-time equivalent workers had been hired, totalling 202 out of the promised 352 workers. A snap cabinet meeting also occurring earlier this year committed an additional $925 million in funding. 33 women had died at that point.
In the time that has lapsed between that meeting on the 1st of May and today, 25 additional lives have been taken
It's been difficult to galvanise the government to meaningfully address this in the past. While the enaction of legislation does more to protect Australians in vulnerable domestic situations around the country, the numbers do not lie. As a nation, our current stratagem is not cutting it. The uptick in deaths is indictment enough: gender-based violence is inescapable in the country's current form.
On other shores, women have ramped up their own commitments to weeding out the roots of patriarchy. Here's how they have done it in South Korea.
Imagining a world without men in Korea's 4B Movement
The name is a derivative: 4B for four Korean words that all start with bi-, or “no”: The first no, bihon, is the refusal of heterosexual marriage. Bichulsan is the refusal of childbirth, biyeonae is saying no to dating, and bisekseu is the rejection of heterosexual sexual relationships. Together, 4B is the espousal of the growing movement in Korea.
A first-of-its-kind study by the Korean government has revealed that 1 in 3 adult women in Korea has experienced violence against women, with perpetrators often being current or former intimate partners. Among those who were subject to violence within the context of intimate relationships, 61.9% said they were subject to emotional violence, while 52.5% and 27.9% said they were subject to physical and sexual violence, respectively. As a result, protests erupted in Seoul campaigning for women's rights against femicide, revenge porn, and gendered partner-violence.
As a stance as well as a committed lifestyle, practicing bihon has become a fast-growing pillar of the women's rights fight in the East. While practicing women are working to enact change society-wide, their approach is one that is not contingent on the government to act. The 4B Movement has been seismic in shifting the politics, discourse, and lives of women in South Korea.
What can we learn from other movements?
Envisioning femme-centric futures
Community is vital to the 4B Movement's success. Solidarity in the movement blossomed online, on digital forums like Twitter and Kaokao App which propelled movements like 'Escape the Tal-Corset'. The demonstrations were not only a rejection of a deeply patriarchal standards, but a paradigm shift in career and marriage has shifted a framework that historically centred men. What did Audre Lorde say? "Without community, there is no liberation...but community must not mean a shedding of our differences, nor the pathetic pretense that these differences do not exist." In our ways of being, we must promote nonviolence within those around us.
Education and reporting
Gender-based violence in Australia is an endemic issue that requires the same attention and scope as other national crises. The issue requires supervision, development, and attentiveness that is long-term. The 4B movement's inception in 2018 has persisted up til today, trailblazing a global phenomenon that has reached parts of Japan and China in the convergence of the 64BT movement. The role of the media is to instill education and and apply pressure on government institutions to address this incurrent femicide. Supporting the educators and spokespeople with the adequate tools to cover gendered violence is the first, and necessary step.
Tending to the margins
At the frontline of this crisis are the women who have disproportionately faced discrimination at a much higher rate. Fifty per cent of black trans and non-binary folk have experienced sexual assault in their lifetime, over 4 in 10 black women face physical violence from an intimate partner in their lifetime. For women with disabilities, the rates of violence is much higher than for able-bodied women. And these are just a few examples of the numbers from varying subgroups.
Here's where to find support
For support, we've rounded up the following resources outlining education and professional help for women in need.
White Ribbon Australia works to support victims of domestic violence, and change the culturally ingrained attitudes and behaviours that lead to violence against women.
1800RESPECT is a 24/7 hotline service for those who have experienced sexual abuse, assault or domestic family violence and need support or counselling.
Mettle Women Inc. is a gift delivery enterprise which employs women who are experiencing homelessness as a result of domestic violence. They equip survivors with financial security to maintain employment and stable housing.
Women’s Community Shelters works with communities to establish shelters which provide emergency and short-term accommodation to survivors of domestic and sexual abuse as well as support, in a safe environment.
FreeFrom helps survivors of gender-based violence by creating pathways to financial security and long-term safety through a six-month training and mentorship program to coach women through setting up their own businesses.
You can also access mental health services like the below:
- Lifeline on 13 11 14
- Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800
- MensLine Australia on 1300 789 978
- Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467
- Beyond Blue on 1300 22 46 36
- Headspace on 1800 650 890
- QLife on 1800 184 527
