By Christina Savopoulos
I often hear the phrase “how many more women?” A more important question is, “how many more men will murder women before Australia wakes up?”
On Saturday, February 8, Australians gathered at the Kensington Women’s Peace Garden for a vigil organised by Australian Femicide Watch. Founded by journalist Sherele Moody, the Australian Femicide Watch’s vigil honoured the eight Australian women and three children who have been killed in 2025.
Forlorn faces, fresh flowers, and emotional speeches filled the garden with grief and anger where 60 people attended. It was disappointing there weren’t more there to hear the stories of the women and children lost to violence.
The day after the vigil, Australian Femicide Watch announced that a woman had been beaten to death near Alice Springs, Northern Territory, by her male partner. This marked the 9th Australian woman killed in 2025.
Australian Femicide Watch details each victim’s story to honour their lives and create a space for them to be remembered. The organisation also runs a live tracker to report on all Australian women and children who are killed and relies on public donations to continue raising awareness of the violence.
Moody informed the vigil attendees that the Victorian Premier, the Minister for Men’s Behaviour Change and the Minister for Women had been invited to pay their respects to the women killed, but did not attend.
Australian government statistics reveal that ‘one in 3 women has experienced physical violence before the age of 15’ and that ‘women are 3 times more likely than men to experience violence by an intimate partner’. This year, women over 50 have been the primary victims in cases of femicide.
Moody spoke to The Greek Herald about the increasing violence against Australian women, saying, “In 2024 we lost 101 women and 16 children to acts of violence. This year we have already lost [9] women and [3] children. These numbers are likely higher as I am monitoring multiple suspected femicides and child deaths from January… With the number of femicides for the past month already so high, I fear 2025 will be much worse than 2024.”
In line with these findings, Fight The New Drug, an organisation that raises awareness about the harmful effects of pornography, has explained how ‘porn plays a role in normalising sexual violence, which can have devastating real-world consequences.’
They cite a 2018 Australian study showing that ‘1 in 4 young people had repeated exposure to depictions of violent, nonconsensual sex’ in pornography. While the study did not directly explore whether such exposure leads to real-life actions, it suggests that frequent exposure may desensitise individuals, potentially influencing their responses to similar behaviours in real life.
Australia’s education system is working to combat the exposure young people may have to violence with programs like the Victorian Respectful Relationships school program. The program launched following the Royal Commission into Family Violence, aiming to embed a ‘culture of respect and equality’ in classrooms, with the goal of transferring these values into students’ lives beyond education.
Stephanie, an experienced educator, shared, “I can see the benefits of integrating more solid programs into our curriculum through primary and secondary schooling. The benefits to continuously teaching young students how to deal with their emotions in all capacities will have a direct benefit in reducing family violence in the now and in the future.”
It is vital that we maintain this respect beyond secondary schooling at a societal level.
In May 2024, the federal government announced a $1 billion investment to reduce violence against women. The funding will go towards programs like the Leaving Violence Program and initiatives addressing young people’s online exposure to pornography.
While these are measures being taken at the government level, discussion at the vigil focused on how other areas of society can support the fight to stop violence against women.
The media’s failure to accurately report on deaths of women has continued into 2025. Their platform is vital to spread awareness of the ongoing violence. On a societal level, individuals can encourage respect for women by holding those close to them accountable for any disrespectful comments made, gradually shifting mindsets about respect.
Moody told The Greek Herald, “Every Australian needs to take a stand against violence but even more so—every Australian man has a responsibility to make change.”
She emphasised that “almost all the women killed [in 2024] were lost to acts of violence perpetrated by men. Violence against women is a male problem… Only men can fix male violence. Women can’t fix it.”
As a society we have the power to reshape mindsets. It is important for Australian women and children that we take a stance and continue to emphasise that such violence is unacceptable.
For more information on the Australian Femicide Watch visit https://australianfemicidewatch.org/
*All photos copyright The Greek Herald / Christina Savopoulos.
