Two new reports have revealed domestic violence as the leading cause of homicide in Australia in 2018-2019.
This shocking statistic accounted for a staggering 62 per cent of murders in Aussie homes.
Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS) explored the lead-up to killings in the home in two separate reports launched on Tuesday.
The chilling figures revealed a woman was murdered by her male partner every 11 days in Australia.
The first report led by the Australian Institute of Criminology showed a typical offender to be a white, middle-class male with little to do with the criminal justice system.
Many offenders were viewed as “successful in public-facing domains of their life” and were employed in well-regarded industries – including the business and real estate sectors.
The second report found three months after separation to be the most dangerous time for a woman in an abusive relationship.
The data showed one in two men were lethally violent within the first 90 days of separating from their ex-partner.
More than 60 per cent of women were separated at the time of their murder.
The fatal violence came after women challenged their partners by separating, returning to work or maintaining relationships with family members.
ANROWS chief executive Padma Raman said the staggering numbers across both studies showed one clear risk across victims.
“It is so clear that separation is the most dangerous time for a woman and potentially lethal, particularly around three months after separation,” she said.
Ms Raman said almost half the women who were killed by their partners had filed domestic violence orders, “so it’s not like the signs weren’t there”.
“Both of these studies point to a great number of warning signs prior to fatal intimate partner violence, ”she said.
“Together they address gaps in our understanding of how we should use this data on lethal violence against women to intervene before there is a homicide.”
More than 81 per cent of women who were killed by a male partner experienced emotional and psychological abuse – including verbal threats, blaming and gaslighting the victim.
Physical abuse sat at 79 per cent.
Dr Hayley Boxall of the Australian Institute of Criminology told reporters the findings highlighted the ignored threats made by men to kill their partner.
“Everyone brushed it off or just dismissed it,” she said.
“We never seem to believe someone is going to kill their partner.”
“This report really strongly puts the onus not on individual victims or even offenders but on their communities.”
