Da Qiao, our special correspondent in Australia
After a series of female murder cases, anti-violence against women protests broke out in many places in Australia over the weekend, urging the government to take action. Australian Prime Minister Albanese also joined the protest team on the 28th. He described violence against women on social media as a "national crisis" that requires a national response and promised to meet this week to formulate an action plan.
The current Prime Minister and the former Prime Minister both appeared
The British Broadcasting Corporation (bbc) said on the 29th that tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered in cities such as Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to accuse Australian women of being subjected to violence. They are demanding that the government declare gender-based violence a "national emergency" and enact stricter laws to stop it. Demonstration organizer Martina Ferrara said she hopes to provide media reporting channels for female victims so that the public can understand the seriousness of the problem. "The Australian government should take immediate action."
Albanese also came to the rally in the capital Canberra on the 28th. In front of thousands of protesters, he acknowledged that Australian governments at all levels need to do better. However, when faced with the demonstrators' request to "classify violence against women as a national emergency," Albanese did not give a positive answer. He said that "national emergencies" are usually used in emergencies such as floods and forest fires. to allow the government to provide temporary funding to resolve the situation. Albanese also said he would have liked to speak to the crowd, but was not allowed to.
The Prime Minister's appearance at the rally surprised many. But there are also critics who believe that Albanese performed poorly on the field. Sarah Williams, another organizer of the protest, said on social media that Albanese just went for a "walk" and did not say a thoughtful word to the people.
A special reporter from the Global Times noticed that former Australian Prime Minister Turnbull also came to the rally. He said: "Men should respect women, and men should not respect men who do not respect women."
27 women have been killed so far this year
BBC said that this is not the first large-scale protest against violence against women in Australia. In 2021, protests broke out across Australia against sexual assault within parliament and in society.
This month, several vicious attacks involving female victims occurred in Australia, once again arousing public anger. On April 13, a man targeted female customers in a Sydney shopping mall, killing six people. Except for one mall security guard who is male, the other five are female. More than a dozen women were injured.
bbc quoted statistics from local social organizations in Australia as saying that since 2024, 27 women have been killed in 119 days, with an average of one woman killed every four days. This number is twice that of the same period last year.
Internet hazards may be an important reason
The large-scale rally last weekend attracted the attention of the Australian government. Australian Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said in an interview with the media that she was not surprised by the level of frustration at the rally. Plibersek said that although the Australian government is allocating funds to stop gender-based violence and the police and courts are changing the way they handle such cases, a large number of violent emotions and negative opinions on the Internet are penetrating into adolescents through social media. boy. Barnaby Joyce, a member of Australia's main opposition National Party, believes that Australia's tolerant attitude towards the sex industry is one of the main reasons for the rampant violence against women.
Under pressure from public opinion, Albanese said on the 28th that he would hold an emergency cabinet meeting on the crisis of violence faced by women. The Australian said the Australian Domestic and Sexual Violence Commissioner will attend. However, Albanese also said that there is "no overnight solution" to the crisis of violence against women's safety faced by Australia. "This is hard work and requires real cultural change," he said. Sources said Wednesday's cabinet meeting will focus on online harms, including misogyny and age-inappropriate content online. ▲
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