THE ACT Greens is calling on the ACT government to count the number of women murdered in domestic violence incidents and the number of ACT women who report living in fear of their lives, and make the statistics publicly available. 

The party’s calls come after the Australian Greens today (February 21) said there needs to be a crisis response to the number of women killed by violence and greater accuracy in media reporting following the murder of a Brisbane mother and her three children.

ACT Greens spokesperson Caroline Le Couteur says: “There is no telling of the kind of devastating impact that domestic violence has in our community here in Canberra, and around Australia.”

“One case of violence is one case too many,” she says.

“In the ACT, there is no formal accounting by the government of the number of women murdered by their partners, or of the number of ACT women who report living in fear for their lives.

“Now, we call on the government to make these statistics publicly available, as we do with the road toll and workplace safety incidents.

“Fortunately, we believe the number of women killed in domestic violence cases in the ACT is relatively low. However, we expect that there are many other women in our community who report living in fear of their lives – a reality that is simply unacceptable.

“What we need is a shift in public attitudes. Domestic violence – including victim-shaming and blaming – is a serious issue that is simply unacceptable.

“Official reporting of these incidents would go some way to changing the misogynist and macho attitudes that contribute to domestic violence.”