As Australians once again take to the streets to protest men’s violence against women – 34 Australian women have been killed so far this year, an increase of nearly 30% year on year – Hit Network’s Carrie & Tommy have tackled the conversation in a different way.
“I’m thinking if you read out the thoughts that I wrote down, it might mean more people will listen. Or if it might just give a different perspective about what it feels like to be a woman in this country,” Carrie Bickmore said on Wednesday night’s show, handing her notes to co-host Tommy Little.
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“It’s taken me days to work out what to say about the crisis that our country is in at the moment, not because I don’t have things to say about the apparent number of women dying every week in our country by the hands of a man. Not because I no longer know what to say, because it feels like we are yelling into the abyss. We are exhausted,” Little began, on behalf of Bickmore.
“Just not killing us is not enough. Do something. If 32 people were killed by terrorists, we would take immediate action. If it were 32 men in lycra riding their bikes on a Sunday morning, laws would be drawn up overnight to stop it happening again. Do something to help us women.”
Through Bickmore’s words, Little continued on to say that the message was not political nor a matter of opinion, and that “the facts speak for themselves” with a woman killed every four days.
Little choked up and continued, “Last year the government set a target to reduce the number of women killed by their partners by 25% annually. Instead, deaths have increased by nearly 30% on 2023. Don’t reduce the number by 25% or 50%, how about making it so no women are killed by their partners.
“We are scared and we are, asking, pleading for help. Do something and stop killing us.”
Online, reactions to the clip have been overwhelmingly supportive, with women sharing their own stories of being stalked and harassed by current or former partners.
Other comments shared stories of family members and friends who had lost their lives to violence.
Activist Tarang Chawla – whose sister Nikita was murdered by her partner in 2015 – wrote: “It’s heartbreaking that so many women have had to die at the hands of violent men for our nation to start taking this issue as seriously.
“No-one should live in such constant fear, with the threat of power and control and risk having their life stolen from them because of the actions of violent men.”
Lifeline is available 24/7 on 13 11 14, or call the national sexual assault, family and domestic violence counselling line on 1800 RESPECT.