Australian PM urges men, boys to prevent violence against women

A woman who has survived abuse covers her face. [Getty Images]

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has urged the nation's men and boys to take responsibility for ending a crisis of violence against women.

Albanese on Tuesday said his government would do whatever it can to tackle violence against women but said men and boys must address the underlying causes of violence.

He was speaking after a 29-year-old man who was on bail for another matter was on Monday charged with the murder of a 28-year-old woman in the state of New South Wales.

According to the activist group Counting Dead Women, 25 women have died violently in Australia so far in 2024, including five in the Sydney shopping center stabbing spree earlier in April.

"We all have to take responsibility for what is a scourge of violence against women. The fact that more than one woman per week has died at the hands of someone that they know, whether it's a partner or someone in a relationship, is just completely unacceptable," Albanese told state media Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) radio on Tuesday.

"Men and boys have to clearly have discussions about these issues. There's a need to show respect to women."

Asked on Tuesday if he would declare violence against women a national emergency, Albanese said the government knew it had been a crisis for some time and had committed additional funding to provide safe places for women.