Australian activists are calling on their government to declare a national emergency after a spike in homicides left 27 women dead in the first 119 days of the year.
"We want alternative reporting options for victim-survivors to let them own their stories and own their healing and reporting journey," activist Martina Ferrara said, the BBC reported. Ferrara organized one of the several rallies that have taken place across Australia.
"We want the government to acknowledge this is an emergency action and take immediate action," she added.
While violence against women is not a new phenomenon in Australia, the issue has taken on a new intensity after several recent high-profile incidents. Earlier in April, a man stabbed five women and one man to death inside a Sydney shopping mall.
New South Wales Police Force commissioner Karen Webb said the suspect appeared to "focus on women and avoided the men."
Another man was recently charged in the housefire death of 30-year-old Erica Hay, who was the mother of four children.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Sunday addressed a Canberra rally, attended by thousands of activists, agreeing that the government needs to do more to address the issue. He stopped short, however, of endorsing a national emergency decree.
Albanese argued that national emergencies were usually short-term crises like natural disasters
"We don't need one month or two months — we need to address this in a serious way, week by week, month by month, year by year," he said.
He has called an urgent national cabinet meeting on Wednesday to address the problem.
