Australia: sexual abuse a 'national crisis'; violent online porn targeting women key reason | Explained

An Australian MP, Brittany Lauga, was allegedly drugged and sexually assaulted on a night out in her constituency of Yeppon. This was not an isolated case. Australia has witnessed a wave of violence against women in recent weeks. Last month, a person stabbed six people to death in a Sydney shopping centre. Five of the victims were women. As many as 28 women have died this year till May 1. The situation is so alarming that statistically a woman is killed every four days in the country.

Experts have attributed the rise in such incidents to increasing misogyny, with many normalising the use of sexist and misogynistic language online. Hate speech, particularly online, dehumanising women, glorifying violence and advocating male supremacy is also one the rise, fuelling the crisis.

The rising gender-based violence has prompted massive rallies across the country. Thousands of people took to streets in major cities, including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Hobart calling for calling for an end to violence against women and seeking decisive action by the government.

As the series of protests shook the country, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declared violence against women a “national crisis” and an epidemic.

Participating at a rally in participated in a rally in Canberra, Albanese said called for the need to change the culture, attitudes and the need to change the legal system.

Albanese has announced new funding to help women escape domestic violence and a crackdown on misogynistic online content. He said his government would invest A$925.2 million over five years to financially support women and children escaping violence.

The government has also proposed new measures to tackle violent online pornography and misogynist content targeting children and young people. The measures would include legislation to ban deepfake pornography.

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