ONE MAN KILLED BY A SHARK. THREE WOMEN KILLED BY MEN IN ONE DAY. HERE'S HOW THIS GOES!

A shark killed one man this week.
Men killed three Australian women - YESTERDAY! 
Only one of these scenarios will receive widespread attention - and no, it won't be the fact that three women are dead at the hands of men known to them in one day.
There's always been a huge disparity in how the media, politicians, policy-makers and our community responds to shark attacks compared to femicide.
We've seen hundreds of headlines published about the shark attack in Perth this past week but there's been very few published on the deaths of women this week. 
I have documented the violent deaths of 52 women this year. Not once has a 'catch and kill' order been issued within hours of a woman's death at the hands of a man. No I am not suggesting femicide perpetrators be killed, but I am using this as an example of how hard authorities will go when a shark kills a person.
But it shows how authorities see the existence of wild animals as an urgent threat to public safety that require immediate preventative interventions. 
Beaches are closed. Nets are put in place. Wild animals are tracked. Warnings are issued.
Political leaders come with flowers and sympathy.
When women are killed, we're asked 'what did she do to deserve it', the perpetrators score a 'good bloke narrative', political leaders have no words of condolence and calls for increased funding, support services and better legal responses fall on deaf ears.
Where there is a policy response, it always re-active and far too minimal. 
We need strong investment in systemic prevention targeting perpetrators and sustained cultural and structural responses so we shift the drivers that underpin male violence against women in our country.
 
* You can help me get a Royal Commission into the Killing of Women and Girls by signing the petition and by sharing it with your network. 

I document all Australian women & children lost to murder, manslaughter, neglect and other unlawful acts regardless of perpetrator gender or relationship to the victim. This means not all women and children killed are lost to domestic violence. They are also killed by people known to them (ie friends) or by strangers. My work includes Australians killed overseas. Every death is documented at AustralianFemicideWatch.org/database
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