The Fight Against Femicide and Gender-Based Violence in Australia: In Conversation with the Red Heart Campaign

By Amelia Gordon

Content warning: domestic violence, murder, explicit language.

On March 15, 2025, the STOP KILLING WOMEN rally was held at Parliament House in Canberra, while other rallies were held synchronously nationwide, calling for an end tofor what some call the “femicide epidemic”.  

The rally was organised by The Red Heart Campaign for Women and Children Lost to Violence. Led by journalist and advocate Sherele Moody, the initiative “commemorate[s] lives lost while providing a respectful interactive forum highlighting the impact of violence on our community”.

Around 200 people attended the rally, including political candidates for the upcoming federal election, David Pocock, Christina Hobbs, and Jessie Price. 

Students from the ANU Women’s Department, and the ANU Queer Department spoke at the rally, highlighting instances of sexual assault on university campuses. 

ANU Women’s Officer Jade Poulton stated, “student voices are all too often ignored in decision making processes.” 

Observer spoke with journalist Sherele Moody and ACT Coordinator Ciara Collins about the challenges survivors face, the rise of coercive control, and the urgent need for reform.

According to the Australian Femicide Watch, 101 women lost their lives in 2024, and 14 have been recorded so far in 2025. As the only “female reporter consistently covering” these deaths, Moody’s work is vital in keeping public attention on the crisis and holding authorities and perpetrators accountable.

“The goal is to unite all Australians in the fight to end misogyny and ensure safety for every woman, everywhere.”

In recent years, the issue of femicide has become more visible in Australia. In 2024, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declared a national crisis on gender-based violence and domestic violence. However, advocates argue that political leaders are failing to translate words and promises into meaningful policies that would have a direct impact. 

“We see blanket promises from politicians, but not enough real policy behind domestic violence prevention,” Collins says. “We need trauma-informed training for frontline workers, better funding for support services, and stronger protections for victims who are leaving.”

Moody stated, “I analysed all the times Albanese said sorry to the families of people who died in 2024. Only two times – out of 103 killed women cases – did he send kind thoughts to victims’ families”.

“In both of these cases, the femicides attracted worldwide media attention. We have a PM who only turns up when there’s a massive media lens on the death of a woman. A man who doesn’t turn up for every woman killed is a man who does not really care about women’s safety”.

“This government has spent three years downplaying the killing of women and children, underfunding vital services and refusing to roll out policy and services that would stop marginalised and diverse women falling through safety nets. In short, the current PM is about as useful as his predecessor when it comes to femicide.”

“Almost every day, someone is out on bail or being charged with sexual assault”, Collins states. “It’s good that more cases are being reported, but we are also seeing how flawed the system really is.”

Social media has undoubtedly amplified awareness of the issue, but Collins and the Red Heart campaign team have noticed it has also brought increased scrutiny and victim blaming. 

“The media sensationalises court cases while overlooking the systemic issues that allow these crimes to continue; therefore, it fuels a culture of stigma and victim blaming,” Collins says. 

Moody elaborated that “In the past 14 months, [the] media have dehumanised, erased, othered, slut shamed and victim blamed killed women. 

“I spent 28 years as a journalist – in April last year I walked away from the media industry because my efforts to change the profession on the inside were coming to naught. I’d rather be broke than work for an industry that further marginalises vulnerable Australians.”

One major misconception around gender-based violence is the scope of the issue, Collins notes. Many assume that femicide is only about physical violence. 

“People don’t recognise emotional and psychological abuse as serious forms of violence. But these are the stepping stones,” Collins warns. 

Coercive control is a form of abuse that involves a pattern of controlling, manipulative and dominating behaviours that trap a victim in a cycle of fear, dependence and isolation. It can manifest through financial abuse and mental and psychological abuse. 

This is a significant issue among young people, particularly at universities. In December 2023, ANU and Dr Hayley Boxall released a study about gender-based violence, which included findings that young Australians are less likely to disapprove of behaviours consistent with coercive control. 

For survivors, navigating the legal system can be a traumatising and lengthy process, Moody states. 

“Courts drag it out, and for survivors already trapped in trauma cycles, the system simply does not cater to their needs. It’s a deterrent” says Collins. 

Restorative justice, a practice that involves mediation between the two parties which is used in the ACT, has been criticised by advocates due to its inappropriate use in domestic violence and stalking cases. 

“It’s extremely dangerous”, Collins warns. “It often places victims back into the same abusive situations and doesn’t address the issue. Especially when that situation is urgent and a life or death situation.” \

“Right now the system is failing both survivors and perpetrators who need help to break the cycle.” 

“It’s frustrating that neither local nor federal politicians are prioritising real reform. If they truly cared about women and children’s lives, they would act.”

Collins and Moody discussed the significant misconception that gender-based violence and domestic violence are only confined to homes and familial dynamics. In reality, they state, attitudes that foster gender-based violence manifest through the acceptance of “boys will be boys” sentiments, offhand comments, and “the lack of accountability in university communities”. 

“The more we normalise and hold up abusive men in the mainstream, the more abusive men in everyday life believe they are allowed to harm with impunity”, Moody states. 

“The spike in killed women across 2024 and 2025 has coincided with broad platforming of misogynist and women abusers including Donald Trump, Andrew Tate, Joe Rogan, Mike Tyson, Mel Gibson, Jake Paul, the abusive men on mainstream programming including MAFS and other media sources.” 

Historically, ANU has one of the highest rates of reported sexual violence among Australian universities. In 2017, the Australian Human Rights Commission’s ‘Change the Course’ report revealed that ANU was 1st in the country for incidents of sexual harassment and 2nd for sexual assault. 

In March 2022, the National Student Survey published the same findings as the 2017 report. 

“It’s terrifying for students. Women at universities are at higher risk, and many don’t even realise what counts as coercion or assault due to misinformation. Faculty members need trauma-informed training, and universities must provide stronger safety and support networks.”

Since the gravity of ANU’s sexual violence problem came to light all those years ago, ANU has implemented several initiatives aimed at improving student safety and support. 

ANU publishes annual reports detailing disclosure statistics of sexual assault and harassment, as well as outlining the steps being taken to enhance safety and support services. 

The latest report released in May 2023 provided insight into the ANU’s most recent efforts to address these issues. 

An ANU spokesperson has shared that despite this, ANU is committed to providing a safe, respectful and inclusive environment for all members of the community and that this is a shared responsibility of everyone on the  ANU campus. 

ANU has stated they will “continue on tackling this problem, which has no place on our campus, or in our society”. 

Despite this, students continue to call for more effective measures, including student-organised protests, amidst ongoing accounts of sexual misconduct on campus.  

The current Student Safety and Wellbeing Plan (2024-2026) has been developed to continue to enhance the support ANU provides students, with the University updating the Sexual Misconduct Response Procedure for students in December 2022.  The University is currently working on finalising a review of the sexual misconduct policy

“Rallies require hard work and dedication. Every person who shows up helps push for change,” Collins says. 

“Activists, students, community members—we all need to work together. The burden of fixing this cannot fall solely on women. Men need to stand up as well.”

More information can be found: https://www.instagram.com/sherelemoodyfemicidewatch/?hl=en 

https://australianfemicidewatch.org/ 

ANU has developed an online disclosure tool and regularly reports on disclosures to our community; employed specialist case managers to help respond to instances of sexual violence, while also continuing to make investment in our primary prevention teams. 

All ANU students are supported to safely report and disclose alleged incidents of student misconducts. Reports lead to formal investigations. Students who disclose are provided with appropriate and specialist pastoral care and clinical support by the University. The University also has a duty of care to support all students involved in student misconduct cases.  The University regularly reports on the number of reports and disclosures it receives, with this data published publicly. ANU is committed to transparency on this issue and the work undertaken to keep our community safe and supported.  

For any students seeking further support or assistance:

STUDENT WELLBEING

Email: [email protected]

Telephone:  02 6125 2211

ANU COUNSELLING

Telephone: 02 6125 2211, option 1

Email: [email protected]

RESPECTFUL RELATIONSHIPS UNIT 

Email: [email protected]

Telephone: 02 6125 8498

ANU 24/7 WELLBEING AND CRISIS SUPPORT

Telephone: 1300 050 0327 or SMS: 0488 884 170

1800RESPECT

Telephone: 1800 737 732

CANBERRA RAPE CRISIS CENTRE

Email: [email protected]

Telephone: (02) 6247 2525

Graphics by Shé Chani 

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