A spike in the number of women dying as a result of domestic violence in Australia has sparked urgent calls for action, including establishing a national list of offenders.
Six women have been killed across Australia in 10 days — five allegedly by violence inflicted upon them by men.
One of the most prominent cases was the murder of 21-year-old sports coach Lilie James, whose body was found at her workplace, a high school in central Sydney.
Her colleague and former boyfriend Paul Thijssen’s body was found on Friday
A man has also been charged with murder after 34-year-old lawyer Alice Rose McShera was found dead in an upmarket Perth hotel room on Monday.
Police have also charged a 44-year-old man with murder over the death of Bendigo mother Analyn “Logee” Osias on Sunday night.
It brings the total number of women’s deaths by alleged violence over the past year to 58, according to Australian Femicide Watch.
The number of women killed by violence in Australia has ranged between 43 and 84 each years since Counting Dead Women began tallying deaths in 2012.
The stark figures are a reminder of the need for a national family violence register to log violent offenders, according to family law specialist Nicola Jansen.
