Launceston White Ribbon Committee

This has been a devastating weekend. We extend our deepest sympathies to the families and loved ones of these women.

We cannot become accustomed to this violence or accept it as inevitable. Change is possible, but it will take sustained, adequately funded and coordinated action across prevention, early intervention, response and recovery.

This work must happen across our whole society, in our homes and communities, schools and universities, workplaces, sporting clubs, online spaces and the media.

Read our full statement on our website: https://bit.ly/4duiDYp

[Alt: Green and white text on a navy background: Three women allegedly killed by men in 24 hours. This is a confronting reminder that gender-based violence affects women across their lives, and across every part of our community. We owe it to them, their families and communities to build an Australia where women are safe, equal and respected at every stage of their lives.]

Destroyers, this research is often heartbreaking. Today we bring you confirmed reports of three women killed in targeted violence in separate assaults on the same day. All three allegedly killed by persons known to them in what should be the safety of their own homes.
Three families and three networks of friends are directly traumatised. We grieve with them for these lives so violently ended. The reports, as with so many of the reports we bring you, necessarily lack detail; as always, we will update our post and our register as further news comes to light.

Our Counting Dead Women campaign calls on all levels of government to make a safer world for women and their children by prioritising a national, unified system for investigation, analysis and response to violence against women. With deep sorrow we continue our task of maintaining the most credible and substantiated record of women killed by violence in Australia. Our register for 2026 now stands at 38.

All the alleged murders occurred on Saturday September 19th. All three are reported together in news articles. The three women’s alleged murders are recorded as number 36, 37 and 38 on our register for 2026.

At about 11.45am police were called to a home at Kooringal (NSW). Officers found the body of an as-yet-unnamed 23-year-old woman with stab wounds and were told a man had left the property before emergency services arrived. At about 8pm police arrested a 31-year-old man, believed known to the victim, at a nearby home. He has been charged with domestic violence-related murder. Nothing further has been reported.
https://tinyurl.com/46bt58rx

At about 5.15pm an as-yet-unnamed 90-year-old woman was found with stab wounds to her throat and torso at a unit in Bondi Beach (NSW). Paramedics treated the woman but she died at the scene. According to the police statement of facts the victim’s grandson, Sergei Mitnik (47), allegedly used a knife obtained from his grandmother's unit complex to carry out the attack. Nothing further has been reported.
https://tinyurl.com/46bt58rx

At about 9:30pm police were called to a property at Mole River (NSW) following reports of a domestic violence incident. After arresting a 37-year-old man, police located the body of a 70-year-old woman during a search of a neighbouring property which had been partially damaged by fire. The man, believed known to the victim, has been charged with murder. Nothing further has been reported.
https://tinyurl.com/46bt58rx

We extend our deepest condolences to families and friends.

Destroyers, these posts honour the memory of women who have died in tragic circumstances. We moderate closely and hide off topic comments. Off topic comments include: speculation as to motivation, actions, background, mental state and drug or alcohol use of the alleged perpetrator; calls for violent retribution; offensive remarks to other posters; and any comment which may impact on court proceedings.

Women from all backgrounds are counted but we make no assumptions about a woman's culture, lifestyle or circumstances. We often do not even know a name: this may be out of respect for cultural traditions or because of a court order. We add updated information to our annual registers as soon as it is received and verified.

You can access our updated current register and our historical registers on our dedicated page: https://tinyurl.com/y6ew3a8f

We maintain a separate register of ‘Undetermined’ deaths which we continue to monitor until a verifiable outcome is known. For reasons of privacy and legal responsibility this register is not made public. We are currently monitoring several deaths, some of which date back over months and years. We try to be accurate in our record, and we will not publish without a high degree of certainty, but we can't know the full circumstances of each death until court cases or coronial hearings are finalised. We do our best to maintain a full and accurate register, based on our recording criteria. If you know of any verified facts which may add detail to our record, please send us a **personal message**.
𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆, 𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 – 𝘄𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀.
We have no wish to prejudice the outcome of court proceedings.

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Destroyers, you can support our researchers and our campaign for national action on violence against women in many ways:
𝙎𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙! Spread this post widely on your social networks.
𝘼𝙘𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙡𝙚𝙙𝙜𝙚 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝! If you use our research in journalism, media articles or social media posts, please credit our work.
We are the Counting Dead Women Australia researchers of Destroy The Joint.
𝙎𝙢𝙖𝙨𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙮𝙬𝙖𝙡𝙡! Increasingly, local and national reporting is locked behind a paywall. Every small donation helps our researchers to access the reputable, timely reports they rely on. Your dollar can help!
𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 (however small) are welcome and can be made via this PayPal link: https://tinyurl.com/y678ttmj
Or by direct deposit to: BSB 032-249 Account number: 316752 (Destroy The Joint)
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*Please note:* In at least 75 per cent of the cases reported from 2012 to 2023, the victim knew her alleged killer. We do not record only deaths attributed as domestic or family violence, as we believe all violent deaths targeted against women are the result of societal misogyny. We include women killed by other women (lateral violence). Their small but sad number confirms that most violence against women is perpetrated by men.
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- If you or someone you know is impacted by s*xual assault, domestic or family violence,
* 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732;
* 𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁 1800RESPECT on 0458 737 732; or
* 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁 https://www.1800respect.org.au/

- You can access local services here: https://www.dss.gov.au/ending-violence/help-and-support
or download the free Daisy App https://www.1800respect.org.au/daisy/

- Accessible information and support is available via the free Sunny App, developed for and by women with disability https://www.1800respect.org.au/sunny/

- YARN offers crisis support and advice to First Nations callers (13 92 76) and online https://www.13yarn.org.au

- For legal information, access Family Violence Law Help: https://familyviolencelaw.gov.au or
Women’s Legal Services Australia https://www.wlsa.org.au

** In an emergency, call 000. **

Our Tasmanian Government needs to fund the prevention of gendered violence like lives depend on it -
BECAUSE THEY DO!

We are heartbroken to share that another woman has been killed by a man known to her in Victoria.

On Saturday 25 July, a 73-year-old woman's body was found in her home in Fitzroy North. Last Friday 7 August, a 49-year-old man was charged with her murder. She is the eleventh woman killed in Victoria this year*.

We extend our deepest condolences to the loved ones and community of this woman, whose life was taken too soon in an entirely preventable act of men’s violence.

Family violence against older people is a growing crisis in this country. The most recent study of elder abuse prevalence in Australia found that one in six people in Australia experienced elder abuse in the past year, including both intergenerational and intimate partner violence.

Elder abuse, like all forms of abuse, it is rooted in power, control and discrimination. Every woman deserves to be safe, no matter her age.

In times of tragedy, it is essential that we mobilise as a community and demand better. Gendered violence is preventable and there is no place for it in our homes or communities.

The rising death toll this year is devastating. But let's remember our strength as a collective movement demanding change. Now is not the time to stop.

Today and every day we remember the women and girls killed by male violence in Victoria in 2026:

Unnamed woman, 73 years old
Brooke Stephens, 29 years old
Layla Jeffery, 13 years old
Lavanaya Chappa, 39 years old
Unnamed woman, 29 years old
Eva Lasrini, 53 years old
Chamindika ‘Chami’ Jayawardena, 47 years old
Melonie McKay, 53 years old
Unnamed woman, age unknown
Unnamed woman, 49 years old
Unnamed woman, 77 years old



*There is still no complete and official list of every Australian woman and child murdered in acts of family and gender-based violence, but there are several key resources we use. At the time of publishing this post, Destroy the Joint has recorded 29 women killed in 2026, and Australian Femicide Watch has recorded 44 women.

However, it is important to remember that the true number of women and children killed is likely higher, as many deaths go unreported and unrecognised as family and gender-based violence.

Sexual violence has to be part of how we talk about preventing family and domestic violence.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reports that 1 in 9 women have experienced s*xual violence by a male intimate partner since the age of 15. It also reports that 1 in 4 women have experienced physical and/or s*xual violence from an intimate partner since the age of 15.

Prevention means challenging the attitudes and behaviours that enable this harm. That includes disrespect, entitlement, consent myths, coercion and harmful messages about s*x, power and women, including those reinforced through some po*******hy and online content.

If we want to prevent men's violence against women and children, s*xual violence within intimate relationships has to stay part of the conversation.

Better means building stronger cultures of consent, respect, and equality. Early, consistently and everywhere.

Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Family, domestic and s*xual violence.

Prevention can look ordinary. A comment at a BBQ. A joke in the group chat. A mate getting controlling in front of others.

A fact sheet from The Men’s Project found that young men “inside the Man Box” were more likely to go along or do nothing when witnessing guys harassing women, 22% vs 4%.

Three simple moves you can use today,

- Name it. “That’s not on.”

- Redirect. “Leave it out.”

Check in with the person impacted.

If Prevention Month stands for anything, it should be this.

We cannot prevent violence by waiting until it becomes obvious.

Prevention starts earlier. In the attitudes we challenge, the jokes we refuse to laugh along with, the conversations we choose to have and the standards we set at home, at work, in sport and in our communities.

Calling men in does not mean letting things slide. It means inviting reflection, while keeping responsibility clear.

That can look like:

• Challenging the “that’s just how men are” mindset.
• Speaking up when disrespect is brushed off as humour.
• Using your role as a parent, leader, coach, colleague or friend to set a better tone.
• Creating conversations where change is possible and accountability remains central.

This month, prevention means acting earlier, speaking clearer and expecting better.

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