Just one day after 2000 people marched from Forrest Chase to Parliament House demanding more action to end violence against women, another Perth woman has been killed.

Andre Lafayette Drane, 54, appeared in Fremantle Magistrates Court today, accused of killing his mother inside her Yangebup home. Joan Mary Drane, 78, was found at her property on Monday morning, but police say she could have been killed anytime over the weekend. The matter has been adjourned till late May.

The death toll of women killed by gendered violence in 2024 is now believed to be 29, though advocates say the true figure could be higher.

According to figures from The Australian Institute of Health and Wellness, 1 in 6 women in Australia have been subject to domestic violence.

Former Curtin student Georgia Govers was one of the organiser of Sunday’s rally, and says the issue needs to be declared a national crisis.  

“Words aren’t enough anymore, we need to see positive change,” she says.

Speeches at the rally called for specific measures to be implemented at government level. Domestic Abuse Resource Training Group (DART) Chief executive Jolene Ellat says non-competitive funding, policy procedure and legislation changes, and a national review of domestic abuse deaths, is crucial to ending violence.

“It sits within the whole of community and whole of government response … from non-competitive funding, where organisations aren’t fighting over the same pool of money, to policy procedure and legislation changes,” she says.

Ms Ellat says the whole of society needs change, and their plans include everything from primary prevention to recovery, and healing in order to address all underlying issues. 

Advocates say funding is a large part of any solution, with the cost of living issues having a large impact on both victims/survivors and organisations trying to help. Women are often unable to leave situations where they may be at risk, and shelters that are full and cannot provide the safety that they seek. 

“You’ve got women that are in a cost of living crisis right now, like everyone else, and they have to decide between getting abused and taking their kids out on the street because they can’t get a rental, let alone afford one” Ms Govers says.

Changing the laws around the bail system that Australia has in place is also key to achieving a safer community, according to Ms Ellat. She’s calling for a system that focuses on the threats that offenders may pose if they are released back into society.

“We need to consider how we monitor perpetrators of violence, are we going to monitor through tracking devices, what does it look like when they breach, how can we enforce breaches and how can police respond to breaches,” she says. 

DART says a national review of the domestic abuse deaths that have occurred while the accused was on bail, or the victim was under a protection order, will aid in understanding the issues relating to domestic violence,

“That would give us an accurate sense of the extent of the issue particularly around those that are on protection at the time of being murdered” Ms Ellat says. 

The government is expected to hold a National Cabinet meeting on Wednesday to discuss possible solutions to end violence against women.

“I’m hoping that the Cabinet can bring this together for us that will further embed our national action plan to end gendered violence in one generation and provide some of the answers to the questions that the community is asking” Ms Ellat says.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic or family violence, you can contact 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or the organisation’s online chat support service.