On Monday, three new individuals were added to Australia’s harrowing list of women killed through acts of violence.

Less than 24 hours later, a fourth woman was killed.

In the 49th week of 2020, a time dedicated to honouring the United Nations 16 Days Of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, the Australian register of violent deaths targeted against women increased from 45 to 49.

It marked the first time the registry, developed by feminist movement organisation Destroy the Joint, had recorded three deaths in a single day since its inception eight years ago.

Experts say the socioeconomic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing inequality in Australia, with lockdowns, rising unemployment, financial stress and overworked support services leading to the “worst year” for domestic violence in Australian history.

"2020 will be remembered as the worst year for domestic violence that any of us who are in the sector now have ever experienced,” Hayley Foster, the chief executive of Women’s Safety New South Wales, told the Guardian. “There [have been] just so many more strangulation cases, so many threats to kill, so many more serious head injuries, and sexual assaults [have been] going through the roof.”

Read the full article about domestic violence in Australia by Madeleine Keck at Global Citizen.