Former Australian of the Year Grace Tame illustrated the cover of a magazine to raise awareness of the country’s domestic violence epidemic.
However, it took several attempts to complete the artwork for the July issue of InStyle Australia, due to the number of women reportedly killed by gender-based violence this year.
In a post on Instagram on Tuesday, the InStyle page explained that the statistic “quickly became inaccurate” as the cover neared completion.
“Every time women die as a result of the gender-based violence epidemic in Australia by 2024, the number of women who die will have increased,” the report said.
‘Today it is 49 women in 190 days. Tomorrow that number could be different.’
Thousands of Australians took part in a nationwide protest in April to call on the Albanian government to do more to protect women from gender-based violence, after months of horrific attacks.
Reflecting on the meeting, InStyle wrote: ‘We marched and called on our government to take urgent action against gender-based violence.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called it a national crisis and pledged nearly $1 billion in practical measures to stop the scourge. And then, silence.’
Grace Tame’s artwork for the July cover of InStyle Australia (pictured) featured a domestic violence death toll that had to be edited multiple times to keep up with the growing number of alleged victims.
Ms Tame (pictured), known as a former Australian of the Year and activist, reflected on her own experiences with domestic violence and called on the government to invest in better solutions.
Ms Tame shared her own statement about the genesis of the cover, which depicts hands holding a heart with the 2,024 death toll from alleged domestic abuse on it.
“Part of the problem is that we ignore violence unless we see it up close because it is too confronting,” she wrote.
“The fact that the death toll has increased by 6 since I started this project on June 13 speaks volumes.”
Ms Tame also shared her own experiences of domestic violence and spoke out against people who see it as a ‘social problem that affects certain individuals or groups’.
“Incidents rarely happen in a vacuum, they are usually part of a broader pattern of abuse, fuelled by a culture of normalised violence,” she said.
‘We have been misled by the pernicious illusion that we can heal primarily through prevention, education and discussion.
‘…Idealistic ideas about respectful relationships miss the point, even though they are important.
‘…We need a holistic package of solutions that is suitable for every sector and demographic.
“This is a public health crisis.”
The July cover received positive feedback from dozens of readers who praised InStyle for bringing domestic violence awareness to the forefront.
“Powerful and deeply moving. It is simply unforgivable that the citizens are putting this epidemic at the center, and not the government that broke its promise. Again. Grace is extraordinary with her artwork,” one wrote.
“Incredible artwork. Important subject. Hard not to feel hopeless in the face of it all,” said another.
Another wrote: ’49 is 49 too many. I wish we could stop that number right away.’
Another commented: ‘Great work. I’m a survivor of intimate partner and family violence and I’m relieved that this is finally getting attention.’
InStyle also reflected on how the government was taking steps to help victims of gender-based violence, as the news seemed to have died down after the April protest.
The cover comes months after thousands of Australians took part in a nationwide protest demanding further action to protect women from gender-based violence.
“Ten weeks after those national protests, eighteen more people have tragically lost their lives; four women were murdered in 48 hours during the first weekend of June; three women were murdered in three days last week, and their wrongful deaths are covered heavily in newspapers and news feeds,” the report said.
‘Yesterday a fatal stabbing; Saturday an alleged domestic homicide.
‘…Violence against women is not a flash in the pan, it is an epidemic.’
