“Epidemic” characterized today by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese violence against women in his country, as thousands of people take part in demonstrations in Sydney and other major Australian cities to demand tougher laws to deal with gender-based violence.

The protests were sparked by a wave of violence against women, with the Australian government reporting that one woman has been murdered every four days this year. The protests also follow an attack earlier this month, when a man attacked with a knife and killed six people, five of whom were women, in a Sydney shopping centre.

Protesters calling for tougher legislation to tackle gender-based violence gathered in Sydney, the capital of New South Wales, and marched through the city centre. Some held banners reading “respect” and “no more violence”.

In the South Australian capital, Adelaide, an estimated 3,000 people gathered outside the state parliament.

Albanese said he will participate in the march that will take place tomorrow Sunday in the country’s capital, Canberra.

“I will walk with women from all over Australia to say ‘enough’,” the Australian prime minister said in X. “Violence against women is an epidemic. We have to do better,” he emphasized.

In Adelaide, Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young said “an urgent national response” was needed to tackle the scourge of gender-based violence.

“Women are tired of being told ‘yes, it’s bad but there’s not much we can do,'” she complained.

Demonstrations are planned over the weekend in the state capitals of Perth, Western Australia, Melbourne, Victoria, Hobart, Tasmania and Brisbane, Queensland.

Gender-based violence has been a long-standing issue in Australia, a country of 26 million people. In 2021, tens of thousands of people took to the streets following allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct at high levels of government and parliament.