Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese, said Friday that violence against women is an “epidemic” in the country as thousands of people gathered in cities across Australia demanding tougher legislation on gender-based violence.

In his announcement on X (formerly Twitter), Albanese said that “governments need to do better and as a society we need to do better.” He pledged to join the rallies himself.

The action comes following a mass-stabbing incident in Sydney earlier this month that police said appeared to target women. Statistics show that a woman has been killed around every four days so far this year in Australia. This shows a marked increase over figures from last year, which showed that a woman was killed around every week.

The rallies in Australia come as Attorney General Mark Dreyfus dismissed proposals for a royal commission into domestic violence, stating that the issue should be dealt with by collaboration between the federal government and state and territorial governments. Protesters are asking for more wholesale policy change alongside a deeper examination of the cultural issues and shifts required to address domestic violence. The not-for-profit group “What Were You Wearing” organized the rallies, which will be held across the country on Saturday and Sunday.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported in March that globally, around 1 in 3 women have experienced either physical and/or sexual violence and that most of it is from intimate partners. In 2020, over 47,000 women and girls were killed by intimate partners or family members, which correlates to a death every 11 minutes. While progress is being made in some countries through legal reforms and advocacy, many cultural obstacles remain.