Ms Brittany Lauga，Assistant Minister for Health and Regional Health Infrastructure: since 18 May 2023
https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/Members/Current-Members/Member-List/Member-Details?id=1007010486
Electorate: Keppel - View Map(.pdf)
Yeppoon Central Shopping Centre
42 Park Street
YEPPOON QLD 4703
澳州女议员在选区遭下药性侵 同日另有多名女性受害震惊各界
澳洲悉尼上月发生针对女性的商场随机刺人事件，造成6人死亡，令人关注性别暴力问题之际，近日又传出惊人案件。澳洲昆士兰州女议员布兰特妮 (Brittany Lauga) 自曝，外出时遭陌生人下药性侵，而同日还有其他女性也遭下手，事件震惊澳洲社会，警方已展开调查。
身兼卫生部助理部长的布兰特妮在社交平台表示，她于4月27日的周六夜上，在昆士兰州自己所属的选区耶蓬（Yeppoon）外出消谴时，被人下药性侵，她不知道歹徒是谁，翌日凌晨她清醒过来后，马上到警署报案，以及到医院检查，发现体内确实存在她没服用过的药物，而这些药物对她“产生了‘重大’的影响”。
更令人震惊的是，布兰特妮爆出，当晩还有不止一名女性像她一样，被人下药侵犯，且已联络了她求助，“这种事可能发生在任何人身上，可悲的是，它确实发生在我们许多人身上，有多名女性与我联系，她们在我们镇上也经历过同样的事情”。
布兰特妮表示，经历这事，她需要时间疗愈，呼吁外界尊重她的隐私和个人空间。
昆士兰警局证实，正在调查4月27日在耶蓬发生的一宗性侵案，除此之外，尚未在同一地区收到更多报告，呼吁有类似遭遇的受害人挺身举报。
同为女性官员的昆士兰州住房部长梅根·斯坎伦称事件“令人震惊”和“可怕”，认为妇女在澳洲成为家庭暴力和性暴力受害者的比例过高，令人不可接受，强调政府将尽一切努力保护妇女，并制止暴力事件发生。
英媒《BBC》报道，最近几周，澳洲发生了多宗引人注目的性别暴力事件，其中最骇人听闻的，是悉尼一名男子一家购物中心刺死了六人，其中五名受害者是女性，新南威尔斯州警察局长告诉澳洲广播公司，施袭者显然针对伤害女性。爆出这宗杀戮事件后，澳洲民众发起集会示威，要求政府制定更严格的法律，以阻吓同类惨剧发生。
今年到目前为止，澳洲全国平均每四天就有一名妇女被杀。
昆士兰州：国会议员称她被下药并遭到性侵犯
作者：露丝·科默福德，BBC 新闻，2024 年 4 月 5 日
X 布列塔尼·劳加
布列塔尼·劳加说她需要时间来治愈
昆士兰州议员布列塔尼·劳加 (Brittany Lauga) 投诉称自己被下药并遭到性侵犯，澳大利亚警方已展开调查。
卫生部助理部长表示，她晚上在耶蓬选区外出时遭到袭击。
“这可能发生在任何人身上，可悲的是，它确实发生在我们很多人身上，”她说。
该事件发生之前，针对最近针对妇女的暴力行为而发生了抗议活动。
4 月 28 日，37 岁的劳加女士前往警察局，然后前往医院。
她在社交媒体上发布的一份声明中说：“医院的测试证实我体内存在我没有服用的药物。”她补充说，这种物质对她产生了“重大”影响。
昆士兰警察局（QPS）证实，警方正在调查周日在耶蓬发生的一起性侵犯投诉。
据报道，其他女性联系了劳加女士，她们说她们在当天晚上就被下药了。
“这不行。我们应该能够在镇上享受社交活动，而不必担心被下药或受到袭击的风险，”她说，并补充说她需要时间来“身体和情感上的治愈”。
警方表示，尚未在同一地区收到更多报告，但正在要求任何有信息或经历过类似情况的人与他们联系。
他们说：“QPS 严肃对待所有饮酒过量的报告，并根据具体情况对饮酒过量的报告进行调查，并且通常与性侵犯等其他犯罪行为结合起来。”
劳加女士已在议会任职近十年，并于 2015 年首次当选吉宝议席。
据澳大利亚媒体报道，昆士兰州住房部长梅根·斯坎伦称这些指控“令人震惊”和“可怕”。
斯坎伦女士说：“布列塔尼是一位同事，她是一位朋友，她是昆士兰议会的一名年轻女性，读到这些内容确实令人震惊。”
“妇女成为家庭暴力和性暴力受害者的比例过高，这是不可接受的。我们的政府将继续尽一切努力保护妇女并制止暴力的发生。”
墨尔本大批民众示威
最近几周，澳大利亚发生了一系列引人注目的性别暴力事件。
4月，一名袭击者在悉尼一家购物中心刺死了六人。其中五名受害者是女性，新南威尔士州警察局长告诉澳大利亚广播公司新闻，“显然”他专注于伤害女性。
针对杀戮事件，发生了一波集会，示威者呼吁宣布基于性别的暴力为国家紧急状态，并制定更严格的法律来制止这种行为。
今年到目前为止，该国平均每四天就有一名妇女被杀。
澳大利亚人呼吁针对杀戮后暴力侵害妇女行为制定更严厉的法律
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-68915018?
作者：Katy Watson 和 Hannah Ritchie，2024 年 4 月 30 日于悉尼
悉尼刺伤事件：邦迪袭击妇女事件摧毁了澳大利亚
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-68852486
作者：Tiffany Turnbull，BBC 新闻，悉尼，2024 年 4 月 19 日
似乎所有澳大利亚人都可以在周六邦迪交汇处拥挤的购物中心发生的刺伤事件的受害者中看到自己的身影。
有一位新妈妈为自己偷了一些时间。一名难民保安刚刚上任一周。百万富翁的女儿兴奋地筹划婚礼。一名国际学生在考试后寻求购物疗法。从未回家看望孩子的父母。
这次袭击发生在一个大规模谋杀如此罕见的国家，震惊了世界，也给澳大利亚带来了令人不安的问题。
“我的意思是，可怕的事情一直在发生，”33 岁的安妮塔在向一座不断壮大的纪念碑献花时告诉 BBC。 “但事实是，它发生在这里——在你最意想不到的地方，以如此令人发指的方式——绝对击中了要害。”
周六下午进入中心后不久，乔尔·考奇就选择了他的第一个受害者——一名女性——并用一把大刀刺伤了她，据报道是从后面刺伤她的。
在接下来的大约 20 分钟内（警方尚未透露具体时间），考奇在这座富丽堂皇的购物中心的三层楼里徘徊，导致数十人惊慌失措。
受惊的购物者拍摄的视频显示，他追逐或冲向几名男子，但最终没有理睬他们。
与此同时，他身后留下的一堆流血的女人越来越多。
一家乡村路商店外面有三个人。香奈儿内部的地上有两个。 Cotton On 附近的另一对夫妇。
总共，他刺伤的 17 人中有 14 人是女性，其中包括被杀的 6 人中的 5 人，以及一名 9 个月大的婴儿。
玛丽 - 她要求我们不要使用她的姓氏以保护她家人的隐私 - 是众多在收容所避难的妇女之一
当考奇在外面徘徊时，他惊恐地撕扯着。
玻璃的另一边，他径直从她身边走过，右手握着猎刀，在身侧挥舞着。
当被锁在商店里的惊慌失措的顾客看到他们的手机亮起了疯狂的信息时，玛丽很快就听说了一名妇女被刺伤的消息，然后是另一名妇女被刺伤，然后又是另一名妇女被刺伤。一分钱掉下来了。
“我想，‘他在追求女人’。”
到周一早上，警方也表示这是“显而易见的”。
“这些视频不言而喻，不是吗？”专员凯伦·韦伯说。
“犯罪者主要针对女性，避开男性。”
持刀男子在悉尼购物中心横冲直撞，购物者纷纷逃命
悉尼刺伤事件：谁是受害者？
但随着恐怖故事从中心泄露出来，英雄主义的故事也随之泄露出去。
这位法国商人——现在被称为“波拉德人”——试图阻止考奇的屠杀。保安法拉兹·塔希尔（Faraz Tahir）与一名同事一起被刺伤，并在“试图拯救他人”时死亡。
令人心酸的是，星期六的许多英雄也是女性。
阿什莉·古德（Ashlee Good）在她生命的最后时刻拼命地为她的孩子寻求帮助。周六晚上，古德在医院去世，她的孩子被紧急送往手术室。
胡玛·侯赛尼 (Huma Hussainy) 详细地告诉英国广播公司 (BBC)，她看到一名女士挑衅地站在两名流血的年轻女子身边，尽管袭击者距离她几米远。
像玛丽这样的人表示，零售员工（主要是女性）的敏捷思维拯救了许多人。他们提醒路过的购物者，将他们赶进商店并锁上门。
当然，还有一名警官独自追赶考奇，当他转向她时，开枪射杀了他。她冷静地把刀从他手里拿开，然后试图挽救他的生命。
全国哀悼
在反思日期间，公众在 Westfield Bondi Junction 购物中心表达敬意
周四，公众返回现场
袭击发生一周后，澳大利亚正在努力恢复正常状态。
周四，韦斯特菲尔德重新开放，举办所谓的社区反思日。
绝大多数是女性——许多人的衣服上别着黑丝带——在安静得可怕的商场里进进出出。
周围很安静，你可以听到几个人的哭声，盖过了自动扶梯不知何故刺耳的呼呼声。
香奈儿专卖店的橱窗里摆着两束鲜艳的鲜花，还有一张写着“Dawnie”的卡片。
楼上，人们排着长队在吊唁簿上签名，一手拿着花束，另一只手握着亲人。
在外面，许多人显然仍在处理所发生的事情以及它所激起的情绪。
“每天你都会感受到不同的东西，或者你会想到不同的东西，”新妈妈露丝·马斯卡伦哈斯说。
今天她感到偏执。
“我会寻找‘防火梯在哪里’、‘最近的出口在哪里？’就像背靠墙坐着一样，这样我就可以随时看到一切。”
她指出，就在我们说话的时候，她正在这样做。
“就像今天我给他换了一种不同风格的婴儿车，”她指着她还在襁褓中的儿子补充道，“这样我就可以更快地把他救出来。”
周简和露丝·马斯卡雷尼亚斯
新妈妈 Jane Zhou 和 Ruth Mascarenhas 很难理解这次袭击的意义
“你不能推着婴儿车跑步。这才是真正让我震惊的事情。”她的朋友简·周眼里含着泪水说道，一只手心不在焉地抚摸着自己三个月大的婴儿。
“就像，如果我在那里，我会做什么？”
同样，与我交谈过的十几岁女孩都表示她们感到脆弱。
“这太糟糕了，”扎利·迪普说，并补充说，她强迫自己来到中心表达敬意，但也是为了“夺回它”。
“我们不想让他夺走我们喜欢的东西和地方，”她说。
另一位 14 岁的女孩承认她很生气。
“让我感到沮丧的是，我需要意识到男人的冲动……我不想担心‘哦，那边那个人，他可能会突然说，‘我想杀了你’。”
安妮塔说，周六的事件让她整个星期都在思绪万千，但最重要的莫过于阿什莉·古德和她的孩子所发生的事情。
周二，当这个九个月大的孩子被转出重症监护室时，全世界都松了一口气。
“显然，我很高兴孩子能活下来，否则那就太可怕了，”安妮塔说。
“[但是]她必须在成长过程中了解……所发生的事情——将其作为你历史的一部分将会非常困难。
“我希望她能够保持她妈妈是一个英雄般的人，以及她受到每个人的爱戴。”
问题多于答案
这里的人群以及更广泛的社区有很多悬而未决的问题。
考奇为何发动袭击？
心理健康发挥了什么作用？
如果他确实针对女性，为什么？他的道路上还有更多的女人吗？他认为他们构成的人身威胁较小吗？他怨恨他们吗？
警方表示这是一项“非常非常复杂的调查”
一次，但现阶段他们指出了他的心理健康状况，并表示没有迹象表明任何意识形态是动机。
他的父母在新闻中发现了他们的儿子，并通知了警方。他们表示，他被诊断为精神分裂症患者，已经停止服药，这表明他可能沉迷于刀具。
然而，他苦恼的父亲也表示，这位40岁的年轻人想要一个女朋友，但缺乏社交技能，并且“感到沮丧”。
安德鲁·考奇抽泣着对澳大利亚广播公司说：“他的灵魂饱受折磨……我很抱歉他对你们的孩子和这个国家做了这样的事。”
罗汉·安德森 (Rohan Anderson) 乔尔·考奇 (Rohan Anderson)
乔尔·考奇 (Joel Cauchi) 的暴怒行为被惊恐的购物者拍了下来
其他人问，考奇计划这件事多久了？他能被阻止吗？
当局知道他在袭击发生前参观了另外两个韦斯特菲尔德购物中心，这一事件引发了关于保安人员是否配备适当武器的争论。
已承诺投入数百万美元来开展大规模验尸调查，努力为家庭和社区画上句号。
但警方表示，我们可能永远无法得到其中一些问题的答案。
与此同时，该国许多人——尤其是女性——感到不安和不安全。
他们口中的大问题是：这种事还会发生吗？
“卫生系统如何帮助他，阻止他来这里做这种事？”周女士问道。
虽然澳大利亚可能比其他国家做得更好，但专家表示，心理健康服务资金严重不足，无法提供应有的护理。
但他们补充说，将此类事件归咎于心理健康状况只会进一步羞辱那些患有这种疾病的人。
尽管精神分裂症患者遭受暴力的风险增加，但心理学家强调，绝大多数人永远不会实施暴力犯罪。事实上，他们本身成为暴力受害者的可能性要大得多——几乎是普通民众的五倍。
记者埃尔菲·斯科特（Elfy Scott）撰写了一本关于复杂心理健康状况的书，他在 Crikey 上写道：“暗示邦迪枢纽袭击者的心理健康诊断本身就可以解释他为什么决定攻击和谋杀多人，这是过于简单化、冒犯性和破坏性的。”
对于一些人来说，问题是澳大利亚是否足够认真地对待厌女症的威胁。
“我的第一个想法是，‘哦，我们又来了’，”邦迪的一位母亲告诉我。
周五，国家总检察长承认：“澳大利亚面临男性暴力危机。”
事实上，在邦迪袭击发生前不到 24 小时，巴拉瑞特地区城镇的三名妇女据称在数月内被男子杀害，人群聚集在巴拉瑞特的一次集会上——一名慢跑者据称死于陌生人之手，两名妇女据称被现任或前任伴侣谋杀。
其他人指出，本周悉尼西南部的一座教堂发生了另一起震惊悉尼的刺伤事件，警方很快将其定性为恐怖袭击，尽管没有人死亡。为什么屠杀妇女不是恐怖行为？
现场一名女子 Getty Images
女性感到脆弱
专家和警方表示，现在判断邦迪袭击事件是否符合厌女主义恐怖主义的定义还为时过早，但总的来说，它是全世界范围内一种悄然发生的威胁。
普利茅斯枪击案受害者家属敦促“对非独文化采取行动”
厌女症应该是仇恨犯罪吗？
香农·齐默尔曼博士告诉英国广播公司：“面对所有这些暴力行为，只是说……这是私人恩怨，或者是孤独的狼，或者是患有精神疾病的人，都忽视了这个问题。”
“厌女症足够强大，也足够重要——无论是在其他极端主义意识形态中还是就其本身而言——足以引发暴力行为。”
她说，总体而言，澳大利亚的行动似乎比许多其他国家更快。
该国情报机构在 2021 年扩大了对恐怖的定义，并明确将厌女症列为一种可能激发攻击的意识形态，从而为针对其构成的威胁提供更多资金、研究和教育扫清了道路。
“它在安全部门的雷达范围内......它在警察的雷达范围内，”齐默尔曼博士说。
但这对玛丽来说并没有什么安慰。她有三个年幼的女儿，她说这次袭击破坏了她家人的安全感。
“我试图教育我的孩子们……作为一个女人，真的没有什么是你做不到的。”
“除了保证自己的安全，”她停顿了一下后补充道。
Queensland: MP says she was drugged and sexually assaulted
By Ruth Comerford, BBC News April 5, 2024
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-68957173
Police in Australia have launched an investigation following a complaint by Queensland MP Brittany Lauga that she was drugged and sexually assaulted.
The assistant minister for health said she was attacked on a night out in her constituency of Yeppoon.
"This could have happened to anyone and tragically, it does happen to many of us," she said.
The incident follows protests that have taken place in response to recent violence against women.
Ms Lauga, 37, went to a police station and then to hospital on 28 April.
"Tests at the hospital confirmed the presence of drugs in my body which I did not take," she said in a statement posted on social media, adding the substance had impacted her "significantly".
Queensland Police Service (QPS) confirmed officers were investigating a sexual assault complaint regarding an incident in Yeppoon on Sunday.
Ms Lauga was reportedly contacted by other women who said they were drugged on the same evening.
"It's not OK. We should be able to enjoy socialising in our town without the risk of being drugged or assaulted," she said, adding that she needed time to "physically and emotionally heal".
Police said no additional reports in the same area have been made, but are asking anyone with information or who has experienced something similar to contact them.
"The QPS takes all reports of drink spiking seriously and investigates reports of drink spiking on a case-by-case basis, and often in conjunction with other offences such as sexual assault," they said.
Ms Lauga has been in parliament for nearly a decade and was first elected to the seat of Keppel in 2015.
Queensland Housing Minister Meaghan Scanlon called the allegations "shocking" and "horrifying", Australian media reported.
"Brittany is a colleague, she is a friend, she is a young woman in the Queensland parliament and these are really shocking things to read," Ms Scanlon said.
"It is unacceptable that women are disproportionately the victims of domestic, family and sexual violence. Our government is going to continue to do everything we can to protect women and stop violence from occurring."
Large numbers of people demonstrated in Melbourne
Australia has witnessed a spate of high-profile gender-based violence in recent weeks.
In April, an attacker stabbed six people to death in a Sydney shopping centre. Five of the victims were women, and the New South Wales police commissioner told Australia's ABC News that it was "obvious" he focused on harming women.
A wave of rallies took place in response to the killings, with demonstrators calling for gender-based violence to be declared a national emergency and stricter laws put in place to stop it.
A woman has been killed on average every four days in the country so far this year.
Australians call for tougher laws on violence against women after killings
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-68915018?
By Katy Watson and Hannah Ritchie,in Sydney April 30, 2024
Sydney stabbing: Bondi attack on women devastates Australia
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-68852486
It seems like all of Australia can see themselves in the victims of Saturday's stabbing rampage at a crowded shopping centre in Bondi Junction.
There was a new mother stealing a moment for herself. A refugee security guard only a week into his new job. The daughter of a millionaire excitedly wedding planning. An international student seeking retail therapy after exams. Parents who never went home to their kids.
The attack - in a nation where mass murder is so rare - has stunned the world and raised uncomfortable questions for Australia.
"I mean, terrible things happen all the time," Anita, 33, tells the BBC as she is leaving flowers at an ever-growing memorial. "But the fact that it happened here - where you least expect it, in such a heinous way - definitely hits home."
Within moments of entering the centre on Saturday afternoon, Joel Cauchi selected his first victim - a woman - and stabbed her with a large knife, reportedly from behind.
Over the next 20 or so minutes - police are yet to reveal exactly how long - Cauchi roamed around three levels of the palatial shopping centre, sending scores of people running in terror.
Videos captured by frightened shoppers show him chasing or lunging towards several men, but ultimately leaving them alone.
Meanwhile, the pile of bleeding women he left in his wake grew and grew.
There were three outside a Country Road store. Two on the ground inside Chanel. Another couple near Cotton On.
All up, 14 of the 17 people he stabbed were female - including five of the six people who were killed, and a nine-month-old baby.
Mary - who asked we not use her last name to protect her family's privacy - was one of the many women who sheltered in a store, horrified, as Cauchi prowled outside.
On the other side of the glass, he walked right past her, his right hand clutching a hunting blade and swinging it at his side.
As terrified customers locked inside shops saw their phones light up with frantic messages, Mary soon heard about one woman being stabbed, then another, and then another. The penny dropped.
"I thought, 'He's going after women'."
By Monday morning, police too said it was "obvious".
"The videos speak for themselves, don't they?" commissioner Karen Webb said.
"The offender focused on women and avoided the men."
But as stories of horror leaked out of the centre, so did tales of heroism.
The French tradesman - now dubbed Bollard Man - who tried to stop Cauchi's carnage. Security guard Faraz Tahir who was stabbed alongside a colleague and died "trying to save others".
Poignantly, many of the heroes of Saturday were women too.
There was Ashlee Good, spending her last moments desperately trying to get help for her baby. Good died in hospital on Saturday night, as her child was rushed to surgery.
Huma Hussainy in graphic detail told the BBC that she saw a lady defiantly remain by the side of two young women who were bleeding out - despite the attacker being metres away.
People like Mary say the quick-thinking of retail staff - largely women - saved many. They alerted shoppers passing by, herded them into stores and locked the doors.
And there was, of course, the lone officer who chased down Cauchi and, when he turned on her, shot him. Coolly removing the knife from his grip, she then tried to save his life.
Nation grieves
A week on from the attack, Australia is trying to stir itself back into a sense of normalcy.
On Thursday, the Westfield reopened for what it called a community reflection day.
An overwhelmingly female crowd - many with black ribbons pinned to their clothes - flowed in and out of the eerily silent mall.
It was quiet enough that you could hear a handful of people crying, above the somehow blaring whirr of the escalators.
In the window of the Chanel store were two bright bunches of flowers, and a card addressed to "Dawnie".
Upstairs, lines of people queued to sign a condolence book, grasping bouquets in one hand and their loved ones in the other.
Outside, many are clearly still processing what has happened - and the emotions it has stirred up.
"Every day you feel something different, or you think of something different," Ruth Mascarenhas, herself a new mum, says.
Today she's feeling paranoid.
"I'll be looking 'where's the fire escape', 'where's my nearest exit?' Like sitting with my back to the wall so I can see everything at all times."
She points out she's doing it as we speak.
"Like today I changed him into a different style of pram," she adds, pointing to her infant son, "so I can get him out quicker."
"You can't run with a pram. That's the thing that really hit me," says her friend Jane Zhou with tears in her eyes, one hand absentmindedly stroking her own three-month-old baby.
"Like, if I was there, what would I have done?"
Likewise, the teenage girls I speak to all say they're feeling vulnerable.
"It's shitty," Zali Deep says, adding that she forced herself to come to the centre to pay her respects, but also to "reclaim it".
"We don't want him to take away from things and places that we enjoy," she says.
"It just frustrates me that I need to be aware of men's impulses… I don't want to be worrying like 'Oh, that guy over there, he could just suddenly be like, 'I want to kill you'."
Anita says the events of Saturday have consumed her thoughts all week - but none more so than what happened to Ashlee Good and her baby.
The world let out a collective sigh of relief on Tuesday when the nine-month-old was moved out of the intensive care unit.
"[But] she has to grow up with this knowledge… [of] what happened - having that as part of your history is going to be so hard.
"I hope she can just hold on to what a heroic person her mum was, and how loved she was by everyone."
More questions than answers
The crowd here, and the broader community, have lots of unanswered questions.
Why did Cauchi attack?
What role did mental health play?
If he did indeed target women, why? Were there just more women in his path? Did he think they posed less of a physical threat? Did he resent them?
Police have said it's a "very, very complex investigation" which will take time, but at this stage they have pointed to his mental health and said there is no indication any ideology was a motive.
His parents - who spotted their son on the news and alerted police - have said he was a diagnosed schizophrenic who had gone off his medication, suggesting he may have been obsessed with knives.
However his distressed father also said the 40-year-old wanted a girlfriend, but lacked social skills and was "frustrated out of his brain".
"He was a tormented soul… and I'm sorry that he's done this to your children and this nation," Andrew Cauchi told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, through sobs.
Rohan AndersonOthers ask, how long was Cauchi planning this? Could he have been stopped?
Authorities know he visited two other Westfield shopping centres in the lead-up to the attack, and the incident has sparked debate over whether security guards are appropriately armed.
Millions of dollars have been promised to set up a massive coronial inquest which will endeavour to get some closure for families and the community.
But police have flagged that we may never get the answers to some of these questions.
In the meantime, many in the country - particularly women - are feeling uneasy and unsafe.
The big question on their lips: Could this happen again?
"How could the health system have helped him, to prevent him coming here doing this?" Ms Zhou asks.
While Australia may be doing better than other nations, experts say mental health services are drastically underfunded and unable to offer the care they should.
But blaming events like this on mental health conditions only further stigmatise those living with them, they add.
Although there is an increased risk of violence in people with schizophrenia, psychologists have stressed the vast majority will never commit a violent offence. In fact, they are far more likely to be the victims of violence themselves - almost five times that of the general population.
"Implying that the Bondi Junction attacker's mental health diagnosis alone can explain why he decided to attack and murder multiple people is simplistic, offensive and damaging," journalist Elfy Scott - who has authored a book on complex mental health conditions - wrote in Crikey.
For some, the question is whether Australia is taking the threat of misogyny seriously enough.
"My first thought was, 'Oh here we go again'," one Bondi mother tells me.
On Friday the nation's attorney general conceded: "We have a crisis of male violence in Australia."
In fact, less than 24 hours before the attack in Bondi, crowds gathered at a rally in Ballarat after three women in the regional town were allegedly killed by men in as many months - a jogger who allegedly died at the hands of a stranger, and two women allegedly murdered by current or former partners.
Others point out another stabbing which rocked Sydney this week - at a church in the city's south-west - was quickly labelled a terror attack by police, although no one was killed. Why isn't a massacre of women a terrorist act?
Getty ImagesExperts - and police too - say it is too soon to tell if the Bondi attack fits the definition of misogyny-motivated terrorism, but in general, it is a creeping threat all over the world.
"Taking all of these acts of violence and just saying… it's a private grievance or it's a lone wolf or it's someone who's mentally ill is ignoring the problem," Dr Shannon Zimmerman told the BBC.
"Misogyny is powerful enough and is important enough - both in other extremist ideologies and on its own - to motivate acts of violence."
On the whole, Australia seems to be acting faster than many other countries, she says.
The nation's intelligence agency in 2021 broadened its definition of terror and explicitly named misogyny as an ideology which could inspire attacks - clearing the path for more funding, research and education on the threat it poses.
"It's on the radar of the security services… it's on the radar of the police," Dr Zimmerman says.
But that's little comfort to Mary. She has three young daughters and says the attack has shattered her family's sense of safety.
"I've tried to teach my children… there's nothing, really, you can't do as a woman."
"Except keep yourself safe," she adds after a pause.
