The former governor general Dame Quentin Bryce has said everyone must challenge the unequal distribution of power and resources between men and women in order to address domestic violence, which she described as an “appalling scourge in our society”.

In March Bryce released a report from a taskforce she chaired aimed at reducing domestic violence in Queensland. It described the issue as the most grave human rights issue in the world and made 140 recommendations for preventing and addressing it.

On Monday, she told the ABC’s AM radio program there were 180 family violence cases reported every day in Queensland.

“Police tell me that they see that as the tip of the iceberg. The figures are so grave, and the very deep concern for all of us is the fact that – after a generation of providing services since we started talking about domestic violence to bring it out from under the carpet about 40 years ago in our country – it’s getting worse and it’s increasing in gravity and incidence,” Bryce told the ABC.

“It’s appalling. One can hardly think of words that capture how horrific this breach of human rights around our world is, in every nation and certainly around our country.

“The truth is that domestic and family violence is caused by unequal distribution of power and resources between men and women, it’s about the rigid gender roles and stereotypes that characterise our society, and the culture and the attitudes that support violence against women.”

On average at least one woman is killed as a result of domestic violence in Australia every week, and it is the biggest contributor to preventable ill-health and premature death in women under 45, according to VicHealth.

Bryce emphasised the need for a whole-community approach to preventing domestic violence.

“It’s not just an issue for government, though governments must take leadership, must take action, must provide services and funding,” Bryce said.

“But for all of us, we must be asking ourselves now about our culture, about our attitudes and what can we do as neighbours and family and friends, what can each one of us do about this appalling scourge in our society.

“It’s about all of us speaking up so that we aren’t bystanders, so that we don’t condone or ignore behaviour.”