LEIGH SALES, PRESENTER: This statistic is a source of profound shame for our nation: every week, two Australian women are killed by violence - that's 31 so far this year.

Some are targeted in seemingly opportunistic acts like the case of teacher Stephanie Scott, allegedly abducted by a cleaner at her school just days before she was due to be married.

But many, many more are killed by people they know well - husbands, partners, fathers.

Now, around Australia, as more and more people become aware of the extent of violence against women in every suburb and town, there are growing calls for action.

Tracy Bowden reports.

TRACY BOWDEN, REPORTER: It was supposed to be a joyous time to celebrate a wedding and look to the future, but instead, this community gathered to offer comfort and to remember Stephanie Scott.

NICOLE DOWLING: It's just terrible, it's just horrific. It's just - everybody's in shock, I think. Especially when you're meant to feel safe in your workplace.

TRACY BOWDEN: Stephanie Scott was a teacher at Leeton High. On the last day she was seen alive, she'd come to the school to prepare work for the relief teacher, taking over classes while she was on her honeymoon.

MELISSA ANTHONY, HEAD OF ENGLISH & DRAMA, LEETON HIGH: She brightened our days with her smile and her generosity and her sincerity, she connected with the kids, she inspired, she had the least amount of experience of all of us and yet inspired everyone around her to aim higher, to do better.

TRACY BOWDEN: This one story of a life cut short is sad and shocking enough, but it's one in a grim toll. Stephanie Scott was the 30th woman to be killed by violence in Australia this year. That's two deaths a week. The toll reached 31 on the weekend as Queensland Police investigated the suspected murder of a woman in Townsville.

MICHAEL ROWAN, GRIFFITH LOCAL AREA COMMANDER: The vast majority of victims of violence are women. Domestic homicides are women. I'm not saying it doesn't occur to men, but you can't go against the statistics.

JENNA PRICE, COUNTING DEAD WOMEN CAMPAIGN: I mean, I think it's terrible that we have to count dead women, but I think it's the only way we're going to make a change.

TRACY BOWDEN: These are the faces of some of the women who've been killed this year. In some cases the accused is a stranger. The victim might be walking through a park or heading home from work, but most women are killed by someone they know.

MICHAEL COSTIGAN, NEPHEW: Our family is just repeatedly gutted by these sorts of things. It's like - the feelings are almost like Tara is murdered over and over and over again by the acts of other people, 'cause it's the same thing.

TRACY BOWDEN: Michael Costigan's niece, Tara Costigan, is number 15 on the list. The mother of three, her youngest child just a week old, was killed in an axe attack in February. Her ex-partner has been charged with murder.

MICHAEL COSTIGAN: This has to change, this has to stop. I think there's a sea change at the moment, there is a shift in our tolerance or intolerance for these sorts of things and it just has to stop. I - every time this happens, it just motivates me to fight more.

TANYA PLIBERSEK, DEPUTY OPPOSITION LEADER (March 4): Tara Costigan is not the only, is far from the only Australian woman our legal system, our governments, our society have failed. ...

... The common thread here of course is the greatest risk of being a victim of gender-based violence is being a woman. We know that for young women under the age of 45, the most likely cause of death or injury is domestic violence. This is a scourge; it's an epidemic in our society.

TRACY BOWDEN: Federal Deputy Opposition Leader Tanya Plibersek has called for a bipartisan approach to better protect vulnerable women.

TANYA PLIBERSEK: We need strong legal responses, strongly enforced and we need attitudinal change throughout our community.

TRACY BOWDEN: Those views were echoed at a rally in Melbourne yesterday.

PHIL CLEARY, ANTI-VIOLENCE CAMPAIGNER: Tell the society that it is a place for women. They are allowed to walk the street, they are allowed to have their own time, they are allowed to dress as they please, and we will never, ever accept the idea that women are to blame for the violence inflicted upon them. Change the culture; stop the men in their tracks. If they're your son, your brother and you father, tell them you're not going to accept it and enough is enough. Thank you.

TRACY BOWDEN: Jenna Price co-founded the feminist action group Destroy the Joint, which began the campaign to count the number of women murdered in Australia.

JENNA PRICE: I think it really affects people; people are able to identify with that. I think there are a lot of women who get murdered who never even rate a line on the news or rate a line in the newspaper and no-one knows them, they're not famous. ... I think the more focus we can put on these deaths, the better. That's gonna make things change.

TRACY BOWDEN: In Leeton, the police are continuing their investigations into what happened to Stephanie Scott. A 24-year-old man is in jail charged with her murder and her loved ones are now preparing for a funeral.

MICHAEL COSTIGAN: We know what her family is going through now. We know what her friends are going through. We know what her community is going through. And no-one can explain that.

TANYA PLIBERSEK: We have a responsibility to every Australian woman to, as a community, as a country, say that if she's just going about her daily life, she deserves to be able to live free from fear and free from violence.