Samantha Fraser. And Snezana Stojanovska, 26, who was three-months pregnant with a child who will never take its first breath. These women were victims of entirely separate violent crimes, and their killers are yet to be convicted in a court (with the exception of James Martin Mulhall, who has pleaded guilty to murdering Joy Rowley). Karen Ristevski Credit:Seven News Each case will be dealt with separately and The Age is not accusing any individual of guilt. The justice system will take its course, and it would be foolish to jump to conclusions.

But we know these women probably died terrifying deaths. And we know that in the three cases where charges have been laid, the accused men had been their husbands or partners. At least 39 women have died violently in Australia so far this year, according to Destroy the Joint’s Counting Dead Women project. Joy Rowley was murdered in 2011. But somehow we are so inured to this staggering tally that we need some grisly extra quantum to react. Four women dead, not just one. A god-awful day in court and coroner's court where even seasoned reporters shake their heads. How do we make sense of this? And, more importantly, how the hell do we make it stop? On Thursday Victoria’s state coroner, Judge Sara Hinchey, released her recommendations on the death of Joy Rowley, a mother-of-three. In 2011 she was murdered by strangulation by Mulhall, who had briefly been her partner.

Judge Hinchey found approximately one-third of family violence homicides involved previously known family violence, including Rowley’s murder, yet there was no review of her case. Today her bereaved family made a statement: "All our friends think you call the police when you’re in danger and they help you. We know that’s not how it works. It’s like Russian roulette, sometimes you get someone who will help. Sometimes, like mum, you get someone who doesn’t take you seriously." The coroner recommended a systemic review of family violence homicides where there had been previous family violence. It’s a sensible proposal in a state embarked on a decade-long overhaul of its response to family violence. Snezana Stojanovska died at age 26. In last year’s budget the Victorian government committed $1.9 billion to family violence over four years, to stretch across primary prevention, justice, police, the courts and women’s services.

But this area had been woefully neglected for decades. And the major legislative and policy changes recommended in Victoria’s Royal Commission into Family Violence will take time. We're starting from way back. And cultural change is a slippery beast. We need to talk – again – about gender. There are distinct gendered patterns in the perpetration and impact of family violence. The overwhelming majority of violent incidents and femicides are perpetrated by men against women. Loading Women are at least three times more likely than men to experience violence from an intimate partner. And if you are an Indigenous woman, or have a disability, for example, these figures are far worse. The only answer is gender equality, and respectful and non-violent relationships that will benefit the whole community, including men and boys.