Ideology driving misogynistic violence must be investigated

"It's a scourge on our society and it must end. We have to do more."

Recent public violence against women has raised the question: Is misogynistic violence ideologically motivated?

And if so, how much more at risk are women's lives if we don't crack down on those promoting dangerous ideology online aiming to radicalise boys and men?

Last weekend, Queensland man Joel Cauchi fatally stabbed six people inside Bondi Junction's Westfield shopping centre before being shot dead by police

Five women and one male security guard have since been identified as the victims.

NSW police Commissioner Karen Webb said it was "obvious" to her and detectives the killer targeted women during his attack.

But while Prime Minister Anthony Albanese later said "the gender breakdown is of course concerning", he refused to classify the deadly attack as misogyny-driven.

He said it was not his role to do so and security agencies had determined the violent rampage was not ideologically motivated extremism.

According to research project Counting Dead Women Australia, 24 women have already been killed in violent deaths this year.

That number, tragically, will only grow.

If anything is fuelling violence against women, it's entirely uncontroversial to say anything and everything must be done to stop it.

Many have pointed to manfluencer figures like Andrew Tate, who expose men and boys to "manosphere" and men's rights content from a young age on social media.

"The algorithm is radicalising young men," Monash University's Stephanie Wescott told this masthead earlier this week.

Dr Wescott said misogynistic messaging, just like that of religious extremists, followed "a very coherent set of talking points [claiming] power has been taken away from men and needs to be reclaimed."

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Would recognising those similarities change our national response?

Does the responsibility fall on politicians to promote positive education and stamp out ideology creeping into our schools that could lead to violence against women?

Should social media companies face real consequences for not acting faster to rid their platforms of hateful and misogynistic content?

These questions and the deaths that have prompted them are far from theoretical. With the lives of Australian women at risk every day, they must be answered immediately.

We have to do more.