21-Year-Old Woman Found Dead is 41st to Be Killed by Gendered Violence in Australia

A 21-year-old water polo coach who was found dead in the bathroom of an elite private school in Sydney, Australia on Thursday is the 41st Australian woman this year to die allegedly as a result of gendered violence, Tiffanie Turnbull reports for BBC News. Lilie James was found dead, with extensive head injuries, at St Andrew’s Cathedral School after receiving a tip-off call from 24-year-old hockey coach Paul Thijssen.

James and Thijssen had allegedly been seeing each other for about five weeks before James recently ended the relationship. CCTV had reportedly captured Thijssen entering the bathroom after her and later leaving alone. After making the call, Thijssen vanished, prompting a manhunt. On Friday, the police found the murder weapon and Thijssen was found dead. In the past 10 days alone, three women have all allegedly been killed by men they knew, either inside their own homes or workplace. Australia has had a National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children since 2010, but the statistics show the rates of violence remain stubbornly high.