01/09/2026
Destroyers, once more we bring you news of a woman allegedly killed in targeted violence by a family member. As is so often the case, available details are few while investigations continue; we will update our post and register as soon as verified facts are published.
Our Counting Dead Women Australia campaign calls on all levels of government to institute a national, unified system for reporting, investigation, analysis and response to violence against women, to make a safer world for women and their children.
In support of that aim we continue our task of maintaining the most credible and substantiated record of women killed by targeted violence in Australia.
Once more we sadly update our register of known deaths due to violence against women in 2026, which now stands at 33.
At around 4:50am on August 30th police and paramedics were called to a home in Huonville (TAS) after a Triple Zero call was made from the address. On arrival they found an as-yet unnamed 85-year-old woman unresponsive in her bed: she was declared dead at the scene, believed to have been smothered. Her son and carer, Jason Oates (55), was taken into custody and has been charged with murder. No further details are known at present.
https://tinyurl.com/3wj738k8
We extend our deepest sympathy to family and friends.
Destroyers, these posts honour the memory of women who have died in tragic circumstances. We moderate closely and hide off topic comments. Off topic comments include: speculation as to motivation, actions, background, mental state and drug or alcohol use of the alleged perpetrator; calls for violent retribution; offensive remarks to other posters; and any comment which may impact on court proceedings.
Women from all backgrounds are counted but we make no assumptions about a woman's culture, lifestyle or circumstances. We often do not even know a name: this may be out of respect for cultural traditions or because of a court order. We add updated information to our annual registers as soon as it is received and verified.
You can access our updated current register and our historical registers on our dedicated page: https://tinyurl.com/y6ew3a8f
We maintain a separate register of โUndeterminedโ deaths which we continue to monitor until a verifiable outcome is known. For reasons of privacy and legal responsibility this register is not made public. We are currently monitoring several deaths, some of which date back over months and years. We try to be accurate in our record, and we will not publish without a high degree of certainty, but we can't know the full circumstances of each death until court cases or coronial hearings are finalised. We do our best to maintain a full and accurate register, based on our recording criteria. If you know of any verified facts which may add detail to our record, please send us a **personal message**.
๐ฃ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐บ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐ป๐น๐, ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ โ ๐๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐น๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ต๐ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐๐ฏ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ ๐๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐.
We have no wish to prejudice the outcome of court proceedings.
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Destroyers, you can support our researchers and our campaign for national action on violence against women in many ways:
๐๐ฅ๐ง๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฌ๐ค๐ง๐! Spread this post widely on your social networks.
๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฌ๐ก๐๐๐๐ ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐ง๐๐จ๐๐๐ง๐๐! If you use our research in journalism, media articles or social media posts, please credit our work.
We are the Counting Dead Women Australia researchers of Destroy The Joint.
๐๐ข๐๐จ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐๐ก๐ก! Increasingly, local and national reporting is locked behind a paywall. Every small donation helps our researchers to access the reputable, timely reports they rely on. Your dollar can help!
๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ (however small) are welcome and can be made via this PayPal link: https://tinyurl.com/y678ttmj
Or by direct deposit to: BSB 032-249 Account number: 316752 (Destroy The Joint)
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*Please note:* In at least 75 per cent of the cases reported from 2012 to 2023, the victim knew her alleged killer. We do not record only deaths attributed as domestic or family violence, as we believe all violent deaths targeted against women are the result of societal misogyny. We include women killed by other women (lateral violence). Their small but sad number confirms that most violence against women is perpetrated by men.
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- If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence,
* ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น๐น 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732;
* ๐๐ฒ๐
๐ 1800RESPECT on 0458 737 732; or
* ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ https://www.1800respect.org.au/
- You can access local services here: https://www.dss.gov.au/ending-violence/help-and-support
or download the free Daisy App https://www.1800respect.org.au/daisy/
- Accessible information and support is available via the free Sunny App, developed for and by women with disability https://www.1800respect.org.au/sunny/
- YARN offers crisis support and advice to First Nations callers (13 92 76) and online https://www.13yarn.org.au
- For legal information, access Family Violence Law Help: https://familyviolencelaw.gov.au or
Womenโs Legal Services Australia https://www.wlsa.org.au
** In an emergency, call 000. **
