When the prime minister urged us two months ago not to leave our homes except for in a handful of circumstances, it was no great burden for most of us.

In loving and functional homes, the prospect of spending extra time with our nearest and dearest was something to be celebrated in a past-paced world where we too often forget what matters most.

Sadly, not all homes are loving and functional and for those living in fear, the lockdowns must have been terrifying.

Shameful data from the past three weeks only adds to those concerns.

In the past 20 days, seven Australian women - most recently a 27-year-old woman who died from knife wounds in Quakers Hill on Wednesday - have been killed by violence, allegedly at the hands of a man well known to them.

The numbers are staggering: seven lives lost, seven sets of family and friends left to mourn, and seven men to face the courts.

We can all agree this is not the Australia we want for ourselves and our children, but we are unable to agree on how to end the devastation. It is certainly a societal problem but it can only be fixed by individuals - specifically, men.

As this newspaper has stated before, domestic violence is now an Australian crisis rivalling road deaths in the 1980s and gun deaths in the 1990s.

We can no longer ignore this issue with a glib "it's not all men" attitude.

Nor should we allow further muddying of the issue with the shrill "men can also be the victims of domestic violence".

But where the introduction of random breath testing almost instantly brought down the road toll and gun control reduced the number of gun deaths, there is no silver bullet to stop domestic violence.

There is no easy answer, but we need to try - harder now than we ever have before. And we must start with love and respect.

We must create a society that truly understands those words, and particularly young men. We must create a society that does not tolerate or foster abuse in any form.

We must create a society where men stop killing. And men must lead the change.

If you or someone you know needs help, support is available at Lifeline on 13 11 14, Beyondblue on 1300 224 636, or 1800 RESPECT.