Nat Barr makes powerful plea every Aussie should hear after tens of thousands marched for an end to violence against women

Nat Barr has called on Aussie men to join campaigns across the country to demand an end to violence against women.

The Sunrise host made the request on Monday after tens of thousands of Australians marched in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Canberra over the weekend.

The rallies were sparked by growing outrage over a spate of gendered killings with 26 women murdered this year - or one every four days.

Among the victims were five women who lost their lives after knifeman Joel Cauchi, 40, carried out his stabbing rampage at Westfield Bondi Junction on April 13. 

Barr said the protests and discourse around gender-based violence were overly represented by women and needed the input from men.

'We also need these rallies and these cries not to just be all the women saying "help us",' she said.

'We need men, don't we, to get in on this conversation.'

Federal minister Tanya Plibersek, whose daughter came forward about her own experience of an abusive relationship, and Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce also weighed in on the protests.

Ms Plibersek said young men were being exposed to a 'smorgasbord of violent misogyny' online.

'Society is trying to fix it on the one hand and, on the other hand, we have the exact opposite force happening, working against us trying to improve things,' she said.

'We need to look at what governments are doing, what police are doing, what courts are doing, what emergency services are doing. 

'But we also need to look at what is happening particularly to young men online that is supporting these misogynist attitudes.' 

Barr agreed saying there was 'anti-women' content and pornography online being peddled to young people, before throwing the question to Mr Joyce.

The New England MP described the current state of community violence as 'atrocious', but was weary to lump all men together as abusers.

'(Not) every young boy is going to grow up to be a criminal,' he said.

'You have to say, well, let's look at the total picture here and the formation of the family is absolutely vital in that.'

Ms Plibersek said a number of issues stemmed from women not knowing men have violent tendencies until it's too late.

'Of course not every man is violent, most men would be horrified at that,' she said, 'but we don't know who they are until we are in relationships with them.'