Urgent calls to eradicate gender-based violence by boosting services to change perpetrator behaviour are resounding across Australia, with advocates at rallies in several states demanding an end to the culture of victim-blaming.
WARNING: This story contains details that may be distressing to some readers.
About a dozen demonstrations against domestic, family and sexual violence took place on Saturday including in Canberra, Melbourne, the Gold Coast, Darwin and Hobart, with more events in other capitals and regional centres planned for Sunday.
Among the speakers were victim-survivors, as well as friends and family members of women murdered by partners.
Similar rallies occurred in April, prompting Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to declare gender-based violence a “national crisis”, while pledging almost a billion dollars towards practical action.
This weekend’s events have been organised by advocacy group What Were You Wearing.
Founder and CEO Sarah Williams told ABC News Channel while it was “great” to see change, more support was needed.
“We want more funding for specialist domestic family and sexual violence organisations, grassroots organisations, men’s behaviour-change programs and women’s refuges,” Ms Williams said, ahead of her attendance at today’s Melbourne rally.
“The second demand is mandatory trauma-informed training for first responders, so we want to see our police … and medical staff be actually trained in trauma-informed care.
“Understanding victim-blaming as well is so important.
“Asking a victim-blaming question like, ‘What were you wearing?’ or, ‘How much have you had to drink?’ can actually put someone’s healing journey quite far back by that re-traumatisation.”
What Were You Wearing was the group behind the April rally in Canberra which prompted controversy over disputed claims about the prime minister’s appearance at the event.
Ms Williams said it was especially important that men demonstrated solidarity with the cause this weekend — a sentiment shared by Greens leader Adam Bandt, who addressed today’s rally in Melbourne.
“Everyone has the right to feel safe and has the right to live every day of their life without fear,” Mr Bandt said.
“That’s something that we as men can do something about, and should do something about it.”
Victims’ loved ones speak out
Mr Bandt was among hundreds of protesters — including friends and families of victims — gathered in front of the State Library of Victoria to call for an end to violence against women.
Friends of Georgia Lyall, the 32-year-old Perth woman who was killed in a suspected murder-suicide in July last year, attended the Melbourne rally, holding signs dedicated to her memory.
Kerryn Robertson, mother of Melbourne woman Rekiah O’Donnell who was killed by her partner in 2013, said she was marching to put an end to domestic violence.
“Nothing much seems to have changed over the years,” Ms Robertson said.
“Here I am today again … 10-and-a-half years later, and we’re still coming to rallies to try and save lives.
“We do all we can but it’s up to … the government to get on board and change things.
“The laws need to be tougher.”
Catherine Roberts said she was attending the rally because she was “sick and tired of women not being able to do” things men take for granted.
She said seeing the strong crowd at the rally gave her hope that there could be “significant change”.
Survivors of domestic violence were also in attendance, including Teagen Dwyer, a mother-of-two who said she was breaking the cycle and marching “for everyone in my family”.
Speakers at the rally called for more programs targeted at men’s behaviour, more trauma-based care and education, and more funding for women’s refuges.
‘Stop justifying men’s violence’
On the Gold Coast, a chant “54, no more” — a reference to the number of women killed in Australia this year — was repeated by dozens of voices across the Broadwater Parklands.
Among the attendees was Natalie Hinton whose daughter Tara Brown was horrifically murdered in 2015 by her former partner Lionel Patea.
Patea pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to life in prison in 2017 after he ran 24-year-old Ms Brown’s car off the road and bashed her to death while she was trapped in her upturned car.
Domestic Violence Prevention Centre CEO Lucy Gregory said she wanted men to step up and address the problem of gender-based violence.
“I stood here at the rally in April calling for change with hope in my heart, … 27 women had been murdered then,” Ms Gregory said.
“Three months later 54 women have been murdered.
“I want men to value women and children in their own right and not because they are their mother or their sister or their daughter — I want men to step in when other men are being abusive or sexist or misogynistic.
“I want men to stop justifying men’s violence, I want men to stop hurting us, I want men to stop killing us.”
Byron Bay, Illawarra show support
Around 200 people gathered on Friday night for a rally in Byron Bay, where the group marched through the town holding banners and placards, and chanting slogans.
“I’m here with my girlfriends and we are sick of hearing several times a week about women being killed by male partners or men,” Mullumbimby local Jen King said.
“You can’t just stay at home and do nothing.
“If there were that many men being killed by sharks, I can’t even imagine the chaos that would ensue … but it’s like, ‘Oh well, another woman is dead’.
“That’s how it feels to us and we want the government to do something about it.”
Dwayne Moseley said he had come along to support his wife, who was speaking at the rally, and to show solidarity with the push for broader cultural change.
“I want my kids to be on board with that and also their mates,” Mr Moseley said.
“It’s very important to show the younger generation the right way, and what should be the normal way.”
Similar views were expressed in Illawarra today, where manager of the local women’s health centre, Ali Anderson, spoke about her fears for her four-year-old foster son.
“Our boy is four and already we are unpicking the behaviours and the trauma that, if left unchecked, would see him almost certainly become a perpetrator himself,” she said.
“He has come into our care from an environment of fear, chaos, neglect, and pain.”
Ms Anderson said it was vital that more government funding and support was devoted to “primary prevention” to address the “root causes of violence before it occurs”.
She said only that way could the creation of “tomorrow’s murderers, tomorrow’s coercive controllers” be prevented.
Posted , updated
