Thousands of people are set to march at rallies this weekend, calling to end gendered-based violence. Horrifying, it comes as the number of women killed just this year reaches 26, according to the organisation Counting Dead Women — almost double the number of women killed by this time last year.
“Enough is enough. And it has been enough for a long time,” rally organiser and founder of advocacy group What Were You Wearing, Sarah Williams, said in a statement.
“We need more action from politicians, and we need them to take these crimes more seriously. In 2012, two men were killed and it triggered a whole new law. Now, more than 60 women are being murdered every year and we are still lacking action.”
Victorian woman Emma Bates, 49, became the 26th woman killed this year. John Torney, 39, who is believed to be known to her, has been charged. Just one day earlier, the body of Forbes woman Molly Ticehurst, 28, was found at her home. Her ex-partner Daniel Billings, 29, has been charged over both her murder and for contravening an apprehended violence order.
These alleged murders took place just days after the Bondi Junction stabbing, with police investigating whether the killer was targeting women. Five of the six people who lost their lives were women.
Rallies will take place across the country from Friday, 26th April to Sunday, 28th April, and are calling for five key national demands:
- The federal government acknowldeges this is a National Emergency and take immediate action
- Media must wait 48 hours before releasing a photo of a victim of male violence — a response to Ashlee Good‘s family expressing their distress over images being taken from her social media.
- Support for the What Were You Wearing #BelieveMe campaign, with mandatory victim blaming prevention training for all first responders and media
- Properly fund all domestic, family and sexual violence services
- Alternative report options and sexual, domestic and violence specialist courts
The recent spate of violence has prompted wide-spread calls for action, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese calling it a “crisis”, but falling short of describing it as a national emergency.
When asked this week if the government was doing enough about male violence, Independent Senator David Pocock replied firmly in the negative.
“It’s hard to see how anyone is doing enough,” he said. “This is framed as a women’s issue, but clearly, this is first and foremost a men’s issue. This is the way that boys [and] young men are thinking about women. We have a huge cultural issue here that we need to tackle, and this is going to take far more than some extra funding. this is a fundamental shift in the way we treat women in this country. It’s deeply, deeply troubling, and I would love to see more action from government at all levels. But ultimately this is up to all of us to be having these conversations and shifting things.”
You can find the planned rallies below; we’ll update as more get announced.
Friday 26th April
Ballaarat / Ballarat
Bridge Mall — Town Hall, 5pm
Mulubinba / Newcastle
Newcastle Museum — Nobby’s Foreshore, 6pm
Saturday 27th April
Gadigal / Sydney
Belmore Park, Haymarket — Hyde Park, 1pm
Tarntanya / Adelaide
Parliament House, 11am
nipaluna / Hobart
Parliament House lawns, 1pm
Sunday 28th April
Naarm / Melbourne
State Library — Federation Square, 10am
Dja Dja Wurrung / Bendigo
Roslind Park, 11am
Djilang / Geelong
Market Square Mall, Lt Malop St, 11am
Gumbaynggirr / Coffs Harbour
Coffs Jetty Foreshore, 11am
Gold Coast
Broadwater Parklands, 11am
Wagga Wagga
Victory Memorial Gardens, 11am
Gubbi Gubbi / Sunshine Coast
Foundation Square, 11am
Meeanjin / Brisbane
King George Square, 11am
Cobram
Federation Park, 11am
Boorloo / Perth
Forest Pl, 12pm
Ngunnawal / Canberra
Commonwealth Park, 2pm
Wiradjuri / Orange
Robertson Park, 2:30pm
Help is available.
- If you require immediate assistance, please call 000.
- If you’d like to speak to someone about sexual violence, please call the 1800 Respect hotline on 1800 737 732 or chat online.
- Under 25? You can reach Kids Helpline at 1800 55 1800 or chat online.
