Bendigo takes a stand on violence against women

AS MANY as one thousand people gathered at Rosalind Park last Sunday for Bendigo’s ‘No More’ rally against gender-based violence, according to organisers. The rally, which lasted for almost two hours, featured a series of speakers and issued a list of five demands for action.

It was part of a number of events around the country organised by the not-for-profit group What Were You Wearing?

One of the Bendigo organisers, Melissa Asta, said she was “blown away” by the turnout, which included many men.

“The crowd was engaged the entire time,” she said, adding that while some had put attendance numbers in the hundreds, other people believed there were up to 1000.

Ms Asta said while the focus of current community and media attention was on domestic violence, and rightly so, the nationwide events were also aimed at drawing attention to the fact that many women now felt generally unsafe on a daily basis.

“And it’s exhausting,” she said.

The rally’s official demands were:

– That the Federal Government acknowledge this is a national emergency and take immediate action;

– The media should wait 48 hours before using an image of a victim of men’s violence, unless permission is given by next of kin;

– Domestic, family and sexual violence services should be properly funded for a minimum of five years;

– Alternative reporting options be made available and specialist sexual, domestic and family violence courts established; and

– Mandatory victim blaming prevention training for first responders and media personnel.

Ms Asta was among the speakers at the event. Others included the Centre Against Sexual Assault Central Victoria’s Kate Wright, Margaret Augerinos from the local Centre for Non-Violence, the Victorian Alcohol and Drug Association’s Meg Bagnall, and the founder of She’s A Crowd, Dr Zoe Condliffe.

Rally participants honoured victims by placing a flower in a vase and observing a moment’s silence in their honour.

“That was a hugely emotional part of the rally,” Ms Asta said. “The atmosphere was really heavy at the time.

“These women are human beings and they’re not with us anymore. We really wanted to do something to acknowledge them.”