No more: Demonstrators call for end to gendered violence

MORE than two thousand people gathered in Geelong’s CBD last weekend to rally against gender-based violence.

The demonstration, organised by Indigenous-led not-for-profit organisation What Were You Wearing? (WWYW), was one of 17 rallies that took place across the country.

Demonstrators carried a variety of handmade signs calling for change, sharing their own experiences with violence or expressing their frustrations.

In Geelong, women, children and men of all ages came together at Market Square Mall to demand change, decrying the loss, on average, of one women every four days to violence this year.

Speaking to the crowd, local organiser Rachel Bishop, outlined WWYW’s five initial demands, calling on the federal government to:

Declare gendered violence a national emergency,
Mandate a minimum 48 hour waiting period before the names and images of murder victims are published by the media,
Mandate training for first responders and the media to prevent victim blaming,
Sufficiently fund all domestic and family violence services, and
Implement alternative reporting options for victims of violence.

Demonstrators stood together in silence, many in tears, as the names of the women lost this year to violence were read aloud.

Bishop said these demands were “only the beginning” before leading protestors on a short march around the precinct, travelling through Yarra, Malop and Moorabool Streets before returning to Little Malop Street.

Demonstrators chanted together as they walked, stating there were no excuses for violent men and, ‘Yes means yes and no means no’.

Several Geelong MPs and local councillors also attended the rally, including federal Corangamite MP Libby Coker who after the protest pledged to advocate for more action to address the “epidemic of violence against women.”

“It’s a national shame that we have such high levels or family, domestic and sexual violence in this country,” she said.

“Together we can, and must, put an end to gender-based violence in our homes, our workplaces and our communities.”

Three young girls add their own contributions to a wall filled with anti-violence messages.

At a rally in Canberra on Sunday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said gender-based violence was a “national crisis” and announced an urgent meeting of the national cabinet.

It is anticipated bail laws will be on the agenda, and academics and legal experts have wasted no time in encouraging the Prime Minister against hurried policy changes.

“It is terrific to hear the Prime Minister acknowledge the need for significant action now to address violence against women,” senior crime lecturer at La Trobe University, Kirsty Duncanson, said.

“However, caution must be taken against hasty decisions to change bail laws.

“Tightening bail laws in the past has led to extraordinary increases in women’s imprisonment.”