Anti-domestic violence graffiti on Stirling Mall Woolworths site sparks debate

Anti-domestic violence messages have appeared on temporary walls around the fire-hit Stirling Woolies, sparking furious debate online.

Anti-domestic violence graffiti sprayed on a temporary construction wall in the Adelaide Hills has sparked a debate around gender-based violence, with many applauding efforts to raise awareness of the growing number of women killed annually.

The words ‘101 women killed in 2024’ and “domestic violence is a men’s issue” were spray-painted on the temporary partition placed around the Woolworths redevelopment site at Stirling, with photographs of the work shared on social media.

More than 600 comments accompanied the post posing the question: “Controversial but effective?”.

Some commenters said while they were generally against graffiti, this was an important issue to draw attention to.

A temporary construction wall in Stirling has been graffitied with the messages "101 women killed in 2024" and "domestic violence is a men's issue". Picture: Supplied

“Do I see a problem here by spraying a message on temporary fencing that will go in the skip once done anyway? Absolutely not,” wrote one poster.

“It is a problem which needs more coverage like this. Whoever did this – thank you.”

“It needs to be written everywhere, Enough is enough!” wrote another commenter.

Stirling Village, which housed the Woolworths, was destroyed in a massive fire in October 2023.

Two teens were charged with arson, pleaded not guilty and charges against both were dropped late last year.

The site has now been cleared, with no word on any forthcoming construction work.

The figures written on the panels appear to reference statistics from journalist Sherele Moody, who tracks the number of women killed annually through Australian Femicide Watch.

Stirling Village, which housed the Woolworths, was destroyed in a fire in October 2023. Picture: Supplied

In 2024, Ms Moody documented the murders of 101 Australian women, up from 74 women the previous year.

According to her data, 90 per cent of the killings involved male perpetrators.

The display also triggered some backlash, largely from commenters taking issue with the messaging around domestic violence being “a men’s issue”.

“Domestic violence is NOT just a men’s issue!!!! Men can also be victims of domestic violence from women!!!,” said one man.

“Can’t label all men as the problem, very small percentage of the population contribute to this. It’s like blaming all woman for male suicide,” said another.

Adelaide Hills councillor Louise Pascale said while she didn’t condone vandalism it was an important issue that needed highlighting. Picture: Supplied

Adelaide Hills councillor Louise Pascale, who is currently on leave but has spent years championing work within council to address violence against women and children in the community, said while she didn’t condone vandalising of property, this “sparked an important discussion in the Adelaide Hills”.

“What we know is that domestic and family violence is not defined by a postcode, and we are not immune to it,” she said.

“I believe that while women for decades have been calling this out, and led the way in finding ways women can stay safe, we need to talk about the perpetrators.

“Statistically a woman is more likely to experience violence from an intimate or ex-partner while men are more likely to experience violence from other men in a violent crime.

“It’s time for men to have this difficult conversation and to call out other men who dismiss this.

“The number of women being murdered will not stop until men start addressing this issue.”

One mother of two young girls said the comments on the post could “make me cry”.

“I knew that men would swarm shrieking ‘NOT ALL MEN’,” she said.

Some commenters on the post raised the issue of high suicide rates among men.

But others pointed out that the issue of male suicide is often brought up to divert the conversation away from the violence suffered by women.

“I’ve not seen a single post about suicide awareness from any of the men bringing it up here today but funny how as soon as an issue affecting women is brought up, you are all over it and suddenly want a conversation,” said one commenter.

Stirling Village Mall property owners Leyton Funds have been contacted for comment.