‘Their shoes will stand where they can no longer stand themselves’: Haunting sight in Sydney CBD
At midday, a bustling part of Sydney’s CBD will come to a standstill – and there’s a devastating reason why.
At 12pm today, 42 empty pairs of shoes will fill Sydney’s Martin Place.
Shoes once put on by mothers and their children racing to school. By friends lacing up for their morning run. By little ones heading out to play in the yard.
Organised for several years by the NSW Vigil Collective, each pair at the No More Empty Shoes Vigil represents a woman “whose life has been stolen”, allegedly at the hands of an intimate partner or family member, in 2025, alongside a tribute to the 15 children who have allegedly been killed by a parent or relative.
“These women are more than numbers. They were beloved daughters, sisters, friends, mothers,” a NSW Vigil Collective spokesperson said.
“Their shoes will stand where they can no longer stand themselves.”
For many Australians, the loss of a loved one to domestic and family violence is incomprehensible. Not for Tabitha Acret.
In 2022, her 21-year-old daughter, Mackenzie Anderson, was brutally murdered by her ex-boyfriend Tyrone Thompson – stabbed 78 times in three minutes.
Ms Acret – who will speak at the No More Empty Shoes Vigil – has advocated relentlessly for justice in her name in the three years since Mackenzie’s death. As a result of her campaigning, last week, NSW Parliament passed legislation for a 25-year minimum sentence for those who murder their partners or ex-partners.
Announcing the law – which is the first of its kind in Australia – NSW Attorney-General Michael Daley and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, Jodie Harrison, commended Ms Acret’s “courage and advocacy”.
“Often young, white, attractive girls get way more media and attention than older women or women of colour,” Ms Acret said.
“But I feel the community felt something with Mackenzie’s death – that many were outraged by the failure of the justice system leading up to it, and many people identified with her and felt like it could be them.”
‘We all have to face it’
Chair of Lou’s Place, a drop-in centre for women in crisis, and vigil organiser Rebecca Fitzpatrick said that the topic of domestic and family violence “is still often ‘othered’ – (considered) other people’s issue, (happening in) other places, too hard to cope with”.
“It is only in standing together, in recognition and ownership of the issue, that we can make the systemic and cultural changes that we need as a total community to make change,” Ms Fitzpatrick said.
“We all have to face it, own it and take action.”
Ms Acret said that “it’s important for the community to see the impact of violence against women”.
“It’s important that we keep the discussion going, that we raise our voices and say, enough is enough,” she said.
“Silence is dangerous and deafening for those experiencing violence in their eyes.”
Ms Acret has “tried to volunteer my time wherever I can help in any way to prevent more deaths and further violence against women”.
“Unfortunately many people discriminate against women who experience violence and think it is associated with certain demographics or social, economic status,” Ms Acret said.
“But domestic violence knows no boundaries and can affect any family.”
Though the conversation about domestic and family violence in Australia is “becoming more visible, we still underestimate its impact”, Lou’s Place CEO Amanda Greaney said.
“Domestic and family violence affects far more than the individual woman,” she continued.
“It ripples through families, workplaces and entire communities. The long-term consequences on safety, wellbeing, housing, health and economic security are significant.
“Until we treat (it) as a whole-of-society issue rather than a private problem, we will continue to fall short of the response women deserve.”
Society also, Ms Greaney said, continues to “focus too much on why she didn’t leave, rather than why he chose to use violence”.
“That shift in perspective is essential. Women are forced to navigate police, courts, housing and Centrelink just to stay safe, often while traumatised and under immense pressure. The systems that should protect them are fragmented and place the burden back on the victim. Far too often, women are left choosing between safety and poverty or homelessness.”
The Federal Government has invested more than $4 billion in domestic violence services and programs. But “we need more funding,” Ms Acret said.
“So many amazing organisations work with so little, and more money is needed to provide safe housing for women so they can leave.
“We need the community to speak up, call out behaviour that isn’t acceptable, and we all need to work together to make real change.”
“Every woman that we are honouring and remembering today were real people who had a life, a family and a future,” Ms Greaney said.
“They should still be here. Australia needs responses that prioritise women’s safety and hold perpetrators accountable at every step. Until our systems are redesigned around safety, accountability and real risk rather than bureaucracy, we will continue to fail women.”
Originally published as ‘Their shoes will stand where they can no longer stand themselves’: Haunting sight in Sydney CBD
