Vigil to be held for Indigenous anti domestic violence campaigner, R Rubuntja in Alice Springs
R. Rubuntja, who was one of the founding Leaders of the Tangentyere Women’s Family Safety Group, died on January 7 after she was struck by a car outside the hospital.
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FAMILY and friends of a woman who died earlier this year, R. Rubuntja, gathered in Alice Springs yesterday to commemorate the life of the Indigenous anti-domestic violence campaigner.
R. Rubuntja, who was one of the founding Leaders of the Tangentyere Women’s Family Safety Group (TWFSG) and President of Anthepe Town Camp, died on January 7 after she was struck by a car outside the hospital.
A 49-year-old man, Malcolm Abbott, was subsequently arrested and charged with murder.
TWFSG co-ordinator Shirleen Campbell spoke passionately at the vigil in memory of R. Rubuntja and her work.
“We always say we are not just numbers, we are not invisible women. Our sister, another one lost to us, is not just a number and we will not let her be invisible,” Ms Campbell said.
“Her story matters, her life matters and our sister still matters now she is gone.
“She was very proud of the work she did and the role she played. She worked on many of our projects, like Mums Can Dads Can, and even though she was shy, she spoke up in our many meetings and the videos and documentaries we made about our work.
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“She went to conferences to talk to people from around the world about the work we did on family violence, how it was driven by people just like her, from the grass roots, from the community.
“She helped organise and marched with us back in 2017, when we held the biggest women’s march against violence in Alice Springs. She was up there, shouting ‘no more violence, no more violence.’
“She was very clear, I remember her saying, ‘It’s got to stop. No more violence, not only for me but for everyone’.
“In everything our sister did, she made a difference. She had an impact. She will never be just another statistic.”
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R. Rubuntja had recently travelled to Parliament House in Canberra to speak with federal politicians about the ongoing prevalence of domestic violence in Central Australia.
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Originally published as Vigil to be held for Indigenous anti domestic violence campaigner, R Rubuntja in Alice Springs
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