Sydney No More rally demands urgent action against gendered violence
A No More rally against gendered violence has demanded radical action to stamp out Australia’s DV scourge, and called out one grim hypocrisy.
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Women across Australia are marching for greater and more radical action against the country’s rolling domestic violence crisis, with at least one protester calling for offenders to be fitted with a “bright pink” mark of shame.
Author and commentator Ashlee Donohue, speaking at a No More rally in Sydney on Sunday, asked the crowd when they had last heard of a man being “coward punched”.
“Consequences were put in place, suburbs were shut down, curfews were put in – there’s a 20-year jail sentence that could happen if you were found guilty of the coward punch,” she said.
“Why can’t that same commitment be made to women in this country who will be murdered by the week?”
Ms Donohue claimed aggravated violence orders were not effective and called for perpetrators of domestic and family violence to be slapped with an ankle bracelet.
“A bright pink one, so that everybody knows you’re a DV perpetrator,” she said.
“Imagine how many women would be saved from being bashed if there was a monitor.”
Ms Donohue said there needed to be consequences for perpetrators of violence.
“Right now there’s none”, she said.
“Men get out. I know a man who murdered a seven-month pregnant woman, he’s now out (in the community).
“She’s not. Her baby didn’t live, she didn’t live. Her family still suffers with trauma.
“This is what’s happening to all these women.”
She also criticised the Albanese government’s $5000 leaving violence payment scheme, claiming it would do “absolutely nothing” for women leaving violence.
The Albanese government committed $925m to a leaving violence payment scheme in May.
Eligible victim-survivors can claim packages of up to $5000.
Non-profit organisation What Were You Wearing? has organised 30 “no more” rallies across the country over the weekend, following on from a string of rallies in April attended by tens of thousands of people.
On Saturday, thousands descended on Australian streets, from Melbourne to the Gold Coast, to protest violence against women.
According to Sherele Moody’s Femicide Watch, 54 women have been lost to predominantly male violence this year alone.
Rally organiser and WWYW? founder Sarah McWilliams said she was deeply concerned by the rate at which women are being killed by predominantly male violence, demanding more be done to curb the horrific violence.
“Just one (death) is more than enough, but if we keep going at this rate we’ll be doubled by the end of the year,” she said.
“Not enough is being done.”
The rallygoers are demanding increased funding for grassroots organisations, specifically men’s behaviour change programs and women’s refuges, as well as mandatory trauma informed training for first responders, including police.
Hundreds marched from Hyde Park to Town Hall for the Sydney rally.
Volunteers placed a flower down on a piece of paper marking each woman or child lost this year in cases of alleged male violence.
NSW Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi called for “no more” as she addressed the crowd, saying “enough is enough”.
“Two women have been murdered every week just since the start of this year. Shame,” she said.
“And for every woman that is murdered there are too many more who are terrorised in their own homes.
“Controlled, abused, bashed, and raped.”
She asked how many more waves of public outcry and demands for action it would take before governments across the country “decide to step up”.
“Violence against women is a national emergency but the government refuses to fund it like one. Absolute shame,” she said.
“No woman or child should be turned away as they seek refuge, as they leave a violent relationship, and as they look for safety.
“But the sad and unacceptable reality is women are being turned away in their thousands
“Every woman turned away is a government failure and they should be ashamed.”
Ms Faruqi said the federal government’s priorities are “completely wrong”.
It’s understood the Albanese Government funds key training programs, including DV-alert training in the health and community frontline worker sectors.
A gender and disaster recovery program and accredited training for sexual violence responses to train medical professionals and frontline workers to better recognise and respond to victims of sexual violence is also funded by the Albanese government, and $159m has been put into the National Partnership Agreement to support frontline services and the frontline workforce.
Frontline and emergency services fall primarily under the purview of state and territory governments.
Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth said the safety of women and children experiencing family, domestic and sexual violence is a “national priority” for the government, and that she was working alongside the government every day under the National Plan.
“We will continue to deliver activities that support the Action Plans under the National Plan – including looking at where we may need new activities to achieve our goal under the Plan, particularly in relation to new and emerging risks like online extreme misogyny,” she said.
She added the government allocated more than $3.4 billion for women’s safety across three budgets and convened a dedicated National Cabinet earlier this year.
“Family and domestic violence destroys lives – it must end,” she said.
“There is more to do to achieve our shared goal with states and territories to end violence against women and children in one generation,” she said.
“We all have a role to play in ending violence against women – governments, community members, businesses, social media companies and individuals.”
Originally published as Sydney No More rally demands urgent action against gendered violence
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