Audrey Griffin death: Central Coast residents rally after she was killed walking home
A rally to protest violence against women in the wake of the shock death of teenager Audrey Griffin has been held at Gosford, with young women and parents calling for better night safety measures.
NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A rally was held on the Central Coast on Sunday, in solidarity with those who are victims of gender-based violence.
What Were You Wearing? Chief marketing officer Brianna Harvey said the rally was about
“making a loud enough noise that people acknowledge what’s going on, specifically people in power.”
“In this day and age there’s really no excuse for a lot of these things to still be happening.”
The rally wants to draw attention to the 24 women who have already been killed this year as a result of gendered violence, including 19-year-old Audrey Griffin who was murdered on her way home from a night out in Gosford.
“We need to remember the people that we’ve lost, not the people who caused that loss,” Ms Harvey said.
“Twenty-four is not just ‘too many’ - it’s a national crisis, it is national grief.”
Hundreds of people are expected to attend the rally to show solidarity and be part of a community.
“A lot of women, particularly young women, are scared right now and we want to show up and say we’re in this together,” Ms Harvey said.
“At the end of the day all we have is each other.”
CALLS FOR BETTER TRANSPORT
Central Coast women have demanded better late night transport services after the murder of 19-year-old Audrey Griffin as she walked home from a night out.
Ahead of a rally held on Sunday they called for more action against violence towards women, young women and parents of daughters have detailed their struggles of getting home safely after dark, with poor taxi availability and infrequent bus services among complaints.
Despite 82 licensed taxis serving almost 350,000 people as well as rideshares like Uber and Didi, getting home after 10pm is a struggle according to Heidi Shoveller, 21. “You have to think so hard about how you are going to get home,” she said. “A lot of taxis won’t take you if they are not going to make much money from them, or if you call them they won’t arrive if the distance is too short.”
Local mum Sarah Ryan recalled struggling to get a taxi home as a young girl in the area and said she felt her daughter and others were “no more safer today than I was 25-years ago”.
Nineteen year-old Ella Spokes said a lack of frequent public transport after dark made it harder for young women to hold down an evening job due to safety concerns.
“Most of my shifts finish around 8:30 or 10pm, and the walk to the bus stop is almost too long and too dark and because the buses aren’t coming all that frequently, there’s a long wait period that leaves you open and vulnerable,” she said.
Other women told The Sunday Telegraph they have been forced to accept lifts from drivers who have been drinking to avoid walking home for up to four hours.
“We usually end up relying on intoxicated drivers to get home because there is no transport or the transport that’s available puts their prices up to over $100 which no one can afford for one person,” Gosford woman Shariel Llige, 24, said.
“All transport to and around (the Central Coast) after hours is horrendous and something needs to change.”
NSW acting transport minister Jenny Aitchison said she was committed to improving transport options on the coast following Audrey’s death and said she would “investigate” and “engage” with the community’s concerns. “We are working to create a safer NSW for women, and will continue to engage with experts, advocates, stakeholders and those with a lived experience on this matter,” she said.
Audrey’s mother, Kathleen Kirby called for the community to sign a letter to their local MPs, urging action to make communities safer and stop violence before it happens. The letter to parliament asks leaders “what are you doing now to make our communities safer?,” “what’s your plan to prevent violence — not just respond to it?,” and “where’s the funding for prevention, support, and change?”
It’s something 19-years-old Emerson Koblick, a close friend of Audrey’s, closely supports. “These worries have always been quite prevalent among young women, we always understand that it is quite dangerous to be alone at night, but in the wake of what has happened to our friend Audrey we are even more reluctant to go out if we don’t have a confirmed safe way home,” she said.
Do you have a story for The Daily Telegraph? Message 0481 056 618 or email tips@dailytelegraph.com.au
Liberal Party hit by x-rated photo hack
Liberal Party followers met a rude surprise when the Opposition’s social media accounts shared photos of scantily clad women in what a spokesperson is calling a hack.
NSW Liberal’s a party of ‘ADIMBYs’: Speakman
Mark Speakman has his own acronym for the housing crises. The Libs aren’t NIMBYs or YIMBYs, but “ADIMBYs” – backing “appropriate development in my backyard”, he says.