Candlelight vigil honouring those lost to domestic and family violence

The first Wednesday of May every year Toowoomba takes a minute of silence to remember those who have lost their lives to domestic and family violence.

Toowoomba Together will host a candlelight vigil to honour those lost to domestic and family violence. The vigil will be on Wednesday, May 7 at the Empire Theatre Gardens. Photo: Generic.

On average, a woman is killed every 11 days by an intimate partner in Australia, and 20 per cent of Australians have experienced domestic or family violence since the age of 15.

May marks DFV Prevention Month, and Toowoomba will gather at a candlelight vigil to honour all those who have been lost to DFV. Toowoomba Together is hosting the vigil on Wednesday May 7 at the Empire Theatre Gardens.

Retired police officer and Toowoomba Together volunteer Tony Rehn said a lot of people think DFV is just a women’s issue.

Tony Rehn has called on the Toowoomba community to do more to tackle domestic and family violence. Picture: Kevin Farmer

“It is complicated and it’s an everybody issue. This is an issue of human rights,” he said.

“People should never ever live in the kind of fear that some of these people are living in.”

As a retired police officer, Mr Rehn regularly saw the impacts of DFV through his work and said even if someone hasn’t experienced DFV themselves, they likely know someone in their life who has.

“Anybody that’s not actually experiencing the violence themselves still knows somebody that is,” he said.

“Sometimes it’s a family member, sometimes it’s a friend, sometimes it’s a workmate, sometimes it’s the person in your footy club, your netball club, hockey or chess club.

“Whatever it is we all know somebody that’s going through this.”

Mr Rehn said there was a particular quote from the Holocaust museum that has really stuck with him.

“I’m not equating this to that horrible time of history, but I think this principle also applies to Domestic and Family Violence,” he said.

“’Don’t be a victim, don’t be a perpetrator, but above all don’t be a bystander,’” he said.

“A lot of people are keen to see this (DFV) gone.

“They’re keen to participate, they’re keen to help but they feel as bystanders that perhaps they don’t have that ability.

“We can’t just stand around and do nothing.”

The Candlelight Vigil starts at 5.45pm- 6.30pm on May 7 and is open to all who want to support the issue.