Hundreds march through Toowoomba CBD to end violence against women

Wet and windy conditions could not deter hundreds of women and allies from joining a massive national movement against the prevalence of violence against women.

Women's March 4 Justice Toowoomba.

Hundreds of Toowoomba women and allies have lent their voices to a growing national campaign against gendered sexual violence, braving cold and wet conditions to join the March 4 Justice movement.

The rally of nearly 300 people from a variety of ethnic, cultural and social backgrounds, which marched from Queens Park to the Toowoomba City Library to hold speeches, complemented the 40 other events that occurred on Monday to call for immediate action from Prime Minister Scott Morrison on sexual assault and harassment in the workplace.

It also comes a week after leaked excerpts from a Toowoomba Regional Council staff survey showed just three per cent of sexual harassment and bullying matters were formally reported.

Demands from national co-ordinators include full independent investigations into all cases of gendered violence, fully implement the 55 recommendations in the Australian Human Rights Commission’s Respect@Work 2020 report and lifting public funding for gendered violence prevention to world’s best practice.

Co-ordinator Louise Noble said the country needed real leadership from the Federal Government, which has been rocked by a number of rape and sexual assault allegations in recent weeks.

“One of our friends, who is actually a survivor, she initiated an idea for action, actually before the national was called, and was it was called, we decided to move in with it to make the message even stronger,” she said.

“The actual emotional and psychological impact has been quite difficult for a lot of survivors, and we rallied around her so we could have action locally.

“We’ve got women from all backgrounds and political persuasions and all different ages coming together.

“We need leadership and structural change — we have to support victims of sexual assault much better, because when you look at statistics, the reporting rates are very low.”

Among those who addressed the rally was former South Sudanese woman and domestic violence survivor Lily Tombi.

Ms Tombi, who left her abusive partner seven years ago, became emotional while calling on more political action to help survivors escape.

“I’m speaking on behalf of myself as a survivor of domestic violence, and on behalf of other women doing through it,” she said.

“Many women go through domestic violence and they can’t speak up because it could be a shame to their culture or family.”

Women's March 4 Justice Toowoomba.

Other speakers included PEACE Organisation founder Gen Allpass, who launched into a passionate tirade against the Federal Government’s handling of the sexual assault allegations.

Disability advocate Alyce Nelligan also spoke about the need for better support for women with disabilities, who are statistically far more likely to be physically or sexually assaulted than able-bodied women.

Several councillors, including Megan O’Hara Sullivan, Rebecca Vonhoff, Carol Taylor, Melissa Taylor and Deputy Mayor Geoff McDonald, were in attendance.

Women's March 4 Justice Toowoomba. Toowoomba disability advocate Alyce Nelligan gets a hug from Lily Tombi