Protest planned in response to alleged Manunda gang rape
Strangers to each other until last week a group of Cairns women have united behind a law reform cause in response to a woman who was allegedly gang raped by three teens last week.
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Strangers to each other until last week a group of Cairns rape survivors have united behind a law reform cause in response to a woman who was allegedly gang raped by three teens last week.
From completely different walks of life, Emily Cocks-Wheeler, Allissa Tenni and Brynie Rosser-Guyatt, shocked by the horrific events at Manunda last week, felt they had to do something.
In the early hours of Friday morning police allege three teenage boys busted into a Manunda home before dragging the woman from the bed she was sleeping in with her partner at knifepoint, and committing the horrific crime in the next room.
Wrapped in a groundswell of outrage that has surged through the Cairns community, the trio banded together to organise what is expected to be a large gathering at the Cairns Esplanade on Sunday.
“Not one of us had met in person (before Friday) and we have all jumped into the pot together,” rape survivor Ms Tenni said.
“We were discussing it on a (girl’s) advice page and felt really strongly about it and people were saying someone should do something about this and we decided we’re going to do it.
“(The crime) is just at the next level and it’s gone too far.”
The demonstration dubbed the Rally for Justice will be held at Freedom Park at 12pm on Sunday.
The protest has been timed to coincide with the Crisafulli Government’s first community cabinet set to go ahead at Brothers Leagues Club on Sunday.
“When I found out that David (Crisafulli) was coming to Cairns, what a better time to do it, to get it right up in his face, even if it is peacefully and you’re just holding some signs.
“It’s about being able to actually get the traction that it needed and the media that it needed at the right time.”
Ms Rosser-Guyatt, also a survivor of sexual assault, said it was important to stand in support of both the victims of last week’s allegedly horrific crimes.
“I’m leading this rally not just as a concerned citizen, but as someone who has reached the breaking point, just like so many others in our community,” she said.
A Crime and Justice Action Group rally was held outside the Cairns Court House complex on Friday and attended by a small group.
Another protest outside Brothers Leagues Club is expected to follow the Esplanade gathering where demonstrators will aim to attract the attention of key ministers at the Anderson St venue.
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Originally published as Protest planned in response to alleged Manunda gang rape
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