No More Domestic, Family, and Sexual Violence rally in Alice Springs

A purple rally will take over Alice Springs’ Todd Mall to stand against violence in the NT. Here’s how to get involved.

The 2023 NO MORE walk against Domestic and Family Violence at Casuarina Square is part of the International 16 days of activism against family and domestic violence. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

An anti-violence rally will take over Todd Mall to stand against family, domestic, and sexual violence.

The Mparntwe No More rally on Friday comes just days after a Katherine woman died in the Royal Darwin Hospital, almost two weeks after she was allegedly attacked by her former partner.

The campaign’s event has been jointly organised by a number of DFSV services and Aboriginal community-controlled organisations.

The organisers are calling for a DFSV peak organisation in the NT and for 50 per cent of the new builds under the Housing Australia Future Fund to go to DFSV survivors.

Central Australian Aboriginal Family Legal Unit chief executive PC Clarke said the service had been “shouting from the rooftops about the crisis”.

“Aboriginal women and children have been suffering and dying in our communities for years, yet somehow, it seems like the national news just doesn’t hear us,” the Arunda woman said.

“When we talk about Closing the Gap and achieving target 13 – which focuses on reducing violence against Aboriginal women and children – it’s a national shame to see the lack of progress.”

According to the NT government’s Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Reduction Framework 2018-2028, the Territory’s police officers respond to about 61 domestic violence incidents every day.

The framework said there were four domestic violence-related homicides per 100,000 Territorians per year.

Tangentyere Women’s Family Safety Group co-co-ordinator Shirleen Campbell called on the NT government to “step up its game”.

“Listen to community leaders when it comes to addressing the underlying drivers of domestic, family, and sexual violence,” she said.

“We are doing good work and the government needs to collaborate with us, listen to us, and support us.”

The rally will be held at the plaza end of Todd Mall at 10.30am Friday.

Protesters dressed in purple will march silently through the mall, with speeches and a smoking ceremony to finish the day’s events at 10.45am.

Originally published as No More Domestic, Family, and Sexual Violence rally in Alice Springs