Rallies Against Gendered Violence Taking Place Nationwide
Image: Source: @whatwereyouwearing_ on Instagram
Rallies are set to be happening across Australia this weekend to call on the government to take action against gendered violence.
No More: National Rally Against Violence is being organised by What Were You Wearing, a national nonprofit working to prevent and educate about sexual assault run by survivors.
Though primarily a response to the Bondi Junction Westfield stabbing attack, where five women and one man died, the rallies also intend to bring attention to an increase in gender-based violence throughout the nation.
According to fellow Australian feminist group Destroy The Joint, 26 women have been killed in Australia since the start of 2024 – already nearly half that of women killed in 2023.
It’s estimated that 1 in 6 Australian women have experienced physical and/or sexual violence, while 1 in 4 have experienced emotional abuse.
Additionally, gendered violence disproportionately affects LGBTQIA+ people: in a 2019 survey, 1 in 2 queer people said they had experienced sexual assault and 3 in 5 had experienced violence from a partner.
WWYW’s founder Sarah Williams spoke to Women’s Agenda on the need for these nationwide rallies over the weekend, saying: “We are four months into the year, and we’re already at such an appalling number of women killed and people lost to these crimes.”
“Domestic, family and sexual violence rates are not decreasing, there’s so much more that needs to be done by our change makers and people in positions of power.”
The goal this weekend is to prompt a response from the federal government and Prime Minister Antony Albanese to properly label the amount of violence against women as a national emergency.
Rallies started on today (Friday April 26th) with more underway on the weekend. Below are the times and locations for the rally happening nationwide:
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