Tens of thousands of demonstrators are demonstrating across the country to demand action against violence against women.
A total of 15 “No More: National Rally Against Gender-Based Violence” protests were planned in major cities in Australia’s capital cities and regional towns on Saturday and Sunday.
Protests began on Saturday afternoon in Sydney, Hobart and Adelaide before continuing on Sunday in Melbourne and Brisbane.
This month alone there has been a spate of women killed, allegedly at the hands of men, including Molly Ticehurst, 28, Emma Bates, 49, Erica Hay, 30, and the horrific knife attack of Bondi Junction which claimed the lives of five women.
People gather at the State Library of Victoria to rally against violence against women
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan (pictured at the Melbourne rally) said Australian women were “tired of being angry”.
Large crowds of protesters gathered outside the State Library of Victoria on Sunday morning before marching to Federation Square.
In one confrontational scene, a woman paraded with a red handprint painted on her mouth while holding a sign reading: “Real men don’t commit acts of violence.”
Other protesters were seen holding signs reading: “The system has failed us” and “Be safe, message me when you get home.”
The series of national rallies, organized by the nonprofit group “What Were You Wearing,” calls for increased funding for services for victims of domestic and sexual violence.
The protests also call on Anthony Albanese to declare gender-based violence a national emergency.
It comes as 26 Australian women have been killed by a current or former partner – a rate of one every four days – so far this year, according to data from aadvocacy group Destroy the Joint, the Counting Dead Women Project.
Australians across the country have come together in large numbers to call for an end to gender-based violence, following a series of recent attacks on women.
The series of national rallies was organized by the non-profit group “What Were You Wearing”
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan thanked protesters who attended marches across Australia at a news conference after the Melbourne rally.
Ms Allan said women were “sick of being angry” and deserved the right to feel secure in their lives.
“Women deserve the right to be safe in all spaces and we continually see too many women losing their lives,” Ms Allan said.
“There were women at the march today, like me, we have been marching on this issue for decades and decades and decades.
“We are tired of being angry, outraged, sad and grieving for the women who have lost their lives, for the women who have been seriously injured, for the women who are too traumatized to participate in the work, to participate in as members of our community.’
It comes as federal attorney general Mark Dreyfus rejected the idea of holding a royal commission into domestic violence.
Mr Dreyfus, who was at the Melbourne rally, said domestic violence should be addressed through cooperation between the federal and state and territory governments.
“I think we’ve already identified a whole series of actions that need to be taken, and I think what we can probably say is that we need to work harder on the types of actions that have already been identified “, declared Mr. Dreyfus. said.
“And I think what we can probably say is that we need to work harder on the types of actions that have already been identified.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is expected to attend the rally in Canberra, alongside Women’s Minister Katy Gallagher and Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth.
Queensland Premier Steve Miles (right) joined thousands of people at King George Square at 11am and marched through Brisbane city centre.
The protests come after 26 women were killed by their current or former partners this year.
One protester was seen holding a sign reading: “I don’t want to go to my friend’s funeral because a man can’t say no!”
Queensland Premier Steve Miles joined thousands of people at King George Square at 11am and marched through Brisbane’s city centre.
Mr Miles supported the protesters and was photographed next to a woman holding a sign reading: “Stop killing women”.
Another young woman, holding back tears, was seen marching with a sign: “I don’t want to go to my friend’s funeral because a man can’t take no!”
More soon…