More than 100,000 women marched across Australia today, protesting sexual harassment and violence against women.
The marches urging women to speak out took place in the context of:
- former Liberal adviser Brittany Higgins' allegation that she was raped one night by a colleague in the federal Parliament House office of the Defence Minister Linda Reynolds
&
- an allegation of historical rape levelled at Attorney-General Christian Porter which he has denied.
'Women March 4 Justice' organiser, Janine Hendry, pointed to the disrespect shown to women 'not only in Parliament but other major institutions'.
'When our very own representatives don’t want to hear our voice, what does that say about how they really think about women? It’s saying we don’t matter, and they don’t want to hear our voices, and that’s not OK.'
Brittany Higgins told the Canberra rally: 'the system is broken'
Sexual abuse survivor and Australian of the Year, Grace Tame, told the Hobart rally: 'behaviour unspoken, behaviour ignored is behaviour endorsed'.
Protesters will continue their demands for:
- full investigations of gendered violence allegations
&
- the full implementation of 55 recommendations contained in the 2020 Sex Discrimination Commissioner’s report on harassment at work.
Every week one Australian woman is killed by domestic violence, murdered by a former or current partner.
Women need to not only feel safe, but be safe, in both private and public spaces. And they're not going to keep quiet about it any longer.
Copyright cv williams. Research ABC News and SMH. Photos Tasha Burrell.
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