3 months ago
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Thousands have turned out to take part in a silent march through Perth’s CBD to rally against family and domestic violence.
The event, organised by the Centre for Women’s Safety and Wellbeing, also coincided with the beginning of the 16 Days in WA campaign.
Among those speaking at the event was Billie Wilkins, a survivor of violence who spoke of how she was raped when she was a child and had also experienced family violence.
“This is what family domestic violence looks like beyond the incident, the lifelong aftermath, but too often goes unseen,” she said.
“It’s been 30 years since my first sexual violence experience, and eight years since the last domestic violence and no matter how long it’s been, it’s still there, the heavy ball and chain weighing me down throughout my life.
“It lingers. It embeds itself into your body, your thoughts and your nervous system. It becomes heavy, loud in your mind, and constant reminder of what was done and what was taken.
“That weight is there when trying to parent, to work and make change and to love unconditionally, it’s the exhaustion of rebuilding yourself again and again after someone has destroyed you.”
Angelikah Ryder also spoke out at the rally, and told the story of her mother, whose funeral she attended on Monday.
“Family violence was something I thought I was born with, I can’t remember a time where there wasn’t a man abusing a woman, throughout my entire life,” she said of her mother’s story.
“Every single day I set 12 window alarms before I go to bed, I screw in locks on every sliding door in my home. I check the phone that’s hidden in the toilet behind an unbreakable door in the case that I get there before he kills me first, my neighbours have duress alarms on their phone, and there is a high-priority alert to the police from mine.
“I have moved houses four times in three years, and do not sleep or shower in my own home if the children are out, I have code words via text messages to my support people, so that in the case that he gets me, the police will find me first before my children.
“It sometimes feels like I’m waiting to die.”
Nineteen orange cardboard cutouts – 17 adults and two children – were placed at the front of the rally, representing the number of people killed by family and domestic violence in the past 12 months in WA.
The suburbs and ages of those victims were read aloud, and a white rose was placed on the chest of each cutout.
WA Police Assistant Commissioner Peter Healy thanked the survivors for telling their stories and said the loss of a loved one to family violence was a “profound sorrow for those that bear this burden”.
Please know we stand together to support, to honour and to respect you,” he said.
“Our commitment is to fight this terrible scourge so other families do not have to endure such pain.
“Today, we recommit ourselves to ensuring no more lives are stolen by violence in the home.”
Police Minister Reece Whitby pins a white rose on a cutout that represented a person who died as result of domestic violence. Credit: Holly Thompson
Healy said police attended “many tens of thousands” of incidents each year, and the numbers continued to rise.
“Behind every statistic, every piece of data, is a person, a real human being, a victim survivor, who deserves safety, dignity and justice,” he said.
“We recognise that there are occasions where our actions have fallen short of expectations. We acknowledge these shortcomings and are committed to ongoing improvement, consistently striving to uphold the higher standards and to be better.”
Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence Minister Jessica Stojkovski said the event marked the 35th march against family and domestic violence, and the ninth year of the 16 Days in WA campaign.
“We want every Western Australian to support respectful and safe relationships at home, in our workplaces and where we learn, play and socialise,” she said.
“Disrespect to women does not always lead to violence, but violence against women always starts with disrespect, and everyone has a meaningful role to play in calling it out to show that we as a community will not stand for outdated attitudes.
“We know that any act of violence is one too many.”
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