A large group of people marched through the streets of Hornsby on 6 December dressed in bright orange and purple outfits to draw attention to the issue of Domestic and Family Violence (DFV).
The Women’s Shed Hornsby Ku-ring-gai (WSHK) launched this year’s Walk the Talk campaign from the PCYC in Waitara to say no to family and domestic violence.
The Walk the Talk event was held in association with various local agencies to take a stand against DFV. They pledged their solidarity and support to victims, mainly women, who have been coerced, assaulted, abused, and killed by people related or well-known to them.
The walk began after the Acknowledgement of Country by PCYC Director Peter Kirkwood. The walkers included WSHK members, students from Hornsby Girls High School, Barker College, Knox Grammar, the Member for Hornsby Matt Kean, Hornsby Shire Mayor Philip Ruddock, Ku-ring-gai Council’s Deputy Mayor Christine Kay, Ku-ring-gai Police Local Area Command Superintendent Matt Scott, members of the Women’s Shelter, IABBV Hindi School, Rotarians from Wahroonga, St Ives, West Pennant Hills and Hornsby, Catholic Care, Soroptimist International of Hornsby, Australia Women’s Cricket Association (AIWC) and the wider community.
Superintendent Matt Scott spoke about the programs put in place by the police force to address DFV. He also asked the public to work with police to reduce domestic violence and keep families safe.
WSHK Co-Chair Uma Menon discussed the efforts made by the Women’s Shed in providing a platform for women, especially those from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds, to share common experiences and draw strength and support from each other.
“Respect and positive behaviours need to be role-modelled to achieve equality,” Ms Menon said.
Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Women’s Shelter chair Catherine Knox described the work of the women’s shelter in providing various tiers of safe accommodation for women impacted by intimate partner violence and homelessness. The shelter provides temporary accommodation to women until they can relocate to safer accommodation.
The next speaker, Rotary District 9685’s Domestic Violence Campaign Chair Janelle Craig, struck a chord with the audience as she shared her and her children’s lived experience of domestic violence. It’s what drives Ms Craig’s energy and passion in leading change to say no to DFV and yes to respectful relationships.
The highlight of the morning’s Walk the Talk event was listening to young people, their thoughts and reflections on this significant issue that affects families all over the world. WSHK Secretary and UNSW student Ikshita Pandey and WSHK executive and UNSW student Sneha Arun spoke from the perspective of young people perspective and shared their thoughts on how domestic violence is preventable.
It was reassuring to hear two young men from Knox Grammar School, Hayden Son and Mani Khanna-Boyle, describe the fund-raising efforts at their school to support women affected by DFV and how they believed that every individual could prevent this type of abuse in the community.
Ku-ring-gai Police Area Command’s Multicultural Community Liaison Officer Fiona Zhou invited students and the wider community to come forward to take a pledge against domestic violence in language, reflecting the diverse multilingual and multicultural local community.
A minute’s silence was held to honour those who have lost their lives this year to DFV across Australia before the names of victims were read out.
This was followed by the launch of a video by Catholic Care’s Gesse Le-Serve called Hope for Harmony in Hornsby Ku-ring-gai: Breaking the Silence, Building Supports Against Domestic Violence.
The Walk the Talk event, hosted by Ms Pandey, concluded with the signing of a pledge written in various community languages along with an affirmative oath repeated by the audience to stop DFV.
In her concluding speech, WSHK chair and co-founder Mala Mehta, expressed sadness that each year the list of women who have lost their lives keeps growing.
According to the project Counting Dead Women Australia, 59 women have been killed across the country as a result of violence as of 10 December.
Ms Mehta urged people to come together to call on governments, organisations, and communities to speak out against violence in all its forms; violence against women is not inevitable; it is preventable. She thanked all the participants and emphasised that when people from various walks of life are united, the message will be amplified, and better outcomes will be achieved in ending family and domestic violence.
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