Warwick locals braved the weather to demand action and community change on Sunday as part of the region’s second March 4 Justice, a National Day of Action Against gendered violence.
The rally was organised by the Women’s Advocacy and Action Team (WAAT) and addressed the need for change – action not words – to progress towards safety for women.
This includes safety at work, criminal justice reform, and increased local support for domestic and family violence (DFV) victim survivors.
WAAT organisers Sue Hamlet, Judy Hefferan, and Kathy Payne said the rally was another way of bringing the national and local issues pertaining to gendered violence to locals’ attention.
In a statement to WAAT, Hon David Littleproud MP said $260 million National Partnership on Family, Domestic and Sexual violence has been rolled out, but acknowledged the government needs to do better.
Queensland received its first $13.25 million payment to help increase demand in frontline services.
However, Kathy said the region will only receive 0.4 per cent of a councillor’s wage from this.
Judy said that no one can say they have not seen or heard calls for change across Australia.
“We have all heard the stories on a national level, but we are also facing these issues in our local community,” she said.
“As a town outside of a major city, we see very few options for support, and women in crisis don’t know where to turn, or face piles of paperwork and long wait times for government support – it’s not good enough.
“We want to bring a voice to that and ensure no one falls through the cracks.”
The event, which featured Protea Place CEO Amanda Dalton, Ansie Leinbenberg and the personal experiences of WAAT member Judy Hefferan, highlighted the issue and local need to inform the community.
“We aren’t talking about holding up a sign, we are talking about practical solutions like Protea Place in Toowoomba, ensuring local front line services have the resources they need to assist and clear pathways for help,” Kathy said.
Sue said the gathering at Warwick’s YMCA over the weekend was heartening and demonstrated that locals were keen for practical, grass roots solutions.
“To respond to community issues, we believe we need to hear from and inform the community, so the rally was an important step,” she said.
“Now we want to keep the momentum going, joining with others who are on the front line, and lobby government to improve outcomes for women in need.
“We have also been speaking directly with the Department of Women and Violence Prevention via the State Attorney General’s office, to discuss how we can boost local support.”
WAAT is distributing a petition to be sent to the Queensland government, drawing attention to the need for nationwide action, seeking funding to end gendered violence and acknowledging the ongoing, longstanding inadequacy of appropriate and timely services on the Southern Downs.
If you are able to assist to gather signatures, please contact WAAT via their Facebook page or email waat.sdowns@gmail.com
