More than 400 people marched along the Gosford waterfront on Sunday, May 5, calling for government action to tackle the escalating incidence of violence against women.
Organised by Member for Gosford Liesl Tesch, the walk saw men, women and children walk from the Brian McGowan Bridge to a rally on grassland near the Eat Street Café.
Tesch said the turnout was a sign of solidarity in the community to stamp out gender-based violence on the Central Coast and beyond.
“Seeing all ages, all genders, and all walks of life come together to say enough is enough is just the start,” she said.
“The rates of family, domestic and sexual violence are simply unacceptable.
“On Sunday the Central Coast community united to take action.”
Wiradjuri woman Sue McCarthy said more training was required on when and how people should intervene in situations of domestic violence and facilitator of peer-led support group The Survivor Hub Renee Simpson said even the Prime Minster had acknowledged many women had little choice but to remain in abusive situations.
“I heard of one woman who took her own life because it was the only way she could feel safe,” Simpson said.
She said the housing crisis and rising cost of living had exacerbated an already dire situation.
Simpson said a Leaving Violence Payment of $5,000 approved for victims last week by the National Cabinet would not go far and called for an increase in funding for frontline services.
“At the Survivor Hub we see people of all ages and backgrounds needing a safe place to live,” she said.
“It’s not only women, but also men and children looking for safe, healthy relationships.
“At the moment we (survivors) are doing all the heavy lifting – it’s time the government stepped up.”
Central Coast Domestic Violence Committee Vice Chair Sharon Walsh said she had worked in the domestic violence sector since 1981.
“Even then there was a domestic violence taskforce, so this has been a problem for decades,” she said.
“Women have been keeping each other safe and now, men – it’s your turn.”
She said governments needed to stop making women feel like they had to beg for help as they wage a “silent war” in their own homes.
Survvivor Bec Owen outlined the dangers of coercive control and gave an insight into why so many women find it difficult to leave abusive relationships and Central Coast Young Citizen of the Year Anannya Bandaru said she was ashamed of the “women’s assault epidemic” we were living in.
“Even today I am unable to walk from here to my house by myself without hearing remarks of harassment,’ she said.
“I am unable to take a train to my tutoring centre without a man sitting next to me and asking for my number.
“We accept this state of constant fear as a norm.
“It’s time to take a stand and dare to say no.”
Member for Robertson Gordon Reid acknowledged that “words are cheap” and said he had witnessed the results of domestic violence first-hand as a doctor in hospital emergency departments on the Central Coast and further abroad.
“I have see one women jump from a three-storey building to escape (a violet situation),” he said.
“We can, should and must do better.”
Reid said he would do all in his power to work with other federal and state MPs on the Central Coast, both Labor and Liberal to tackle toxic masculinity.
The National Cabinet last week pledged a raft of measures to counter the escalating problem and the NSW Cabinet, with half of all Ministers women for the first time in the state’s history, has also reaffirmed its commitment to taking urgent action and look at long-term reform.
Tesch said Women’s Health Centres in Wyoming, Woy Woy and Wyong had received a $3.48M funding boost over four years, but the work had only just begun.
“We understand there are still gaps in the system,” she said.
“The NSW Government is also looking at reforms to the justice system to better protect victims; nothing is off the table.
“We understand a crisis response is not enough (and) will continue to look at medium and long-term solutions.”
Terry Collins
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