In the Kimberley they hung 52 white dresses on crosses. In Coogee, Sydney, hundreds left their footprints in the sand. Around the country, in thousands of gestures, Australians marked the 12th annual White Ribbon day, remembering women killed by their partners in 2015, swearing next year would see change.
There are reasons to hope. The death of Luke Batty in February 2014 at his father’s hands fixed the spotlight on family violence. His determined mother, Rosie, has ensured it stays there. In Canberra on Wednesday morning the prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, said parliament was now “totally committed” to ending a scourge that kills two Australian women each week.
The day had really begun the night before, with federal MP Sarah Henderson weeping in parliament as she spoke about the death of her friend Monique three days ago. “Monique was murdered by her American partner in the US. It was a deliberate, calculated murder/suicide,” she said.
“Monique had decided to leave the relationship and return to Australia — but she never made it home.”
A study launched by the government on Wednesday showed the depth of the problem. When girls and women experience aggressive or disrespectful behaviour, the boys and men fix them with blame. (The girls and women blame each other.)
Labor leader Bill Shorten evoked the tension inside the thousands of Australian households ruled by violent men. “The conversation at the dinner table just stops,” he said.
“It’s the start of yet another night’s Russian roulette. What will be the mood. Will it be a good night? Or will it be a bad night?”
Walks were held in Albury Wodonga, in Port Hedland, in Adelaide. On the Royal Australian Navy’s NUSHIP Adelaide 400 personnel formed a white ribbon on the deck.
Another giant ribbon hung from a building at Engadine high school, on the New South Wales south coast, where boys signed pledges “never to commit, condone or remain silent”.
At Belmore South primary school the kids chalked a white ribbon into the bitumen. The study into attitudes towards domestic violence launched on Wednesday showed concerning attitudes in boys as young as 10.
The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs held a tug of war. The AFL’s Western Bulldogs announced a White Ribbon match against the Geelong Cats next June.
In Darwin, representatives of a pilot program to combat domestic violence in Indigenous communities spoke of their success.
Domestic violence accounts for more than 60% of reported assaults in the NT, and women make up 82% of the victims. Indigenous women are 22 times more likely to be a victim of domestic violence than non-Indigenous women in the territory, and make up 73% of victims.
An evaluation of the Indigenous community-focused Our Men Healing program found strong evidence it was “already creating significant and sustained change at the community, family and individual levels” including reported reductions in violence, reduced observable rates of self harm, and an increased re-emergence of Aboriginal cultural activities.
Wurrumiyanga, on the Tiwi Islands, had seen a reported 50% reduction in the number of men registered with the NT Department of Correctional Services.
On a day of heartening turnouts, of thousands of pledges by men to stand against domestic violence, another set of numbers loomed: one in three women exposed to violence by partners; 78 women dead this year; 657 domestic violence matters attended by police each day. Wednesday was unlikely to be different.
