Forbes paid tribute recently to local mother Molly Ticehurst whose life was tragically taken due to domestic violence.
In the wake of the unfathomable spike in the deaths of Australian women this year at the hands of their intimate partners, community outrage around the issue is increasing.
The Country Women’s Association (CWA) of NSW will use its annual Awareness Week campaign to highlight the need for ongoing action around reducing rates of gender-based violence across NSW and the ACT.
CWA of NSW Awareness Week runs from September 1 to 7, this year highlighting the continuing crisis around gender-based violence – including domestic and family violence, and also including violence against women by men who are not their intimate partners.
It’s the second time in five years the association has focused its attention for Awareness Week on violence against women, with domestic and family violence chosen as the theme for the 2020 campaign.
Robyn Miller, President of Forbes Evening Branch of the CWA of NSW, said it was clearly an enormous issue that was not going away and needed to be brought to the forefront again during Awareness Week.
“This is an issue Forbes community has experienced firsthand with the death of Molly Ticehurst earlier this year”, Robyn commented. “We need to push for more support for women confronted by gender-based violence and make our communities safe for all”.
During this year’s Awareness Week, the CWA of NSW is calling for: Further changes to bail laws to better protect victims, particularly in rural and regional areas; Prioritisation of sustainable funding models for frontline victim support services – and services that target perpetrator risk factors; The expediting of the establishment of a real-time system to record, track, and share information on perpetrators across systems and jurisdictions; and additional resources for women facing violence in rural and regional communities where isolation and lack of services can make it even harder.