On October 29, thousands of women and their men supporters took to Australia's streets in Reclaim the Night marches. Reclaim the Night was started in the 1970s by women in England who were told by the police to stay inside after a string of violent attacks on women. Instead, they took to the streets demanding a society in which women were free from violence. Reclaim the Night marches now happen across Europe, North America, Australia and other parts of the world. Following are some of the highlights of this year's rallies in Australia.
Jacqui Mills reports from Sydney that the 800-strong crowd which gathered to listen to speakers in Hyde Park swelled to 3000 on the march through the city and at the festival afterwards. Many of the speakers focused on individual recovery from assault, rather than uniting women in action to prevent it.
Sally Abrahams from the Rape Crisis Centre said sexual violence against women is "a silence which must be broken", but presented few ideas about how to end this oppression. The widespread violence against lesbians and within lesbian relationships was ignored.
Former Labor premier of Western Australia Carmen Lawrence was introduced as "a politician who cares". This angered participants who remember her defunding of women's services in WA.
Jill Hickson from Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and east Timor (ASIET) spoke about the plight of East Timorese women, describing how young women were raped by occupying Indonesian soldiers and the anti-independence militia until they could no longer walk. She called for solidarity with the East Timorese people's brave struggle for justice.
Kerry Vernon reports from Canberra that 150 women and their male supporters gathered at Garema Place for a rally organised by ACT Women's Services. After speakers and some excellent poetry, participants marched through the city chanting "Yes means yes and no means no, however we dress, wherever we go".
In Lismore, says Kathy O'Driscoll, 200 women marched. The event was opened by Faye Smith, a Bandjalung elder, and addressed by Lavender on the issue of domestic violence in lesbian relationships and Terri Nicholson from Friends of East Timor. The rally was joined by a contingent from Nimbin. Reclaim the Night marches were also held in Byron Bay and Ballina.
Kamala Emanuel reports that 70 people attended a spirited rally and march in Hobart. Betty Pybus, a "feisty feminist" from the Older Women's Network, spoke about women's long struggle to end sexist violence and the fears still faced by older women. She challenged younger women to continue the struggle.
Workers from the Women's Legal Service explained the victorious battle to have rape recognised as a violent crime in Tasmanian law. Kerry Baker from ASIET spoke about the rape, torture and forced sterilisation endured by East Timorese women at the hands of the Indonesian army, and called for action against Australian leaders complicit in these atrocities.
Women also rallied in Launceston, where a woman university student was abducted and murdered earlier this year.
Sarah Peart reports that 800 women marched in the streets of Melbourne. This year's march had a strong internationalist flavour. Etervina Groenen from the Free East Timor Campaign spoke about the struggles of her people, especially the women. There were also speakers from ASIET, the Tamil Eelam Women's Organisation and the Socialist Party of the Philippines.
The march stopped at the gates of the Old Women's Hospital where coathangers were placed in memory of the many women who had to visit the hospital after backyard abortions. The protesters then marched to Nike's city store, where they put stickers on the windows demanding an end to the exploitation of women outworkers. A speaker from Fairwear explained that group's campaign for outworkers' rights. Rally participants were infuriated by the store's nine-storey high banner of a naked woman with the slogan, "You can tell I'm a woman by the size of my feet".
Rachel Lysaght reports that 250 women and children gathered in Islington Park for one of the largest ever Reclaim the Night events in Newcastle. The energetic march began with several speakers from the sexual assault service, the women's health centre, the police force and migrant services. Women from the crowd told their own stories of how sexual abuse had affected their lives.
The march was led off by women with disabilities, who participate every year. As the marchers proceeded down Beaumont Street, they passed a group of men, including Resistance members, holding a banner in support of the struggle for women's rights.
Lynda Hansen reports that more than 800 women marched with banners and giant lanterns through the city streets of Brisbane chanting "Not the church, not the state, women will decide their fate" and "We have the right to walk the streets at night, without the fear of rape".
In previous years the marchers have staged a "die in" on Victoria Bridge and lit flares to remember all the women who have died in violent attacks. This year, the police threatened to arrest anyone who participated in the "die in", but the action went ahead regardless. There were no arrests, but tactical response police filmed the demonstration. Protesters demanded that the police turn off their cameras and hand over the film.
The marchers roared their appreciation when they saw a crowd of male supporters on the pavement waving anti-sexist banners.
Amie Hamilton reports from Wollongong that more than 100 women rallied on October 28. Speakers included a representative from the West Street Sexual Assault Centre, Jill Hickson from ASIET, Nina Errey from Resistance and Kim, a rape victim. Errey presented statistics showing that one in four women in the world will be sexually assaulted before the age of 18. The majority of victims will know their attacker.
Bronwen Beechey reports that 400 women in Adelaide heard from domestic violence campaigner Edith Pringle that, "Since 1991, there has not been one single conviction of a white man in South Australia on charges arising from domestic assault". Pringle contrasted the state government's recent moves to increase penalties in cases of violent "home invasion" (break ins) following media-inspired protests, with its failure to seriously enforce laws on domestic violence.
Pringle talked about her own experiences. She created headlines earlier this year when she charged her former partner, ALP parliamentarian Ralph Clarke, with assault. She was vilified by senior ALP figures and the Department of Public Prosecutions refused to proceed with the charges on the basis of insufficient evidence.
Pringle explained that evidence of previous violence, including medical records, was not submitted in court. This is a common experience, she said. The judiciary and legal practitioners are the main hindrance to women seeking justice. Women need to demand real changes in society, she concluded.
Michelle Jarvis from the Women's Legal Service spoke about international campaigns against violence toward women. She pointed to some progress, such as the recognition of rape as a war crime and a recent US case in which the threat of female genital mutilation was recognised as grounds for seeking asylum, but said that there is still a need for campaigns against systematic violence against women in countries such as East Timor, Pakistan and Afghanistan, to name just a few.
Lari Freiverts and Bridget Riggs report that 200 people gathered for a rally in Darwin. The event was organised by women and supported by men, who handed out leaflets to other men on the periphery of the rally in Raintree Park.
Banners lined the streets with slogans such as "No more rape, reject sexism and racism, and end violence now". There was enthusiastic chanting as the march made its way through the tourist and pub district where a young woman was raped exactly a year ago. Ilana Eldridge, a domestic violence counsellor, spoke about the women of East Timor and their victory after 24 years of rape, murder and cultural genocide.