Media response - 16 Days of Activism

Published on 21 November 2023

Response to the Fleurieu Sun.

• The journalist asked for some comments and information the 16 Days of Activism

Comments attributed to Acting Mayor Michael Fisher

The 16 Days of Activism Onkaparinga program of events allows the community to show support for change.

Each year more than one woman a week is murdered in Australia by a partner or former partner, with more than 50 women already having been killed this year.

Supported by the RESPECT Community Action Group Onkaparinga, which council is proudly involved in, the 2023 calendar of events incorporates a range of opportunities for the community to get involved in.

I encourage everyone to head along to one of the 16 Days events and learn how to move from awareness to action when it comes to ending violence against women and children.

ENDS

MORE INFORMATION

• 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is an annual international campaign that starts on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs until 10 December, Human Rights Day.
• Started by activists at the inauguration of the Women’s Global Leadership Institute in 1991, the 16 Days campaign is used as an organising strategy by individuals and organisations around the world to call for the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls.
• Organisations across Onkaparinga, including council, host events throughout the 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence Onkaparinga program.
• You can also get involved by:

• sharing information about what you’re doing during the 16 Days to prevent and end domestic violence (DV) on Facebook
• tying an orange ribbon on your letterbox and taking a photo to share a message about why you want to end DV
• sharing information about the 16 Days program and having a conversation with someone about why we must all work together to prevent and end DV
• wearing orange (the international colour for the Say No to Violence Against Women campaign)
• calling into a participating community centre, your local children’s centre or any of Onkaparinga’s libraries to create/colour a butterfly to add to their 1000 Butterflies for Non-Violence display. Participating community centres include Aldinga Community Centre, Reynella Neighbourhood Centre, Christie Downs Community House, Hackham West Community Centre, Seaford Community Centre, Studio 20 Youth Centre and Coromandel Community Centre.                 

• The community-driven local program is coordinated in a calendar of events by Safer Family Services.
• The new RESPECT Community Action Group (CAG) Onkaparinga includes representatives from those organisations that run, assist and support 16 Days events and includes Anglicare, Uniting Communities, White Ribbon Australia, Southern Domestic Violence Action Group, Southern Football League, Rotary Club of Morphett Vale, Zonta, Christies Beach High School and other community focused services in the south.