Landmarks around Victoria were lit up in purple on Wednesday 5 May as an online vigil was held to remember the lives of women and children who have been killed by family violence.
More than 1000 people joined the online Candlelight Vigil organised by Safe Steps, Victoria’s 24/7 Family Violence Response Centre.
Family violence remains endemic in Victoria. On any given night in Victoria, 100 women and children experiencing family violence are in crisis accommodation through Safe Steps[1]. Victoria Police attended over 90,000 incidents of family violence in 2020 – one incident every six minutes [2].
Tragically, 11 women have been murdered so far in Australia in 2021[3], and many thousands live with the trauma of family violence every day.
Speaking during the Vigil, Safe Steps CEO Rita Butera, said “This evening, we’re in mourning, remembering the devastating loss of so many women and children to family violence. We must do everything in our power to end this trauma.”
A range of landmarks including Flinders Street Station, Bolte Bridge, the Sound Tunnel, the Town Hall, the Coles Fountain at Parliament Gardens, and landmarks in regional Victoria were lit in purple on the evening and through the night.
To reproduce these images, please contact media@safesteps.org.au
The monuments and landmarks that lit up in purple were:
- Melbourne Town Hall
- Bolte Bridge
- Sound Tube
- Flinders St Station
- Melbourne Star Observation Wheel
- Federation Square
- Parliament Gardens
- Fitzroy Street Palm Trees
- Myer Melbourne
- Royal Women’s Hospital
- Wedge Entertainment Centre, Sale
- Clocktower, Sale
- AGL Loy Yang
- Kilmore Hospital
- EnergyAustralia Yallourn
- West Gippsland Arts Centre, Warragul
- Churchill Big Cigar
- Quantum Offices – Warragul, Morwell, Sale & Bairnsdale
- [1] Safe Steps Annual Report 2019-20
- [2] Crime Statistics Agency
- [3] https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=163777282166953&id=111647810713234&__tn__=K-R
