At the end of November, the town of Ballina on the north coast of New South Wales was a sea of purple as community members stepped out in force to show how they feel about the scourge on society that is Domestic and Family Violence. Upwards of 1,000 participants turned up to show their support of victims and survivors, advocate on behalf of and educate the community about this issue.

Article by PDG Dave Harmon

From the Rotary club of Ballina-on-Richmond’s humble start of this campaign in 2019, the annual community walk against domestic violence has grown to be one of the most successful campaigns of its type in Australia. It has been shared with Rotary clubs across 16 countries and has been endorsed by the Regional Council as a Zone 8 campaign for the next 3 years.

The Rotary Foundation has helped grow this campaign through District Grants that have helped clubs in District 9640 promote the campaign and grow Rotary’s public image. Clubs throughout Rotary South Pacific are encouraged to consider applying for a grant to help with their campaign next year.

Domestic and family violence is a whole of community problem and it will take a whole of community approach to help bring about positive change. The ‘Purple Friday’ campaign in Ballina sees over 100 businesses wearing our purple shirts that say ‘NO to Domestic and Family Violence’ every Friday. The Rotary club of Ballina-on-Richmond helps fund and coordinate the delivery of the Respectful Relationships program ‘Love Bites’ in local schools and provides ongoing support for those experiencing domestic and family violence. Their commitment to the campaign in Ballina is for the long-term.

The Rotary led community walk held in Ballina on Friday November 29 was about bringing attention to Domestic and Family Violence during the internationally recognised call to action against gender-based violence ‘16 Days of Activism’ which runs from November 25 till December 10.

NSW and Qld Police partnered with Rotary clubs across both states to combine their efforts in raising awareness during the 16 Days of Activism and there could be no better example of this collaboration than in Ballina.

Retired Queensland Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson commented that he is not aware of any campaign like it in Australia and that he would like to see it rolled out more widely throughout Queensland.  

Let’s all combine to break the silence on disrespectful relationships and call out inappropriate language, behaviour, attitudes and actions. Don’t be a bystander. Be an ‘up stander’ and step up to support your friend, sister, work colleague, mother, daughter, neighbour or even someone not known to you who is experiencing some kind of abuse.

Be part of the change we all want to see in Ballina. For further information please visit our website; https://rotaryclubofballinaonrichmond.org.au/rotary-zone-8/