Over the past few weeks, Australia has been shocked to learn of numerous allegations of rape, assault and indecent behaviour from inside our own Parliament House.
It needs to stop.
On Monday March 15, women, survivors and allies will join in a national, coordinated affirmative action - a March for Justice. An organised demonstration to protest the behaviour in our Federal Parliament and demand a change to the status quo.
The protest looks to demand justice for crimes against women in Parliament. We need an independent inquiry into gendered violence in Australia’s Parliament and a full investigation of rape and sexual assault allegations and misconduct by Members of Parliament and staff. Enough is enough.
There will be demonstrations across the country, and the leader of the March are issues a call out to all wanting to fight for change. There will be over 30 events across the country, all of which run on Monday March 15 - with the exception of the Perth and Cairn Marches which happen a day prior on Sunday March 14.
Just like we did with BLM, we've compiled a list of all the protests we know about. If you would like to join, see where the March is in your city below:
- Sydney - 12pm at Town Hall
- Canberra: 12pm at Parliament House
- Melbourne: 12pm at The Treasury Gardens
- Brisbane: 12pm at King George Square
- Adelaide: 12pm at Victoria Square
- Hobart: 12pm at Parliament House lawn
- Darwin: 12pm at Raintree Park
- Perth: Starting at Forrest Place in the city centre from 11am on Sunday March 14
- Albury: 12pm at QE2 Square – 546 Dean St Albury
- Alice Springs: 1pm at Alice Springs Court Lawns
- Armidale: 12pm at Armidale Mall Stage – Beardy st, near cnr Faulkner st & Post Office
- Ballarat: 12pm at Alfred Deakin Place, Camp st, Ballarat
- Bega: 12pm at Kisses Lagoon
- Bendigo: 12pm at View Point / Rosalind Park piazza Bendigo
- Bellingen: 12pm at King George Square
- Bunbury: 1pm at Anzac Park (in front of Library) Bunbury CBD
- Bundaberg: 4:30pm at Bundaberg Courthouse, 44 Quay St
- Byron: 12pm at Mullumbimby Civic Memorial Hall
- Cairns: 4pm (Sunday 14 March) at ogarty Park – The Esplanade
- Coffs Harbour: 12pm at Coffs City Square
- Geelong: 5:30pm at Geelong Trades Hall -127 Myers St Geelong
- Gosford: TBC
- Iluka/Woombah: 12pm at CWA – Country Women’s Association, Illuka
- Lismore: 12pm at Pride Corner – next to Lismore Transit Centre
- Newcastle: 12pm at Civic Park – King st, Newcastle
- Nowra: 12pm at Jellbean park, Egans Lane, Nowra (Speakers & Music)
- Rosebud: 12pm at Rosebud Pier
- Sunshine Coast: 4pm at Cotton Tree Park, The Esplanade, opp. Second Avenue (Maroochydore Rotary Park)
- Talbot: 12pm at across Rd Talbot Primary School -Cnr Rowe/Barkly St
- Taree: 12 at Fotheringham Park, Taree
- Toowoomba: 12pm at CNR of Margaret & Hume St (in Queens Park)
- Torquay (Surf Coast): 8am at Front Beach Torquay
- Townsville: 2:30pm for a 3:30pm start at Illich Park, Aittkenvale, next/opposite to The Women’s Centre at 118 Charles Street
- Wagga Wagga: 12pm at King George Gardens – Ovens St
- Wangaratta: 12pm at King George Gardens – Ovens St
- Warrnambool: 12:30pm at Civic Green, Cnr Liebig & Timor St, Warrnambool – Circle of Solidarity, not a march
- Wodonga: 6pm at Workers Memorial Rock, Sumsion Gardens, Church St Wodonga
- Wollongong: Women’s March 4 Justice & Canberra Convoy at Lowden Square, Opp. Wollongong Railway Station, 7.45am for registration, 7.55am Wollongong Vigil, 8.30am departure for Canberra convoy & carpooling.
If you can't attend a March you can also sign the petition to demand justice here. It will be presented by a group at Parliament House and calls on the Prime Minster to act against violence within Australian Parliament.
More details can be found on the website march4justice.com.au
When Parliamentary staffer Brittany Higgins came forward with an account of being assaulted, allegedly by a colleague, it opened the floodgates. Although she reported the assault at the time, an alleged mishandling of the incident meant she did not go ahead with the complaint. After hearing her tale, more women came forward with their stories.
The allegations indicates a culture of harassment and abuse of power within an institution that should be free of fear or prejudice. The March4Justice movement is pushing for a change to this alleged culture - and justice for the alleged survivors.
Image: Giacomo Ferroni on Unsplash
