RESIDENTS of Camden Haven are invited to partake in a rally calling for an end to gendered violence on Sunday 28 July.

The nation-wide protest, which will see protesters gathering at the Port Macquarie Town Green at 11:00am, has been organised in the wake of a “growing epidemic of male violence against women”, say organisers What Were You Wearing.

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Earlier this year, after a spate of women were killed in violent attacks, What Were You Wearing organised the first ‘No More’ rallies.

“Over the course of three days in April, 100,000 people turned up and took to our nation’s streets to demand that our politicians and change-makers take decisive action,” a statement from the organisation said this week.

“The rallies led to a national cabinet meeting and our government acknowledging that this is a national emergency.

“However, in spite of this, the number of women being killed keeps rising.

“Australia is still in crisis.”

This year alone, 48 (at time of publication) women have lost their lives at the hands of men.

In 2023, the toll reached 64 women by the end of the year.

Founder and CEO of What Were You Wearing Australia, Sarah Williams, created this national event to call for further action.

“Enough is enough,” she said.

“And it has been enough for a long time.

“We need more action from politicians, and we need them to take these crimes more seriously.”

Ethan Fraser, long-time volunteer and CFO at What Were You Wearing, emphasised the importance of male support on this issue.

“When it’s us men who are the predominant perpetrators of violence, it shouldn’t be left to everyone else and the victims to address and fight the issue,” he said.

“If we aren’t willing to support and continue to deny there’s a problem, nothing will change.”

The Port Macquarie rally aims to raise awareness, advocate for change, and urge Australia to “address the pressing issue of violence that disproportionately impacts women, queer, disabled, and Indigenous people”.

As part of these rallies, organisers are pushing for two national demands:

1. Mandatory trauma-informed training for first responders across Australia;

2. Funding for grassroots organisations in the domestic, family, and sexual violence sector, including men’s behaviour change programs and women’s refuges.