A woman a week: Vigil honours victims of domestic violence

As Sydney commuters rushed through Martin Place on the morning of 28 November, they were met by a confronting sight. Fifty-two empty pairs of women’s shoes were scattered throughout the urban plaza — each pair representing one woman or girl killed every week in Australia in an act of domestic or family violence.

The installation was part of the Empty Shoes vigil, organised by Lou’s Place, a crisis centre in Redfern, to raise awareness and honour victims. The vigil was one of many events held worldwide to coincide with the UN’s ‘16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence’ campaign.

As the vigil got underway, organisers made the solemn announcement that 54 women had already been murdered this year. They needed to adjust the number that morning, after news broke that yet another woman had been killed in Australia.

Guest speaker, author and award-winning investigative journalist Jess Hill told the crowd that during just 10 days in October, six women had been killed in Australia in acts of domestic homicide.

“Some of them will be remembered. Others have barely been reported on,” said Hill, the presenter of the SBS series See What You Made Me Do, based on her book of the same name.

“In their names, in the names of their children, their family and their friends, I stand here shoulder to shoulder with all of you,” Hill said.

She told attendees it will take courage, fortitude, and innovation to address a crisis that impacts every corner of Australian life.“We need people to understand that, yes, this does happen to people you know, probably within your own family,” she said. “This is the most corrosive social issue of our time, and it will take all of us working together to end it.”

After the crowd applauded, Australian Female Country Vocalist of the Year, Amber Lawrence, took the stage.

Accompanied by singers from the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, Lawrence gave a deeply moving rendition of This is Me.

“When the sharpest words wanna cut me down. I’m gonna send a flood, gonna drown ‘em out,” Lawrence sang.

“I am brave, I am bruised, I am who I’m meant to be, this is me.”

Despite the rain, the vigil drew a substantial crowd, including IEU officers Patrick Devery, Valerie Jones, Kate Damo and Deputy Secretary David Towson, pictured.

Jones, the Co-Convener of the IEU’s Women and Equity Committee, felt it was important the union attend the event.

“For all the things that we are, most importantly we’re a union where social justice is critical and where the rights of women must be upheld,” Jones said.

“We wanted to show our solidarity and support and our respect for the women who have lost their lives in NSW and across Australia in 2023 to date.”