Sydneysiders march to help fight violence against women

Scores of Sydneysiders took to the city's famous beaches and streets throughout the day in line with a global campaign to eliminate violence against women.

From the white sands of Sydney's Northern and Eastern beaches to its suburbs such as Castle Hill and Lakemba, participants of the mass walks put on white ribbons and T-shirts to show their support for the movement.

This year, "White Ribbon Day" in Australia is "asking men to stand up, speak out and act for the women in their lives, as violence against women is a man's issue too," according to organizers.

Nov. 25 is also the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Violence against women is a "consequence of discrimination against women, in law and also in practice, and of persisting inequalities between men and women," according to the United Nations.

It is a "global pandemic," but violence against women and girls" is not inevitable. Prevention is possible and essential."

The UN has pushed the public and private sector to support the date as a global event to advocate for gender equality, building on the international resolution adopted from its Beijing Declaration two decades ago.

On average, one woman is killed every week as a result of domestic violence in Australia, according to White Ribbon, the country's male-led violence prevention campaign that is part of the global movement.

Near Sydney's popular Coogee Beach, New South Wales Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Pru Goward, NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione and NSW Governor David Hurley joined more than 1,000 residents, police officers and other leaders and representatives from the community in the hour-long, early morning walk. It was aimed at advocating for changing the social norms, attitudes and behaviors that are at the root of men's violence against women.

"Good men don't condone domestic violence, they don't accept it. They don't want to see it in their communities and they will call it out when they do," Goward, who is also the NSW minister for women, told Xinhua.

"There's a global message. That if people cannot be safe in their own homes, then what sort of a society do we have? Happy families, safe and prosperous communities start with safety in the home and that means no to domestic violence.

"Domestic violence occurs across the world. It occurs in all communities at all levels of society. That tells us how insidious it is, how difficult it is to stop. But that is the determination that the world must have. The world must stand, with men, and say 'no' to domestic violence."

Commissioner Scipione said the police have been alerted to about 145,000 domestic violence incidents across the state in the past year, or about 400 a day, and more than 30 people had lost their lives in cases linked to such violence in the same period, with the numbers growing.

Domestic violence cases were probably the most under-reported crime type, he said.

"What we need is people to talk to us, to tell us when they hear something happening next door ... when they see injuries on a friend at work, they need to tell us, so we can actually act."

Adam Goodes, a former star player of Australian rules football who has been a White Ribbon ambassador for 14 years, told Xinhua at the event that men have to be strong models in the community, to "lead the way and not be the ones out there committing these crimes against our beautiful women."

"Being a professional athlete, I'd encourage my teammates ... to never commit violence against women, to support them, act and really show the way in being role models when it comes to eliminating domestic violence in our communities."

The walk ended at Coogee's Grant Reserve beachside park, where participants together took the campaign oath to "stand up, speak out and act to prevent men's violence against women."

As of Friday morning, more than 196,800 people had also taken the oath via the campaign portal. Endit