May 6 marked a symbolic event, “Moving Forward”, to acknowledge the victims of domestic and family violence. Jan Christie, Moving Forward Manager, described the event as a way to “facilitate community expression of our grief and sense of hopelessness at these preventable deaths”. The proceedings included the laying of roses at Parliament House: red for women, white for children and yellow for men.
Ms Christie’s tireless work at Moving Forward should be recognised and appreciated by us all in the community. This event was a testament to her approach to domestic violence, and that is one of sadness. It is too easy in this world of social media and online trolling to become angry, disenfranchised and to ultimately miss the point of events like this.
However, by acknowledging these deaths and keeping them in the public eye we show all victims of domestic violence the respect they are due. We also let their families know that even if our governments continue to ignore this epidemic, we will not forget, we will not let this continue and we will overcome this.
