Gawler Zonta Club memberDenise Scappaticci,Gawler Domestic ViolenceNetwork committee member Josie Ireland and Gawler Zonta Club member Chris Frick a last Thursday’s Gawler Domestic ViolenceNetwork Twilight Vigil and Remembrance Service. PHOTO: Sara Gilligan
SARA GILLIGAN
LOCALS united in Gawler last Thursday to remember domestic violence victims slain at the hands of their current or former partners.
Hosted by the Zonta Club of Gawler, the inaugural Gawler Domestic Violence Network Twilight Vigil and Remembrance Service united about 40 people in a Gawler South park to honour the “angels in heaven”.
The vigil kicked off with Sarah McLachlan’s powerful song In the arms of an angel before an address by the local Zonta Club’s Sandra Sullivan.
“I hope that by being together we will play our own small part in making sure that women and the dreadful violence that has shortened their lives are never forgotten,” Mrs Sullivan said.
“Today I want to give praise to their tenacity and courageous spirit and to highlight the fact that this horrible stain of domestic violence on our society still exists regardless of all the efforts made to stamp it out.
“Mostly by coming together we are respecting and valuing women’s lives by showing the world that we will not tolerate the kind of behaviour that continues to take so many innocent lives.”
White Ribbon ambassador Martin Kennedy, a retired police officer of 43 years, spoke about his confrontations with domestic violence during his time on the force.
“I knew domestic violence was wrong, but we didn’t always do a lot about it in the 70s and 80s,” he said.
“It wasn’t treated as seriously as stranger violence.
"I was the founding member of the Barossa DV Action Group and what we did was to try and get people talking about it through education and awareness of what domestic abuse is.
“My aim as an ambassador is to get people talking and to convince people to stand up, speak out and act.”
A poem, prayer, ringing of church bells and minute of silence followed before the vigil’s conclusion.
Mrs Sullivan also invited the group to speak up about any domestic violence victims or experiences.
“I hope that by being here that all women in our communities who feel that they are in a hopeless situation find the courage to seek help and support,” she said.
“Domestic violence is everybody’s business.”
