Thousands attend vigils across country for the 30 women killed by violence this year

Thousands attend vigils across country for the 30 women killed by violence this year

Thousands of people gathered in the Melbourne park last night where Eurydice Dixon was murdered last week.

They were there to grieve for Dixon, as well as for the 29 other women killed by violence this year.

They shared words remembering the 22 year old comedian as being intelligent and kind, but also expressed anger and sadness about violence against women.

The 10,000 or so that had gathered shared songs and silence, and lit candles and laid flowers at Princess Park, Carlton.

Hours earlier a team had worked to clean up the parts of the makeshift memorial that had been vandalised on Sunday night.

A crowd also gathered in Hyde Park Sydney, where the names of 30 women killed by violence this year were read out, and 30 seconds silence given to each.

And in Canberra, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Opposition leader Bill Shorten also attended a vigil, standing next to each other. “This vigil to me is a commitment to every other Australian woman, that you ought to be safe, and nothing less than that is acceptable,” said Shorten.

Earlier, Turnbull said as we grieve we must “change the hearts of men to respect women”.

“As grown men, we must lead by example and treat women with respect and we must ensure that our cities, our towns, our country, everywhere is safe for every Australian to walk and work, whether it is a park, a workplace, whether it is in their own home.”

There were also vigils in other parts of the country, including in Geelong and Ballarat.

 

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