Sydney Women's March: hundreds rally in solidarity, calling for a safer world
Hundreds of Australian women rallied in Sydney and Melbourne on Sunday to express their solidarity with the international movement calling for reform of sexual assault laws and a change of culture in Australian society.
As thousands marched across the United States and Europe, the Women’s March in Sydney was smaller than last year, with about 800 people gathering in Hyde Park. It was attended by a diverse range of women and some men, with younger women dominating the crowd.
The international protests in 2017 were sparked by the election of Donald Trump as US president, but since then other grassroots campaigns such as the #MeToo movement have broadened the concerns by exposing systemic harassment and discrimination against women.
Instead of marching on the American consulate, as originally intended, the organisers in Sydney asked the crowd to join hands to ring Hyde Park in a show of solidarity.
One of the speakers, the founder of On Purpose Hub, Karen James, told the crowd that 2017 had been a watershed year in campaigning for systemic change.
But she said consistent action was needed to change entrenched attitudes: “We need to be unbroken all the time. We need to show up and take action all the time.”
Founder of the Sydney march, Kate Taylor, said joining hands was a symbol of solidarity and determination to keep forcing change.
“2017 was our generation’s floodgate moment. We refused to keep quiet. 2018 will be the year where we say we have weathered the backlash and emerged unbroken to say: we want a safer world.”
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Some people had travelled to Sydney to take part. The Illawarra Knitting Nanna’s against Greed – Cherry Hardaker, Anne Dillon and Annie Marlow – said they were now turning their attention to Adani, coalmining and Donald Trump after winning their battle against coal-seam cash.
Tens of thousands turned out in Washington, New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and hundreds of other cities across the US and the world. Many women wore pink knit “pussy hats”, an enduring symbol of the Women’s March and the so-called “resistance” to Trump.
In 2017, the year of the inaugural Women’s March, an estimated 5,000 turned out in Sydney.
