500 walkers step out against violence at 2015 White Ribbon Coastal Walk

IN an amazing show of solidarity five hundred walkers made a stand over violence against women and children at Sunday's White Ribbon Coastal Walk.

Organised by the Hastings Domestic and Family Violence Support Service, the White Ribbon Coastal Walk is a free community event held annually.

Participants travel from Lighthouse Beach to Town Green to raise awareness about White Ribbon Day, the international day for the elimination of violence against women.

2015 marked the seventh year the walk has taken place in Port Macquarie with another strong showing proving the fight against domestic violence is ever-growing.

Mayor Peter Besseling was as impressed as ever at the support his local community gave to the important event.

“The Port Macquarie community are getting right behind it year after year,” he said.

“There were so many people from all abilities and ages.

“It shows the affect that it has on the community and that we want to send a message that violence against women is unacceptable.”

Port Macquarie mother-of-two Courtney Gaunt was one such person who was keen to be apart of the event, describing the need to raise awareness as critical.

“It was a great show of community support. I haven’t done one before in Port Macquarie and I was impressed by the depth of it,” she said.

“There were a lot of families, kids, males and sporting groups. It was excellent and really well organised.”

Miss Gaunt believes that events like the White Ribbon Walk raises much needed awareness for domestic violence.

“Without awareness for these issues people don’t know about the problem and can’t do anything about it,” she said.

Kylie Dowse is perhaps the most prominent figure in the Hastings when it comes to violence against women and she was extremely proud of the efforts of her community.

“What a wonderful event it was again. It grows more legs every year,” she said.

“We thought the rain may have deterred some people but that couldn’t be further than the truth.

“The big gain this year was in the level of sponsorship and support from businesses and community groups.”

Mrs Dowse said that domestic violence has had a really solid push in Australian media in the last 12 months.

“To see that we have done this for a seventh time I think it shows our community as being a real leader in the fight against domestic violence,” she said.

“It makes me so proud to be from this town. We are supporting well over 1000 local women every year.”

Many of those women marched yesterday. Mrs Dowse said it was a “powerful day”, especially to hear the stories that are shared.

“I spoke to a young couple today where the women was in a previous relationship that was abusive,” she said.

“She was doing the walk with her current boyfriend who treats her with respect. It is those kinds of stories that will stick with me.”