Over 400 take part in Coastal Walk Against Domestic and Family Violence 2022

For residents like Leanne Bryant, who has attended the walk for the last seven years, it's a local tradition.

"I think domestic violence is a big issue," she said.

"I just think it's important for the public to be aware that there's a lot of women and children that are exposed to this sort of stuff and it's not acceptable."

Ms Bryant was one of the many who began the 11 kilometre trek from Lighthouse Beach to Westport Park at 8am this morning.

Participants could also choose to start from Flynns Beach at 9am or Town Beach at 9:30am.

Over 400 people registered to take part in this year's walk with more that $4,000 raised in online donations alone.

Liberty Domestic & Family Violence Specialist Services CEO Kelly Lamb said it was good to see so many people gathered for the walk.

"We haven't actually run a full scale event since 2019 so this is the first time we've been able to host it from Lighthouse Beach all the way through to Westport Park," she said.

"We're really happy to see the community coming out today and helping us build that awareness."

The large participation for the event hopefully will bring greater awareness about domestic and family violence.

With statistics showing a rise of police reports for domestic violence in the Mid North Coast, the annual walk also takes place during the international 16 days of activism against gender based violence.

Ms Lamb said that today was about speaking out against violence against women.

"Liberty have always hosted this event in November to bring out community together to build awareness, have conversations about domestic and family violence and learn a little bit more about our service," Ms Lamb said.

"I think [it also shows] the women and children in our community that are victim survivors that there's a community behind them that are supporting them."

IN OTHER NEWS: