'Enough is enough': 100,000 Women March 4 Justice

In cities and towns across Australia, more than 100,000 women turned out on Monday 15 March to raise their voices and tell our leaders in government, in business and across society that "enough is enough".

The Women’s March 4 Justice started with a call-out on social media from Janine Hendry for women and allies to rally, called out in the lead up to International Women’s Day on 8 March. The call snowballed, with women organising rallies and marches in more than 40 towns and cities nationwide, from Canberra to Alice Springs, Western Australia, Queensland and in Tasmania.

In Hobart more than 1,000 gathered on the Parliament Gardens and surrounding streets to hear speakers from the union movement, Women’s Legal Service, and Australian of the Year Grace Tame. “Men are not the enemy, corruption and bad behaviour is,” Tame told the crowd. “Behaviour unspoken, behaviour ignored, is behaviour endorsed.”

A victim/survivor of sexual abuse who fought to change the laws that gagged her from speaking about the horrors the endured as a child, Tame called out culture of silence that allows sexual harassment and violence to carry on. “One of these barriers to progress… is silence. Evil thrives in silence and it’s time to make some noise.”

“It gives me hope because the start of the solution is also quite simple: making noise.”

Tame’s call to make noise was echoed around the country, with women all over and all ages voicing their disgust at the culture that permeates our society and workplaces.

The message of the day was women had had enough and they were not going to let the fear of powerful people stand in the way of justice. “Fear. We refuse to let it stop us from moving forward,” Tame told the rally in Tasmania’s capital. “Be a domino! Your fear of doing nothing should outweigh your fear of doing something.”