The Sunshine Coast community marched for Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Month before gathering for a candlelight vigil at Cotton Tree Park in Maroochydore on Wednesday 7 May.
This year’s theme is “Don’t Stand By – Stand Up!”.
Anti-domestic violence advocate-survivor Jas Rawlinson said, “I stand here as a survivor myself and I think any opportunity to bring the community together to talk about these issues is so important. And to send a message to anyone out there that feels alone, that they’re not.”
“…Even people that are maybe walking by as well, and seeing what’s going on tonight, they might stop and listen, and they might hear something that they really needed to hear today.”
Jas said awareness was important but more action was needed to match it.
“We definitely need to see more action in terms of the way that domestic violence is treated in the court systems,” she said.
“We’ve seen so many homicides lately where the perpetrator already had a long outstanding history of violence, and it should have been dealt with swiftly in the beginning before it got to this stage.
“I think it’s also really important for to bring awareness to the fact that we do have the new coercive control laws coming in very soon here in Queensland, and I’m hoping that will be another step in the right direction, in terms of action being taken early by our legal system, to stop these horrendous acts before they continue on.”
DV Safe Phone began in 2020 as a mission for Sunshine Coast local Ashton Wood, and five years later it has turned into a national movement.
He was originally shocked to learn that more than 2 million Australians are impacted by domestic violence – and that abusers often destroy, monitor or confiscate victims’ phones.
DV Safe Phones founder Ashton Wood said, “People all over Australia donate their phones to us. So far, we’ve given out 12,000 phones. That’s 12,000 lives saved or protected with a safe phone.”
“People can go to our website and there’s a map of Australia with all of the locations, and there’s hundreds here in Queensland.”
Centacare Sunshine Coast area manager Adam Beck said the march and vigil was an act of remembrance for the lives lost to domestic and family violence across Australia over the past year.
“From 26 May 2025, coercive control will be a criminal offence in Queensland, so it is important the community understands that domestic violence is not only physical abuse but can also be a form of social entrapment,” he said.
“Understanding the dynamics of coercive control helps people appreciate the complexities and challenges associated with trying to leave an abusive relationship as well as the severe, long-term impacts for victim survivors exposed to this form of abuse.”
