Stand up and speak out against Domestic Violence

Released 25 October 2017

A large number of men are expected to step forward and join the Mayor of Wagga Wagga City Council on his mission, to raise awareness of domestic violence and pledge their support to eliminating the issue.

Mayor of the City of Wagga Wagga Councillor Greg Conkey OAM has invited a representative group of men from across the community to join him on the steps of the Council Chambers for a photo that will be circulated across the city with the message “Shatter the silence … say no to domestic violence.”

Police deal with a large number of domestic violence cases each week and while the rate of incidence appears to be on the increase, there is generally a low awareness of the issue in Wagga Wagga.

“The aim of the photo shoot is to encourage men to start a conversation about the issue of domestic violence in an effort to raise awareness and reduce the rate of incidence,” said Mayor of the City of Wagga Wagga Councillor Greg Conkey OAM.

“It is important that local men of all ages and in all roles in our community speak out against domestic violence in our community, as domestic violence is unacceptable and impacts widely on local families.

“This is also an opportunity to show our support for the work being done by service providers across the community and other initiatives such as the upcoming Liberty From Violence community march to be held on 9 November along with International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and White Ribbon Day on 25 November.

“Commercial operations staff have also suggested that we place anti-domestic violence messages on some of our fleet vehicles, a suggestion that I fully support to raise further awareness of this campaign.”

The Mayor will be joined at the photo shoot by members of the police force, Army, RAAF, Navy, business people, tradies, university staff members, members of service clubs and Council staff.