Warlga Ngurra Women & Children's Refuge

Here at Warlga Ngurra we have dealt with many victims of domestic violence perpetrated by men. We have seen how many women who wish to change their lives and live free from the violence. One issue is the fact that some of these women still love their men. Their men however see that abuse is not hurting anyone. The women and children see it differently. They don’t want to be seen as a simple statistic.

As supporters of the White Ribbon Breakfast and all events surrounding the 16 Days of Activism for no more violence, staff at Warlga Ngurra pondered on what they could do to bring about awareness.

Walk a Mile in Her Shoes (http://www.walkamileinhershoes.org/) is an awareness campaign that has men wearing women’s shoes, usually red sparkly high heeled, that has men saying no to violence on all levels. So we decided to do a mile walk, “Koori Style”.

We conducted an unofficial question to male youth as to whether they would participate in this event. Much to our delight, the response was overwhelmingly positive, the youth believed that the violence towards their loved one had to stop and the silence can no longer be a part of any culture, especially their own.

The White Ribbon Campaign (http://www.whiteribbon.org.au/) recognises the role that men must play in the prevention of violence against women. Have a look at the White Ribbon Official site and read the history of why this event is so important.