'Fed up': powerful monologue sums up Australia's gender-based violence crisis

Australian Community Media

Sydney woman Mia Findlay has delivered a powerful monologue on the injustice of male violence against women at a What Were You Wearing rally on April 27.

Transcript

00:00 What's the barrier to entry to being believed? How short was your skirt? How long were your sleeves?

00:07 Did you drink? Were you drunk? Were you rude or polite? Did you go home with someone or walk alone at night?

00:14 There's also a barrier that exists before dark on an afternoon run in your safe local park.

00:20 I'll never forget Marsha on a run at 17, stabbed 49 times by a man she'd never seen.

00:28 The barrier still applied though when Detective Hughes said, "Not that men shouldn't kill, women be vigilant instead."

00:36 Two young men murdered and they shut down a city.

00:40 For young men with futures, take action, have pity. But for us, just silence, victim blaming advice.

00:46 No short skirts or drinking, don't go out at night. If it happened, report it, but only right away.

00:52 Forget trauma or terror, even one day's too late. If you report it, be perfect, sober virgin till the end.

01:00 Not a blemish on your record, not perfect, even if you're dead.

01:05 Two young men murdered and they shut down a city. 32 women in 24, no action, no pity.

01:20 Two young men murdered and they shut down a city. 64 women in 23, no action, no pity.

01:28 Two young men murdered and they shut down a city. 50 women in 22, no action, no pity.

01:35 Two young men murdered and they shut down this city. 61 women in 21, no action, no pity.

01:43 We know you can do it, make laws consequential and tough. And for two boys with futures, you cared just enough.

01:50 What's the barrier to entry, to being believed, to being considered human, to being safe and free?

01:57 You tell us be cautious and we've tried it all. The "I'm in a cab" message, the "I'm home safe" call.

02:03 We cover open drinks of girls we don't know, cross streets in fake phone calls so we'll be left alone.

02:09 We stay home with our partners because surely we're safe, but when nobody's looking, one of us dies every five days.

02:17 Suddenly we care when it blows up in our face. A knife man in Bondi, a terrorist in a cafe.

02:24 What do they have to do with our country's great shame? Because the core of their crimes were both one and the same.

02:31 He had a problem with women, the knife man's father said. He targeted women until a woman shot him dead.

02:40 [Applause]

02:47 Then there's Ma and Haraam Lomas, terrorised Sydney whilst on bail for 40 counts of assault, but just against women, so no jail.

02:58 Two young men murdered and they shut down this city. Thank you.

03:05 [Applause]

03:08 [No audio]

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