Perth No More rally: Hundreds brave rain to protest against growing domestic violence

For Perth mother Carla there is one important reason why she left home on a rainy Sunday to join thousands of protesters around the nation calling for more action to end violence against women. Her three-year-old daughter. “It’s her future,” Carla said, when asked why she was part of the 200-strong crowd cheering passionate speakers at the Forrest Place rally. “I can’t just sit by and let these things happen that have happened to so many people. “And to think that could happen to her and her peers in the future — without us doing anything — is awful. It’s horrendous.” Also in the crowd to lend support was Ariel Bombara, whose father Mark Bombara shot and killed Jennifer Petelczyc and her 18-year-old daughter Gretl at their Floreat home on May 24 while searching for his wife. Ms Bombara previously revealed she and her mother had warned police “repeatedly” that her father, who possessed 13 guns, was an “imminent” danger, but claimed they were ignored. Curtin MP Kate Chaney said in her speech that in the months since the women were gunned down in her electorate, others had come forward to tell her their “heart breaking” stories. “Stories of violence and coercive control, stories about feeling trapped, feeling unsupported and having to fight the system that’s supposed to be keeping them safe,” she said. “Here in WA, our family and domestic violence assault rate is almost double the other States.” “The best way to honour the memory of Jennifer and Gretl and so many other women across the country is to stop this happening again.” Unofficial figures show that 44 women across Australia have died at the hands of male violence since the start of this year, though rally organisers used a different measure to claim the number was closer to 54. The crowd of mostly women and a scattering of men carried placards with messages including “silence is violence”, “I will not be silent” and “educate your son”. After a series of speeches, the crowd set off to march from Forrest Place to Parliament House where a list of names of women who have died this year was read aloud. Zoe Cornelius, from advocacy group What Were You Wearing Australia which organised the rallies, said they were happy with the turn-out, even though numbers were down from the last event in April. “We were really proud to see that there were so many men here, that was amazing to see,” she said. Daniel Morley, 27, one of the few men at the rally, said he believed it was important to join the protest. “It starts with us, so we have to be part of the solution,” he said.