Women's March Sydney 2019

Overview

On Sunday, January 20, women all over the world will come together for the third annual #WomensWave, a global march that aims to draw attention to, and protest, violence against women.

According to Destroy the Joint, an Australian group that researches and records the number of women killed by violence, 69 women died due to violence in Australia in 2018. The Women's March is calling on the Australian government to address gender-based violence and to continue working towards equality for women.

In Sydney, participants will gather at 11:30am at Hyde Park, before walking to Belmore Park, near Central Station, where the solidarity will continue at the Women's March Fair. Other marches will take in France, Zimbabwe, New Zealand and across the USA (among others).

MCing the action will be Yumi Stynes, host of SBS documentary Is Australia Sexist? and ABC Radio podcast Ladies, We Need to Talk. She'll be introducing a bunch of speakers, including Bri Lee, author of Eggshell Skull; Bhenji Ra, indigenous queer artist and activist; Jane Brock of Immigrant Women's Speakout and 1 Billion Rising; and Aunty Norma, a Wiradjuri woman and activist.

At Belmore Park, you'll find an array, food trucks and stalls representing not-for-profits, including NSW Women's Alliance, Amnesty International, Mums4Refugees, Grandmothers Against Detention of Refugee Children, fEMPOWER, and Lou's Place. There will also be live performances by Australian-Tanzanian indie artist Malaika Green and all-female Sydney four-piece Body Type.

The inaugural Women's Wave, held in 2017, saw an estimated 10,000 people march through the Sydney CBD and five million partake globally, making it the largest mass political protest in history to date.

If you can't make it, Women's March is also calling for donations to help run future events.

Images: Simone Cheung.