Three women are standing up for gender based violence this week, creating a mural in Belgrave on ‘Respect’ as part of the UN Women’s 16 Days of Activism.
Bringing a local lens to a global issue, artist, local, and parent Laura said they saw the chance to create a collaborative piece that would bring the issue to the limelight in Belgrave and have been working with fellow Mums, Kate and Cat
“It’s a nice project that allows us to have a creative expression and make a statement about gender based violence,” she said.
“We wanted to do something for the 16 days. We like that. It’s not just one day.”
The mural will be quite personal to Hills residents, and the artists have been inviting community members to share their ideas on what respect means to them – especially in the context of violence against women and girls.
Community quotes will be incorporated into the public artwork, and the trio have been collecting them online via a survey.
The mural will hopefully be thought-provoking, and Laura said it’s about getting the public, the community, to ask questions and have discussions about what constitutes violence.
The trio all have young kids and are finding precious moments of their free time to finish the mural, planning to integrate quotes collected from the online survey into the piece.
Auspiced by Selby Community House to get a grant for the project through Yarra Ranges, the three mothers have been working with their babies and kids in tow, with drops in from partners and grandparents to give them some support to get stuck into the project.
Passers-by have been enthusiastic and encouraging, and Laura said the work is also popular as it creates something which is beautifying the area.
With an orange sun setting across and a brightly coloured countryside, with the word Respect in the centre of the piece, Laura said the mural uses several ways to deliver their message.
“The mural has a word base so we can get that message across, but also the image that we’re choosing, we wanted to link it in the colour orange.
“Orange is the colour for domestic violence and Orange Door and things like that, so it’s symbolic,” she said.
Of the sunrise, Laura said it represents hope for a new day.
“If you are a woman in an abusive relationship or experiencing gender based violence, the orange is quite hopeful,” she said.
“There’s always a new day.”
The art piece comes as Respect Victoria tabled its second Three Yearly Report to the Victorian Parliament on 3 December, it found that more Victorians than ever recognise that gendered violence is wrong and want preventive action to stop it before it starts.
Despite community outcry, primary prevention is still not being funded at the scale required to drive population-level change.
With 15 recommendations, frontline actions like providing dedicated and enduring funding, strengthening the prevention workforce, and addressing emerging threats like the rise of online misogyny and AI-facilitated abuse have been put forward.
Respect Victoria CEO, Helen Bolton, said that everyone has the right to be safe, equal and respected.
“This report shows that Victoria’s collective efforts are creating change, but we cannot step back now,” she said.
“In the face of rising online misogyny and other complex challenges, we must bolster our prevention system to protect the progress we have made.”
Respect Victoria’s report has seen that the last three years have seen online misogyny radicalising boys and men, intensifying across Victoria, alongside the weaponisation of generative AI to harass and abuse women, as well as the consumption of increasingly violent pornography by children and young people.
The mural will be finished as the global campaign draws to a close, and the three women will be there at sporadic times finishing the piece, with the community welcome to say hello and chat.
“I think everyone has their opinions and might not have a chance to voice them,” said Laura.
“A mural like this is a statement for our community to show what Belgrave and the hills feel and care about,” she said.
If you are experiencing family violence, are concerned for your safety, or are in an emergency, please call 000 for urgent police assistance.
If you need support or advice, please reach out to a recommended specialist support service.
