Battling Domestic Violence
BUILDING A SAFER COMMUNITY
Standing Together Against Domestic and Family Violence
Rotary Club of Cairns Sunrise is helping our community speak up, show support and say no to domestic and family violence.
Domestic and family violence affects individuals, families and communities. Too often, it remains hidden behind closed doors, leaving people feeling isolated and afraid to seek help.
At Cairns Sunrise, we believe everyone has a role in creating a community built on respect and safety. Through Purple Shirt Friday and our annual Walk and Talk, we bring people together to raise awareness, challenge harmful attitudes and show victim-survivors they are not alone.
Community Initiatives
Purple Shirt Friday: Wear the Message
A purple shirt can be the start of an important conversation.
Our Purple Shirt Friday initiative encourages people to wear purple every Friday with a clear message: Together, we say no to domestic and family violence.
Whether you are at work, meeting friends or attending a community event, wearing the shirt makes your support visible. It creates an opportunity to talk about respect, challenge the silence surrounding abuse and encourage others to get involved.
We invite local businesses, sporting clubs, schools and community groups to join us.
Wear purple. Start a conversation. Stand for respect.
Walk and Talk: Cairns Steps Up
Each May, Rotary Club of Cairns Sunrise brings the community together for Walk and Talk, a public walk through the streets of Cairns to raise awareness of domestic and family violence.
It is an opportunity for people from all walks of life to stand alongside one another and send a shared message: violence and abuse have no place in our community.
By walking together, we show support for victim-survivors, encourage conversations and demonstrate our commitment to a safer Cairns.
Helping Change Attitudes
Specialist services provide essential support for people experiencing domestic and family violence. Our role as a Rotary club is to help build community awareness and encourage the everyday actions that support prevention.
That includes challenging disrespectful language, refusing to excuse controlling behaviour and helping make respect the expectation in our homes, workplaces and social circles.
Men have a particularly important role in this work. Speaking up among friends, colleagues and teammates can help challenge attitudes that allow abuse to be dismissed or ignored
“Change begins with what we say, what we do and what we are prepared to challenge.”