Date: Monday, 15th September 2014
Time: 12 Noon
Where: From Civic Square, down Lambton Quay to parliament steps
Help us create an impact nationally by uniting with us and organising your own march in your area. Below is some information that will help you in doing this.
Download the march kit here
Key areas to find further information are
The official March event page | https://www.facebook.com/events/262623497261224/
Women’s Refuge Facebook page | https://www.facebook.com/womensrefugenz
Women’s Refuge Official website | https://www.womensrefuge.org.nz/
For any further information or questions please email Claire at [email protected]
Event overview
- A United Call to Action Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Violence in New Zealand
- The march will take place on Monday 15th of September 2014, between 12.00pm-15.00pm.
- The march will begin in Civic Square Wellington, where participants will gather at 11am and prepare for the March to begin.
- At 12.00pm the march will begin, we will walk down the length of Lambton Quay, its finish point will be the Parliament steps.
- Kate Sheppard was New Zealand’s most prominent suffragette. Now 132 years on, Women’s Refuge hopes Ms Sheppard’s image will help reduce domestic abuse against women and children. “We need to all stand up and we need to call for action, and so recognising Kate’s achievement is about calling for action as she did,” says Women’s Refuge chief executive Heather Henare.
- The Kate Sheppard statue will be presented to the Government on the steps of parliament
- Key speakers will talk to the crowd and deliver our key messages.
Planning your own march? Great!
We value your support and commitment and we want you to remain safe and keep to your local council’s rules in relation to holding a public march.
If you are planning your own march then please use the same day and times as the details listed above.
If you are having a march where you will meet and stay at one particular area with your banners and chants, check with your council if there are any specific requirements for the use of this area
If you plan to do a street march or footpath march to a specific place, it is best to contact your council for details and requirements/restrictions.
What you need on the day
- Banners
- Chants
- A designated leader or leaders to rally together the attendees and motivate them
- Designated marshals who are easily identified and help keep the crowd safe
What do we want from this march?
- We want politicians, the media and members of the public to know how serious the issues of domestic and sexual violence are for the people of New Zealand
- We want them to reflect on our history and how Kate Sheppard may have dealt with this issue.
- We want an Independent Inquiry into systems and resourcing around domestic violence services.
- We want a cross party government team to take leadership on this issue and commit to acceptance of the epidemic and change.
- We want, via media cover, to let victims and survivors know that there are people out there who want the violence to stop and for their abuse to be dealt with consistently and appropriately. Nice!
Key Messages
Domestic violence and sexual violence are pervasive, life-threatening crimes that impact thousands of New Zealanders with serious physical, psychological and economic effects.
New Zealand is amongst an epidemic of violence and we must act now to break the cycle.
The people of New Zealand need to know that we can break this cycle but in order to do this we must project our voices as one to be heard by those who have the power to make a definitive change.
Violence against women, children and families is unacceptable
At this event we will make a call to action for the Government to acknowledge the urgency and seriousness of the issues of domestic and sexual violence.
Questions and Answers:
How many people do you want and can men join in?
We want as many people as possible involved. This is an issue affects women, men and children therefore we want everyone involved.
Why did you bring the spirit of Kate back?
Because we know that she wouldn’t have stood for the levels of domestic violence occurring in this country and she would be disgraced at the current situation. We are encouraging all New Zealanders to stand up and march with us to force the Government to make an immediate commitment to work with us to end this problem once and for all.
What will you do with the finished statue of Kate?
We intend to gift Kate to the Government on the day of the march, to be kept within parliament grounds as a constant reminder of what we are marching for and the rights of women, children and families to live violence free.
What if the Government does not want her?
There will be another party that will accept her. The refusal to accept Kate could be seen as a refusal to acknowledge the seriousness of domestic and sexual violence.
