25/05/2026
𝗗𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 & 𝗙𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗩𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵 has kept our teams busier than usual over the past few weeks. We’ve participated in so many meaningful and necessary activities about awareness, advocacy, remembrance, training, and all sorts of things… but our 𝗥𝗲𝗱 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗵 unveiling in Rockhampton last week was an extra poignant moment for us 💜
On Monday 18th May, our Rockhampton team hosted a very special event to unveil our new 𝗥𝗲𝗱 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗵 installation in front of our office on Bolsover Street. A 𝗥𝗲𝗱 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗵 serves as a permanent and visible reminder that domestic & family violence exists, and of our collective responsibility to acknowledge, respond to, and stop it.
An initiative of the Red Rose Foundation Australia, we were honoured to be joined on the day by 𝗟𝘂𝗰𝘆 𝗟𝗼𝗿𝗱 & 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘁𝘆 𝗧𝗮𝘆𝗹𝗼𝗿 from the 𝗥𝗲𝗱 𝗥𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, with 𝗟𝘂𝗰𝘆 speaking to the growing network and prominence of Red Benches across Australia and the globe. We were also grateful to hear from 𝗟𝗶𝘇𝘇𝗶𝗲 𝗠𝗰𝗚𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗸 representing our partners Helem Yumba CQ Healing Centre, and from our CatholicCare Chief Executive Officer, 𝗥𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝗦𝗶𝗺𝘀.
We were also incredibly honoured to be joined by our very special guest, 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗹 𝗢’𝗦𝘂𝗹𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗻, who delivered a powerful address in honour of her daughter, 𝗞𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻 𝗚𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱, who was murdered in June 2020. Cheryl’s strength to stand with us and speak reinforced the immense importance of ensuring that the stories, experiences, and voices of victims and their families remain central to the conversation about domestic violence prevention, response, and reform efforts. 𝗔 𝗥𝗲𝗱 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴; 𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱.
Our sincerest thank you to 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗹, 𝗟𝘂𝗰𝘆, 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘁𝘆, 𝗟𝗶𝘇𝘇𝗶𝗲, and all guests and representatives who attended our unveiling event. To our partners across government, justice, policing, health and the wider community sector, thank you for the work each of you do every day.
𝗔𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗿, 𝗥𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁, 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗱𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀:
“𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦, 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘰. 𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯, 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴. 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵.”
