Wagga Wagga City Council’s community development coordinator Alex Osgood (left) and acting director of the Wagga Wagga Women’s Health Centre Julie Milsom are helping fly the flag for this year’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence. Photo: Jarryd Rowley.
The Wagga Domestic Violence Liaison Committee (DVLC) is set to launch its annual 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign.
The global campaign calls for action against one of the world’s most persistent violations of human rights — violence against women. It starts on Tuesday, 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and concludes on Wednesday, 10 December, International Human Rights Day.
Locally, the campaign will see members of the DLVC visit popular locations within Wagga. The members will be accompanied by a couch where members of the public can sit and talk about domestic violence and what healthy relationships look like.
Acting director of Wagga Wagga Women’s Health Centre Julie Milsom said it was important to have ongoing conversations about domestic violence and to continue to educate people about what constituted domestic violence.
“While domestic and family violence goes largely unreported, the New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research advised that the rate of domestic violence assaults recorded by the NSW Police in Wagga Wagga was 60 per cent higher than the NSW state average, with 507 incidents reported in the 12 months up to March 2025,” she said.
“Violence in our community can take many forms. Lots of people have heard the new term of coercive control in our community, and that consists of things like emotional abuse, psychological abuse, and financial abuse. So violence can take really different forms.
“It affects all different types of relationships. It could be parents and their children, and even friendships. It’s really about understanding that violence can take all forms, and we as a community say no!”
In addition to the campaign, Wagga Wagga City Council will also temporarily illuminate the Fitzmaurice Street avenue of trees with purple and orange lights and, in collaboration with the local police, host the popular Community Safety Family Day at the Riverside Precinct.
“Council is committed to continuing to advocate for resources and funding levels that support frontline services and other organisations addressing coercive control, abuse and violence as outlined in council’s adopted Advocacy Plan,” the council’s community development coordinator Alex Osgood said.
“This initiative aims to promote safe and respectful relationships, which is a key priority in council’s Community Safety Action Plan 2022-2026.
“There is an opportunity for everyone across the community to play an active role and break the silence on gender-based violence.”
