Carrie Bickmore has pleaded with the Australian government to put a stop to violence against women in a powerful letter read aloud on air on her radio show, Carrie & Tommy.
The radio personality turned to her co-host Tommy Little to read out the letter she had written about the issue, which has become a national crisis.
“Us women have been talking about this issue forever and no one seems to be listening, so I’m thinking if you read out the thoughts that I wrote down, it might mean more people will listen or it might just give a different perspective on what it feels like to be a woman in this country at the moment,” an emotional Bickmore asked Little, as she urged him and other men around the country to “stand up, and speak up and speak loudly”.
Little said he would “happily stand by your side” as he began to read Bickmore’s letter to listeners.
“It’s taken me days to work out what to say about the crisis that our country is in at the moment. Not because I don’t have things to say about the abhorrent amount of women dying every week in our country at the hands of a man, because I no longer know what to say because it feels like we are yelling into the abyss. We are exhausted,” Bickmore’s letter, read by her co-host said.
In her letter, Bickmore said women have to watch their every move from where to run to what clothes to wear in order to feel safe in the community, while also being on constant guard from the taxi driver, the Uber driver or a former partner or current partner that may pose as a threat.
“No, not all men are monsters, but we live in fear of the ones that are,” her letter continued. “We change our behaviour to account for the bad ones, not the good ones because the risk is too high for us not to.
“To the good men out there, do something more. Just not killing us is not enough. Do something.”
Bickmore pointed out that if men were killed by terrorists or a ground of male cyclists were run down on the road in Australia, “laws would be drawn up overnight to stop it from happening again”. But she said nothing is being done to help women in equally violent situations.
“What we are asking for is not too much. We are simply asking to have the same basic right as you. The right to live, to be safe,’” Little read out, while choking back tears.
“‘To the men who want control, the men who can’t handle rejection, the men who think the law doesn’t apply to them, to the men who think they can intimidate, manipulate, coerce, to the men who can’t regulate their emotions, can’t act with respect, your time is up.’
“To the PM, do something. We shouldn’t have to march to draw attention to his issue. You know what the issue is. Please do something more and now. Governments stop building another freeway for a moment. Build a safer future for our daughters. This is not political, this is not a matter of opinion. The facts speaks for themselves. Every four days a woman in Australia is violently killed.’”
The radio host said that instead of censoring nipples on Instagram, the government should “instead censor the views of misogynistic, violent men online”. She urged for increased funding for safe houses, frontline centres and support services.
“‘I know I absolutely do not have the answers, but there are so many groups out there who spend their life working in this area. They know some of the answers. Listen to them,’” the letter continued.
“If you think women are becoming shrill, think again. If you think we are being dramatic, think again. If you think we are sensationalising the issue, think again. We are scared and we are asking, pleading for help. Do something and stop killing us.”
More Coverage
Bickmore’s plea comes days after thousands of people attended 17 rallies across Australia over the weekend to call out the government for not stepping up when it comes to violence against women.
Twenty-eight Australian women have died allegedly at the hands of a male perpetrator since January 1, according to the Counting Dead Women project.
The relentlessness of violence has prompted pleas for urgent action and a clear message that women are fed up.
https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMivgFodHRwczovL3d3dy5uZXdzLmNvbS5hdS9lbnRlcnRhaW5tZW50L3R2L3JhZGlvL2NhcnJpZS1iaWNrbW9yZS13cml0ZXMtcG93ZXJmdWwtbGV0dGVyLWNhbGxpbmctZm9yLWEtc3RvcC10by12aW9sZW5jZS1hZ2FpbnN0LXdvbWVuLXN0b3Ata2lsbGluZy11cy9uZXdzLXN0b3J5L2FlYjU3NmNlYzQ1ZjIzZjQ3MzE2OWJmMzJkNjBiYWIz0gEA?oc=5
2024-05-01 23:17:52Z
CBMivgFodHRwczovL3d3dy5uZXdzLmNvbS5hdS9lbnRlcnRhaW5tZW50L3R2L3JhZGlvL2NhcnJpZS1iaWNrbW9yZS13cml0ZXMtcG93ZXJmdWwtbGV0dGVyLWNhbGxpbmctZm9yLWEtc3RvcC10by12aW9sZW5jZS1hZ2FpbnN0LXdvbWVuLXN0b3Ata2lsbGluZy11cy9uZXdzLXN0b3J5L2FlYjU3NmNlYzQ1ZjIzZjQ3MzE2OWJmMzJkNjBiYWIz0gEA
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar