On Friday the 24th of November, Greater Bendigo hosted its ‘16 days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence’ launch. Deputy Youth Mayor Lilly Correll and Youth Councillor Abby Patten had the honour of MCing the event together.

Due to the rain, there was a last-minute venue change, thankfully this didn’t dissuade the over 100 people including Mayor Cr Andrea Metcalf, Deputy Mayor Cr Matthew Evans and Cr Jennifer Alden, who were in attendance!

The guest speaker Margaret Augorinos from the Centre for Non-Violence spoke about the staggering gender-based violence statistics and had a clear call to action for all who can make a difference. A strong theme of community connection was presented throughout Deputy Youth Mayor Lilly Correll’s, Youth Councillor Abby Patten’s and Margaret Augerinos’ speeches.

Youth Councillor Abby Patten, one of the MCs for the event said; “my own experiences with this and how MCing such a meaningful and sobering event was so re-empowering for me. It was an encouraging reminder that I can assist in making change - a cause that is indescribably important to me.”

Deputy Youth Mayor Lilly Correll had this to say regarding the event, “Every death that is caused by gender-based violence can be prevented. Someone always knows something. 16 Days of Activism is a global campaign to raise awareness around gender-based violence, with the hope that eventually, gender-based violence can eliminated. Every week in Australia, a woman is murdered by her partner or ex-partner. This is unacceptable. As a community we need to do better, which is why I was proud to co-MC the 16 days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence launch event with Youth Councillor Abby Patten.”