Tuesday, 2 December 2025

 Sarah MANSFIELD (Western Victoria) (14:04): This coming weekend my colleague Ms Gray-Barberio and I will be doing the Afterglow run from Point Addis to Torquay. The run takes place at night and is raising awareness about gender-based violence as part of Respect Victoria’s 16 days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence. Funds will be raised for the Sexual Assault and Family Violence Centre in Geelong.

The sense of camaraderie and indeed safety during the event will stand in stark contrast to how I feel a lot of the time when I go out for a run, because, like so many women, I have to constantly think about my safety when I run alone. Is it going to be dark? Will there be other people around? How far am I from help? I have had several incidents, including a man standing in my path pulling down his pants and saying sexually explicit things. I have had people slowing down in their cars beside me and calling out or following me, and a huge dog once jumped on my back after being let loose by a sniggering man. The vast majority of the time nothing happens at all, but these incidents were enough to reinforce that constant niggling fear. What I would give not to be constantly on alert and worrying about my safety.

We know that by far women are most likely to face violence and sexual assault in their own homes or in workplaces, but this occurs as part of a broader culture where we frequently do not feel safe in many places, including in our parks and on our trails and streets. We all deserve to feel safe everywhere and at all times, and we have got a long way to go before that is a reality.