Voice of Real Australia is a regular newsletter from the local news teams of the ACM network, which stretches into every state and territory. Today's is written by Central Western Daily deputy editor Grace Ryan.
There is a terrible sadness around the Central West, after the death of 28-year-old educator and mother Molly Ticehurst, was announced on Monday. Her ex-partner has since been charged with her murder.
On Tuesday night I asked women around the region how they were feeling the most common answer was "frightened and sad".
And frightened to do regular activities like exercise, or leave work late. Frightened for our daughters. Frightened for our sons.
But also incredibly sad that now there's a little boy growing up without his mother, sad that another woman has died an avoidable death.
Molly Ticehurst was the 25th woman to be killed by violence this year.
I heard from dozens of The Catch-Up readers. Some were sharing their own stories, others were telling me about the changes they've made in their own lives to stay safe.
One mother of teenage girls has had to have some "hard and heavy conversations".
"They hear and are being exposed to all that is going on with women right now around Australia and it terrifies me to think of what is ahead for them if something doesn't change. It breaks my heart and makes me f***ing angry, brings me to tears and infuriates and frustrates me," Nyngan mum, Kristy Sheather said.
"I then have my five month old baby boy smile at me and I think 'If I can just get one thing right, it's raising him to respect, love and treat women the way they should be treated'. We have to speak up though, we have to create change."
"Feeling frustrated, furious, annoyed, saddened, sick to the core, heavy and hopeful," said author and speaker Jess Hickman.
A lot of women mentioned how it feels like the incidents are getting closer.
"It feels very claustrophobic, like the walls are closing in and every attack lands just a bit little closer to home; a runner, a teacher, a mum. I am angry and I am tired of being told that 'it's not all men'. Because it is enough men," Dubbo teacher Harriett Barrett said.
It feels very claustrophobic, like the walls are closing in and every attack lands just a bit little closer to home; a runner, a teacher, a mum. I am angry and I am tired of being told that 'it's not all men'. Because it is enough men.
- Harriet Barrett, Dubbo
An old friend of mine lives in the Forbes community and knew Molly.
"It makes me sick to the core to think what happened to her. When it's so close to home it really hits home how many lives [have been] ruined," she told me on Wednesday.
It was very clear that women around the region have been feeling so sad about this endemic. But this is not a new feeling. Not even a year has passed since we lost one of our own Kristy Armstrong to an alleged murder in Molong.
Birds from the Bush is a domestic violence advocacy group from Orange. They are agents for change in the Central West, aiming to raise awareness and empower the community through knowledge and fundraising.
"There are feelings of despair and frustration but there is also the hum... it's the hum of our community rising, we will not, and cannot accept men's violence," Vanessa Vazquez from Birds in the Bush said.
On Friday, the team from Birds in the Bush are asking the community to wear their tees to show support.
"We are asking our community to wear their Birds in the Bush tees to show victim survivors, perpetrators and all others that our community is united against men's violence," Ms Vazquez said.
"It is a collective act of solidarity and defiance. We will not be cowed by men's violence. We will not be deterred by flawed systems. We will demand better of each other. And when you feel too tired or broken, others are rising and we will carry you.
"Together, we can make the invisible visible."
National anti-violence rallies are also taking place across the country. The community of Cobram is among the towns joining the call for no more violence after losing one of their own on this week.
In all this darkness, there is a glimmer of light and of hope, as we come together to stand against something unacceptable.
Enough is enough. Time to reclaim our safety.
Grace Ryan
Deputy Editor at the Central Western Daily, Orange. You'll mostly find me tinkering in social media and newsletters. Working hard to get our stories in front of your eyes.
Deputy Editor at the Central Western Daily, Orange. You'll mostly find me tinkering in social media and newsletters. Working hard to get our stories in front of your eyes.
