A brightly coloured bench sits loud and proud under the trees at a local community centre and portrays a very powerful message.
The Kiddle family donated the purple bench at Armadale Community Family Centre, while a grant from Linkwest enabled the centre to install a plaque and revamp the surrounding garden to give visitors a calming experience.
Project officer Freya Whitton said the bench carries a powerful message – domestic violence is not condoned and no one will sit quietly by and allow for more women to be killed as a result.
“The reason behind the purple bench is to recognise and honour the lives of women who have been murdered by their partners and to provide hope and contact numbers for those who are still experiencing family and domestic violence,” she said.
“For our centre we want to recognise that the south-east metropolitan corridor, in which Armadale is situated, consistently had the highest reported rates of family domestic violence over the last few years as explained at the silent march.
“We wanted to stand in solidarity with the survivors, those lost and those who are still doing what they can to keep themselves and their children safe in an unsafe home where they may feel they have no options left.”
The bench can be found in the front garden of the Armadale Community Family Centre at 101 Challis Road, Seville Grove.
For assistance or advice call the Women’s Domestic Violence Helpline on 1800 007 339 or 9223 1188 or if its an emergency call Police on 000.
