Dozens of Bendigonians turned out to join Colleen Hewett in Hargreaves Mall on Saturday to say no to family violence.
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The singer and former Bendigonian joined Rotary’s Violence Free Families campaign after penning a song inspired by her own experiences of family violence Shut Up and Let Me Breathe.
Ms Hewett said she felt gratified that so many people had turned out to support the initiative despite the cold weather and stressed the issue wasn’t just about male aggression.
“It’s not all about men being aggressive, women (can be) very aggressive as well,” she said.
“I am pushing for men and women to behave themselves, get a grip, grow up and shake yourself off and remember what it was like just to be a nice person.”
Ms Hewett also highlighted the impact family violence can have on children.
“(Children) will grow up and think ‘oh well mum used to hit dad or dad used to hit mum, oh that must be what you do,” she said.
“You knew your commitment when you got together so just work at it and stop (setting a bad example for) your child.”
Ms Hewett explained how she became involved in the initiative after being approached by Rotary about Shut Up and Let Me Breathe.
“I wanted it on (the album) because it was a personal song that I was very attached to and certainly not a blues thing (which is) the vibe of the Black & White album that I’ve just recorded,” she said.
“We ended up doing a film clip for it and got a lot of heavyweights involved.”
The film clip features a number of famous faces calling for an end to family violence and includes a speech by Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
Among those to join Ms Hewett’s push in Bendigo were federal member for Bendigo Lisa Chesters and City of Greater Bendigo mayor Peter Cox.
Cr Cox said it was imperative that communities stood up against family violence.
“It’s great that women like Colleen are speaking out, (but) more importantly we know that men are the perpetrators of violence in families so it’s important that men stand up and say no to family violence,” he said.
“We can have an impact in saying to other men ‘it’s just simply not good enough and it’s not going to be tolerated’.”
Ms Chesters said the gathering was a chance for the Bendigo community to stand up and say no to family violence.
“Family violence is an issue, it’s a crisis,” she said.
“We have the state government who have opened their Royal Commission into Family Violence (and) it’s important that everybody in our community stands up to say no to family violence.”
