Hundreds from the Aussie music community have banded together to both raise the awareness and try to end violence against women in Australia.
The expanding group which includes the likes of The Grates, Courtney Barnett, Hermitude, The Church, Violent Soho and so many more, have each agreed to don a t-shirt that says the words #notON whilst performing on stage throughout the month of April, utilising their unique and public platform to spread awareness of the cause.
The initiative was soft-launched at the Queensland Music Awards with the national charity White Ribbon Australia, born out of the generosity of industry workers, merchandise companies and of course the artists themselves who are all donating their time to make a difference.
Libby Davies, CEO of White Ribbon Australia, comments; “We are excited to have the support of the music industry via this creative initiative. It is so important to break the silence that surrounds men’s violence against women. Hearing musicians lend their voices to the campaign helps to expand the reach of our prevention work aimed at changing the attitudes and behaviours that lead to such violence.”
There are some incredibly scary statistics that surround violence against women in Australia, on average, one woman is killed every week as a result of intimate partner violence, domestic and family violence is the principle cause of homelessness for women and their children.
In addition to this, violence against women is estimated to cost $14.4 billion to the Australian economy per annum, intimate partner violence is the leading contributor to death, disability and ill-health in Australian women aged 15-44 and sadly, one in five women experience harassment within the workplace.
Artists have come forward to speak of the #notON campaign, singer-songwriter Pete Murray stating the following, “As an industry with a huge fan base of young males, we are in a unique position to be able to start conversations about what is a real epidemic in our society.
“This isn’t a disease that’s hard to find a cure for—it’s simply about increasing awareness and saying that we refuse to live in a society that tolerates the kind of statistics that Australians have been horrified by over the last few months” he said.
We’re super proud to see such a great, diverse mix of Australian music industry types already on board, however now it’s your turn to spread the word, as the slogan says: “One word, No! Sing out against violence, be strong, be a voice against violence, be a rock, not a roll over…”
Artists Pledging Support For #notON:
Airling
Alpine
Bad//Dreems
Benny Walker
Bliss N Eso
Bloods
Boy & Bear
Busby Marou
Courtney Barnett
Dallas Frasca
Dubmarine
Emma Louise
Grenadiers
Hannah Cameron
Hermitude
HITS
Isabella Manfredi
Jackie Marshall
Jasmine Rae
Jimblah
Josh Pyke
Katie Noonan
Katie Wighton
Kaylens Rain
Kram
L-FRESH The Lion
Lurch & Chief
Matt Cornell
Melanie Dyer
Packwood
Pete Murray
Reece Mastin
RY
Sahara Beck
Sarah Belkner
Sietta
Spookyland
Steve Balbi
Suze De Marchi
The Basics
The Beards
The Choirboys
The Church
The Grates
The Herd
The Last Kinection
The Medics
Thelma Plum
Thirsty Merc
Tim Steward
Troy Cassar-Daley
Urthboy
Violent Soho
We All Want To
