The silent march of 70,000 people stretched for 3 kilometers along the length of Sydney Rd, a silent march to reflect upon the tragic loss of life of young Jillian Meagher snatched from the usually safe streets of Brunswick, murdered and dumped in a desolate grave in the darkness of the night.
No chanting, no shouting in grief, only the sound of shoes upon the bitumen.
Tens of thousands of people with love in their hearts and sadness in their eyes.
People from every walk of life, ordinary mums and dads, the young, the not so young and people who had experienced pain and suffering in their lives but had no way to express how they felt but in a public outpouring reflected in the murder of the young Irish woman.
I have never experienced such a public and silent display of the sadness that every person felt over this tragic event.
The politicians have called for increased surveillance by CCTV to monitor crime, but what we most desperately need is a positive change of attitude by men who wrongly believe that women can be treated so appallingly.
Certain sections of the Media continue to treat women as sexual objects and maybe this will be a wake up call for them but, more importantly that women have the right to be able to live a life without fear,to be able to walk the streets in safety and to be able to meet friends have a good time and walk home in safety. This is every women’s right!
