By Lachlan Mitchell
Phil Cleary, a Women’s rights advocate, will be the keynote speaker at an event to address the issue of family violence in the community.
The free event, at the Cardinia Cultural Centre on 1 June, will target sporting clubs and other elements of society to ensure a safe and inclusive communities free of violence and abuse.
Cleary was directly affected by domestic trauma and abuse when his sister Vicki was killed by her ex-boyfriend in 1987.
“I’d hope that sporting clubs can understand, they can be major players in building good attitudes in the community around the place of women,” Cleary explained.
“Sporting clubs have a fairly significant role in dealing with the question of violence with women.
“They have a role to play in dealing with violence against women. They do that by changing the attitudes of young men to the position of women in the world.
“Historically sporting has been ‘blokey’ centres, where all sort of attitudes could flourish. In the modern-setting football clubs and sporting clubs have embraced, women.
“They now have an opportunity to explore respectful relationships, and build more enlightened views about the place of women and the rights and place of women to show they are men’s equal.”
The rise of women’s teams in local sporting culture provides new opportunities for men to re-write the script.
“Women’s football has changed the story,” Cleary said.
“Instead of women actually being WAGs they are actually footballers. In the process boys and men get to see women more as their equal.
“Men are starting to see that women can do what men have done and women have a place in their world.”
Phil’s sister Vicki was stabbed by her ex-boyfriend four times outside a kindergarten where she worked.
The trial of her ex-boyfriend painted Vicki as the victim in the case. In the eyes of the court Vicki had provoked her killer by leaving him.
Vicki’s killer served only three years and 11 months before his release in 1991.
“When I went to the court room and I heard the story of women’s rights it was appalling. My sister’s rights were trashed in that court-room by a not-guilty to murder verdict,” Cleary said.
“That verdict said my sister had somehow provoked that man, to stab her to death. Outside her place of work, it would rate as one of the most-outrageous verdicts in Australian criminal history.
“The bigger story was that was a consistent view of the courts. The court and jury had been doing this and were consistently doing this for years.
“My sister was punished for leaving a bad-man.
“Because of the verdict of that courtroom I said we have to change the attitudes, that women don’t have the right to leave a man.”
Phil took his plight for women’s right to the top, running and securing a seat in parliament in 1992. Cleary took the seat of Willis by election after former Prime Minister Bob Hawke resigned.
“There is no doubt that attitudes have changed over the past 40-years. Men are talking about respectful relationships,” Cleary explained.
“People will not tolerate men making sexist or misogynist on a ground or on a football field, towards female supporters or female umpires.
“Things are definitely changing in society towards women and violence towards women. Of course, the violence is continuing and there are more men who part of the campaign.
“What we are going in Cardinia is a sign of the progress we are making in society.
The 1 June event – under the Together We Can banner – is free and open to all. Matt Tyler will also speak on Unpacking The Man Box. Booking are essential and can made at: bit.ly/3yvF3VA
