Angie Bell (Moncrieff, Liberal National Party, Shadow Minister for Youth) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I recognise the extraordinary work of the Women's Legal Service Queensland and wish to commend their powerful community initiative known as the Epic Walk for domestic and family violence. The Epic Walk brings Queenslanders together to walk five kilometres from North Burleigh Surf Club in my electorate to Burleigh Headland in the member for Macpherson's electorate and back, standing in solidarity with women experiencing domestic and family violence and raising vital support for the free legal services WLSQ provides.

This walk is not just symbolic; it's necessary, because the reality is indeed confronting. In Australia, one in four women from the age of 15 has experienced physical or sexual violence by a current or former partner. In Queensland the situation is equally alarming. Domestic and family violence now accounts for more than half of all assault offences—56.9 per cent, which is up from just 24 per cent a few short years ago. In 2024, alone, there were more than 61,000 victims of assault recorded in Queensland, with the majority knowing their offender. These are not just statistics. These are the lives of women, children and families living in fear, often behind their own closed doors.

On the Gold Coast, we know the pressure is real and growing. Reports show increasing demand on police and services, with rising breaches of domestic violence orders and sexual offences placing enormous strain on those frontline responders, who we thank. This is why the work of organisations like Women's Legal Service Queensland is so critical. Every day they provide free legal advice, representation and support to women navigating some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable. This is why events like the Epic Walk really matter because they do three things. They raise awareness, funds, and, most importantly a collective voice that says, 'Enough is enough; the violence in our homes, our communities and our country will not be tolerated.'

To everyone who walked alongside us during that five-kilometre journey: thank you so very much. Thanks to my walking buddy Emily Jade O'Keefe for the fantastic conversation that we had around these very real issues.

We're not just walking for a cause; we are walking for every woman, who deserves to feel safe; for every child, who deserves to grow up free from fear; and for a future where domestic and family violence is no longer a defining challenge of our society. We all have a role to play, and today we stand with all families, women and children who are forced to live with this scourge, this historic wrong in our nation, in our modern society that must be righted.