It is the first of five ‘red benches’ to be installed around the Cumberland LGA in a partnership between the council and the Red Rose Foundation, a national not-for-profit charity working to end domestic violence.
Mayor Steve Christou said the presence of the red bench in a public location helped keep the issue of domestic violence visible.
The first red bench was unveiled in Queensland in May last year with 186 rolled out since then and CEO Betty Taylor said they were aimed at encouraging people to keep talking about how to ‘change the ending’ of domestic violence, which was the Red Rose Foundation motto.
“We are especially concerned at the high number of domestic violence related deaths that occur each year through homicide and suicide,” she said.
“Tragically, many of these domestic violence related deaths have many predictive elements and are largely considered preventable.”
