Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

At this moment, around the country, including here in Parliament House, thousands of people—in excess of 10,000 at Princes Park—are attending vigils to remember the life of Eurydice Dixon, whose tragic death in Melbourne last week has shocked us all. Her rape and murder has also reignited calls for action on gender equality and respect for women.

It is a tragic irony that I had planned to speak today about a local youth-led community group in my electorate known as GPAN, or Good People Act Now, which works to tackle gender-related and domestic violence issues. The GPAN project trains young people to become leaders amongst their peers, and equips them with the tools to challenge harmful beliefs about gender and relationships. GPAN focuses on peer-to-peer bystander action and teaches how to safely challenge sexism, stereotypes and disrespect, as they witness them. It also works to promote emotional maturity in men. This initiative is an innovative example of how young people can challenge the gender drivers of violence at a grassroots level.

I want to congratulate GPAN on receiving $100,000 from the Victorian Labor government to fund important programs that promote gender equality and an end to violence against women, and to develop their model in a way that can be replicated in other communities. These are young people taking action. Their work has never been more important and more called upon than it is at this poignant and tragic moment. As we all grieve for the loss of this bright young woman, and search for answers, our thoughts and the thoughts of GPAN are with Eurydice's family, friends and local community.

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