Candlelight bounced off the sombre faces of west Sydney locals on Monday night as they gathered to remember female victims of violence, and the death of one woman close to home.
Local police, domestic violence workers, and council staff joined the crowd of roughly 100 people at Blacktown's Village Green in memory of Linda Locke and the 33 other women who had died a violent death in Australia this year.
Last week Ms Locke from Quakers Hill became the second woman in one week in NSW to die in a suspected domestic violence incident.
Many years ago she had found the courage to escape her violent husband after decades of abuse, her daughter Elisha said.
But on Tuesday Ms Locke was admitted to hospital after being severely bashed in her home. Her allegedly violent partner Jamie Walker was charged with murder.
In the local Blacktown government area 1966 incidents of domestic violence assaults were reported in 2014, according to police data.
Blacktown state MP John Robertson, who organised the vigil with the local council, said the gesture was not simply about remembrance but taking action.
#noexcuse4dv pic.twitter.com/v47uAaU6Qy— Jessica Carlo (@jessscarlo) May 4, 2015
"It's for Linda and the other 33 women, but it's about saying we need to make sure that we take the necessary steps to stop the problem," Mr Robertson told Fairfax Media before attending the vigil.
"We need to be pushing for specialist domestic violence courts and reinstating funding for women's-only refuges to protect victims of [domestic violence]," he said.
More funding was needed for additional domestic violence officers at local police stations, Mr Robertson added.
