Volunteer-led organisation What Were You Wearing Australia's (WWYW) coordinated several 'No More' public rallies across Australia earlier this month.

The rallies, held over the weekend of April 18-19, supported the work of survivors of sexual violence who seek to improve consent education and challenge victim-blaming attitudes that organisers say are plaguing Australian society.

Guided by the message “Silence Feeds Violence,” WWYW puts survivor voices at the centre of its work, a spokesperson said.

A rally in Dubbo at lunchtime on Sunday, April 19, was one those organised. Others also took place across the weekend at Wollongong, Sydney, Tamworth, and the Central Coast.

According to Sarah Williams, CEO of WWYW, a charity dedicated to ending domestic, family, and sexual violence, confronting victim-blaming attitudes is an essential step in not only reducing stigma and supporting survivor recovery, but also in making tangible and sustainable change.

“Sexual violence thrives in silence and stigma,” Ms Williams says.

“When survivors are asked what they were wearing, where they were, or what they were doing, the focus is placed on the survivor instead of the perpetrator responsible. Clothing is not consent. No outfit, situation or circumstance ever invites sexual assault.”

Ms Williams noted that sexual assault, harassment, and drink spiking are not isolated incidents, they occur across nightlife, festivals, workplaces, and community environments. Research highlights ongoing gaps in community knowledge, with only two in five (42 per cent) young Australians reporting that consent education was covered well in sex education programs, reinforcing the need for more comprehensive education across schools and communities, she said.

WWYW is actively driving national awareness of sexual violence prevention and survivor support across Australia, guided by the belief that meaningful cultural change requires both education and collective action, hence the recent rallies.