Australia March 4 Justice: Thousands March Against Sexual Assault
Course Connections:
How has the changing nature of media as a platform for human interaction from print/TV internet/social media affect politics, economic, and social affairs?
The #March4Justice marches were held in more than 40 Australian cities, the biggest rally was in Canberra which is the capital of Australia. Women are marching, protesting against sexual abuse and harassment that is happening in the country: in Canberra, most of the protesters gathered around parliament. Brittany Higgers,who is a former politician aide, said that she was raped in the Parliamentary House in 2019 by one of her colleagues. Brittany Higgers states that “if it can happen in the Parliament House, then it can truly happen anywhere”, indicating that if sexual assault happened to her then it can surely happen to other people inside and outside the Australian Parliament. The Prime Minister, Scott Morrison declined to join the protest, and instead invited a group of organizers to meet with him in the office. The organizers refused saying that “we have already come up to the front door, now it's up to the government to cross the threshold and come to us. We will not be meeting behind the doors'' in which the prime minister responded saying that “we must not let our frustration with the failure to achieve so many of the results we would hope for undermine the unity needed to continue our shared progress”. His response has been criticized by many people. As time is moving on many women have stopped supporting the center-right Liberal Party in which Scott Morrison is leader. This is due to the many assaults that have been happening in parliament which he is aware of but has not taken action towards this problem. The opposing leader Anthony Albanese, has accused the prime minister of ignoring the rail calls. Australia's next federal elections are going to be held in May 2022, the protests that are happening in Australia show that women are tired of being assaulted and are willing to stand up and speak. This issue happening in Australia connects to the course theme “how has the changing nature of media as a platform for human interaction from print/TV internet/social media affect politics, economic, and social affairs?”. The course theme connects to the protests happening in Australia because many people in Australia are using their social media as well as the rallies to protest against the parliament for their actions against women. The social media’s help raise more awareness in this issue and help people understand what is happening in the Australian parliament. Along with this people are starting to not support the Liberal Party because more people are raising their voices through social media along with the protest.
Discussion Questions:
How do you think the Liberal Party is being impacted by the protest?
What is the downside and upside of peaceful protest? Why do you think so?
Sources:
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-australia-56406043
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/15/world/australia/australia-women-marches.html
https://www.dw.com/en/australia-women-protest-against-sexual-violence-and-inequality/a-56872497
The Liberal Party seems to have been negatively impacted by the protest, as the Scott Morrison's words and actions have been viewed as actions opposing the movement against sexual assault. Due to Morrison's lack of determination to address the problem, people are stopping their support for the Liberal Party in an attempt to get the Party, which Morrison is a party of, to pay attention to their issue. The lack of a positive response to a movement against a major problem has caused the Liberal Party to be viewed as a party unable to address major issues, and as a result, many are refusing to continuing supporting the Liberal Party.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jayden, Scott Morrison’s words and actions against the peaceful protests have negatively affected the Liberal Party. His inability to handle the ongoing situation within the parliament, affects how the nation views him as a leader along with the Liberal party.
DeleteThe upside of a peaceful protests is that, obviously, its peaceful. As long as it isn't met with force, peaceful protests rarely end up in injury or violence. Peaceful protests have been prominent around the world, and ideologies following those of people such as Gandhi have become spread world wide. However, a popular belief that peaceful protests aren't as effective as other methods of actions stands. In the face of a oppressive government or a problem where ethics and morals are completely ignored, peaceful protests might not be enough to sway the source of the problem and create a solution.
ReplyDeleteI see what Harish is saying. However, peaceful protests can still be effective, such as boycotting a product or peacefully disobeying a government policy. The Liberal party is ineffective which causes people to protest it then leave it, which diminishes their power. The main downside like Harish said, is that it doesn't shock the government enough, but if it keeps happening, the government will be shocked because they will use violence against the protesters.
DeleteThe upsides of the protest are very obvious. Raising awareness and demanding change of a horrible issue is always necessary. I personally don't think there is any down side. This is because some groups/parties will have worse responses to the protests and not show support, losing supporters for themselves. This protest raises awareness, demands change, and makes people realize that some people in power are taking the wrong stance.
ReplyDeletePeaceful protests allow people to raise widespread awareness about particular issues and express discontent with the government in a safe and orderly way. They also bring attention to different causes without harming anyone and give the causes a positive reputation, because they become associated with peace and orderly conduct. However, peaceful protests alone do not change policies or fix systemic issues. They can contribute to larger movements that slowly bring about change in a gradual way, but governments often do not feel actual pressure to make change unless a movement begins to pose more tangible threats (such as protests turning into riots, or certain political factions gaining power and traction).
ReplyDeleteI think that the upsides of peaceful protests are just that as the term suggests, peaceful as they bring awareness to certain issues that need that awareness. However, I think that the downside of peaceful protests also lie in the peaceful aspect of them. Since they are peaceful they often get overlooked and don't create large scale change quickly.
ReplyDeleteScott Morrison's actions have projected a negative tone across the Liberal Party. His opposition to the movement itself, reflects poorly on what they stand for. Not supporting the movement essentially undermines the struggles many people went through and leaves citizens feeling unheard. In addition, it reflects a lack of communication and trust between the government and citizens which can lead to issues in the future.
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ReplyDeleteThe Liberal Party is being negatively impacted by the protests and losing the support of female voters. The Party seems to not care about the issue of sexual assault against women with their lack of action. The Party seems to be ignoring the issue and is the reason why there is growing hatred and frustration among the people due to the statements made by Scott Morrison.
I believe that there are no downsides to a peaceful protest, only upsides. Peaceful protests allow people to express themselves in a calm, controlled, organized manner. This helps bring awareness to issues and helps society realize what changes need to happen. When people protest peacefully, they give a chance for other people to listen which might not happen in violent protests.
The Liberal Party is losing support because of their lack of regard to the problems. The PM, Scott Morrison, seems to not care about the sexual assaults happening in the Parliament. This is a very huge issue because as prime minister, you should pay attention and defend and support all your people, including women. I don't think there is a downside of peaceful protests as they are peaceful and therefore unlikely to be painted by the media as "violent" and "rude." Peaceful protests brings awareness to the issue and it's a way to demonstrate to the government about the views of the people.
ReplyDeleteSome of the upsides of peaceful protests is that there is little to no violence within the protesters. I also feel like messages get sent better when not causing violence. A downside can be the violence among the non protesters. A lot of people who retaliate against the protests tend to use violence such as rubber bullets or tear gas. This leaves the protests with out any form of protection.
ReplyDeleteThere are many upsides to peaceful protesting. There is considerably no violence within the protesters. More importantly, I think by having a peaceful protest, the message of the protests stands out. However, there can be downsides. There could be outside forces causing violence and chaos, not only making it harder for the message to come across but it also puts the peaceful protestors in danger.
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