Purple pose highlights message of respect

If you're out and about in Corrimal on a Friday and you see residents and retailers in purple, the choice of colour is probably not an accident. 

Rotary Corrimal has launched its Purple Friday initiative in 2026, turning local businesses into year-round advocates for respectful relationships with a visible splash of purple every Friday.

The action was prompted by the global 16 Days of Activism, a period which ended just before Christmas, but for the Corrimal community, the momentum is only just beginning. 

Rotary Corrimal president Linda Bunclark said the campaign was about community and people actively speaking out against violence rather than just standing by.

“We all say 'oh yeah, he treats her badly,' but we want to empower people in those situations and their families to actually find someone who will listen and speak out," Linda said.

The 16 Days of Activism, which began on November 25, is a global campaign to end gender-based violence. In 2025, the local campaign called attention to the disturbing reality of domestic, family and intimate partner violence in Australia. In 2025, an average of one woman a week was killed by a current or former partner. 

Inspired by the efforts of the Rotary Club of Ballina-on-Richmond, Rotary Corrimal wants to help victims access support before violence escalates, with visible support from their communities – their hairdressers, bakers and neighbours wearing purple T-shirts to say no to violence, and yes to healthy relationships.

"We want to step back from the crisis and focus on the community level to help prevent violence before it escalates," Linda says. ''By raising awareness through things like Purple Friday, we hope to eventually reduce the level of violence that leads to these tragic outcomes.

“To prevent women from getting murdered, we need to come back to the community level where people in your family feel empowered to actually call it out if they see someone being treated badly."

Local efforts to raise awareness for domestic and family violence are led regularly by organisations like Illawarra Women’s Health Centre, Women Illawarra and Healthy Illawarra Men, with support from council members. Rotary aims to improve lives worldwide, and Corrimal Rotary wants to do its bit by engaging the community and collaborating with services to help those affected by domestic and family violence.

"We're supporting the Illawarra clubs in supporting Women Illawarra and SAHSSI, because part of the domestic violence fundraising means we can give them money to do more of their face-to-face work,'' Linda said. ''While there is a formal system involving police and health, these organisations are the ones on the ground dealing with the issue right now.”

To find out more, meet the Rotary Club of Corrimal outside Service NSW in Corrimal for their monthly free community BBQ, held on the first Friday of each month. Official rotary purple shirts are available online and businesses can get in touch by calling 0403 732 505 or emailing secretary@corrimalrotary.org.au to get involved with Purple Fridays.