Sexual assault and violence against women has reached an intolerable point and the surfing community is now calling for a change in behaviour and culture that breaks the silence, stigma, and risk that comes from speaking out.
This Sunday, 1 November people are gathering for a paddle out, and shore action, gathering at Clarkes Beach carpark in Byron Bay at 11am to show they are committed to ending gendered violence.
Surfer, Ruby Southwell, said that it is time for the surfing community of Byron and surf culture to show they are committed to changing the surf culture that stops women and girls from speaking up.
Wiping out sexism in surf culture
‘We are gathering as a community to discuss the issue, the solutions, and to define a way forward that demands accountability for the safety and equality of women, men, and marginalised groups in the surfing community,’ she told The Echo.
‘We demand a change in culture that no longer allows people or systems to benefit from violence against women. A reckoning takes place in the community, not online.
‘We need to understand that the issue of gendered violence is real, it is real life. And we all live through gendered violence every day as if it is normal. I have stepped up because every single woman in my life has several stories of violence at the hands of men. Stories that are brushed aside with excuses. We are done with accepting these excuses, they aren’t ours, and they have no place in surfing. It is time to be unified, to normalise a culture that never excuses harm to women and girls,’ she says.
High profile surfers including world champions Pauline Menczer and Lauren Hill will lead the event.
‘We’re paddling out as a community concerned about the safety of women and girls in surfing. Equal prize money was a step toward closing the gender gap. But women and girls still face assault, intimidation, and discrimination. We’re here to say what was tolerated in the past is no longer acceptable. No more excuses. We want safe and inclusive surfing spaces for the next generations,’ Lauren told The Echo.
All communities are encouraged to attend. If you are a confident water person, bring your wettie and your board, if you are a supporter from the shore there is a shoreline action in unison with the paddle out.
Join the surf community at Clarkes Beach to demand an end to excusing, or being silent about, violence against women and children.
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