The Blacktown City Centre has been decorated with a colourful knitted art installation as part of the annual campaign to raise awareness of domestic and family violence.
Blacktown City Council officially launched its ‘Knit Bomb’ project last week to highlight the scourge of domestic and family violence in the lead up to the UN Women’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.
This year marks the third year of the project, with thousands of knitted squares adorning key landmarks in Blacktown, Mt Druitt and Riverstone over the coming weeks.
The campaign is spearheaded by Council’s Women’s Advisory Committee, with the Blacktown Library Knitting Group and more than 70 community knitters dedicating hours of their time creating the squares at home during lockdown.
This year, Council is delighted to feature an incredible teapot installation, created by inmates at Parklea Correctional Centre and decorated with knitted hearts.
The piece aims to be a conversation starter, with the teapot and teacups symbolising “mending hearts over a cup of tea”.
Vibrant knitted pieces have been installed on trees, poles, benches and railing posts around the Blacktown City Centre, with Blacktown, Mount Druitt and Riverstone Police Stations also being ‘knit bombed’.
The project is part of Council’s long-standing commitment in condemning domestic and family violence in Blacktown City, which unfortunately has the one of the highest incidence of reported domestic assault in NSW.
Women fleeing domestic and family violence have faced added challenges during the past two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, with service providers experiencing a spike in calls from women seeking an escape.
This spike has prompted the United Nations to label this issue a “shadow pandemic” with an urgent need for government action and funding.
Council’s Women’s Advisory Committee is dedicated to supporting those affected by this violence and is currently working with families of victims who have lost their lives to develop a Domestic and Family Violence Memorial Garden.
The memorial garden will be located at Blacktown Showground and will provide a place of comfort and healing that reflects the experience of those affected.
The knitted pieces will later be washed and sewn into blankets to be donated to local services, hospitals, senior’s groups and homeless people in the local community.
Last year, blankets were donated to the Birthing Unit at Blacktown Hospital, Quakers Hillside Nursing ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾, One Meal in Blacktown and the Blacktown City Animal Holding Facility.
The global 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence will begin on November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and conclude on Human Rights Day on December 10.
During these 16 days, Council, in partnership with the Outer West Domestic Violence Network, will celebrate 16 local heroes who are making a difference to gender equity in Blacktown City. Their stories will be posted to Council’s Facebook pages over the coming week.
Picture: The Harman Foundation’s Harinder Kaur and Maninder Singh (far left and far right) with Parklea Correctional Centre’s Michael Pugsley, Governor Paul Baker and Collen Hopwood in front of Blacktown Council’s Knit Bomb installation.
