The Walk Against Family Violence is an annual event in the Melbourne CBD. It is a key event during the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, a global initiative dedicated to preventing and eradicating violence against women and girls.

The event has its origins in grassroots survivor advocacy, after which it was hosted for years by Safe Steps Family Violence Response Centre. Respect Victoria has hosted the Walk since 2023, with attendance growing year on year. In 2025 over 10,000 Victorians joined the event.

The goal of the campaign is to drive broad attendance at the Walk. In 2026 we’re partnering with Queen Victoria Women’s Centre and it’s resident organisations to highlight the connection of their work to violence prevention and their support of the Walk.

Transgender Remembrance Day

This year, the Walk shares the date with the Transgender Day of Remembrance; an international observance honouring the memory of transgender people whose lives have been cut short because of discrimination and gendered violence.  

As Joe Ball, Commissioner for LGBTIQA+ Communities said at the 2025 Walk: 

Violence against women and hatred of queer and trans people spring from the same poisoned well: a system that teaches men to prove themselves through dominance, that punishes softness, that shames vulnerability and that fears anyone who steps outside rigid gender norms.

When we stand together, no one stands alone; which is why programming at the Walk Against Family Violence is always thoughtfully inclusive of diverse lived experiences, and welcomes everyone wanting to take action to end family and gendered violence.

The Walk will begin at Birrarung Marr Hilltop (Birrarung Marr, Upper Terrace) and end at Treasury Gardens. This is the same route as the 2025 Walk. 

Find out more here: https://www.respectvictoria.vic.gov.au/campaigns/walk-against-family-violence-2026