Enough is Enough: Where It Began and Why It Must Continue

Enough is Enough did not begin as a campaign idea or a strategic plan. It began with heartbreak.

In August 2025, our community was shaken by the killing of a woman in our own region by someone she knew. The shock rippled through the Hills in a way that felt both intimate and confronting. This was not a distant headline or a statistic from elsewhere; it was a loss that touched our own networks and reminded us that partner violence is not confined to particular postcodes or stereotypes. It happens in communities that also hold playgroups, book clubs, sporting clubs and school fairs. It happens in places that outwardly look connected and safe.

In the days that followed, conversations unfolded quietly but urgently. Women spoke about fear, about warning signs that are often only clear in hindsight, and about systems that can feel confusing or inaccessible when someone is in crisis. Many reflected on isolation — not just the loneliness that can accompany early motherhood or moving to a new area, but the more deliberate and insidious isolation that can occur within abusive relationships, where connection is gradually stripped away until someone feels entirely alone.

For more than a decade, Mums of the Hills has worked to reduce social isolation for mothers in the Yarra Ranges by building connection intentionally through events, workshops, running groups, creative nights and shared conversations. What became clearer in that moment was that isolation is not always accidental or circumstantial. In the context of partner violence, it is often a method of control that separates someone from friends, family, financial independence and community support. Recognising this deepened our understanding of prevention. Connection is not simply a social good; it is protective. When isolation is used as a tactic of abuse, strengthening community ties becomes part of the solution.

Alongside Single Mums of the Hills and Mountain Men, we released a joint statement calling on our community to say what so many were already feeling: enough. Enough of silence, enough of minimising, and enough of assuming that this is someone else’s responsibility. We invited community leaders, clubs, businesses and organisations to stand publicly against partner violence and to commit to learning how to recognise, respond and refer when someone may be experiencing harm.

The response was thoughtful and considered. People wanted to help, but they also wanted to understand how to help well. They asked what prevention looks like in a small, close-knit community where relationships overlap and privacy can feel complicated. They wanted tools, language and clarity.

From the outset, Enough is Enough was never about outrage alone. It was about prevention and about building the kind of informed and connected community where violence is less likely to take root and more likely to be challenged early. It was about equipping people not as experts, but as neighbours who feel confident enough to notice concerning behaviour, ask careful questions, offer support and connect someone with appropriate services.

As the months passed, other priorities inevitably surfaced. Community life is layered and demanding, and the work of running programs, supporting families and responding to everyday needs continued. Yet the core truth that sparked Enough is Enough has not changed. The conditions that allow violence to occur do not dissolve simply because public attention shifts.

Prevention requires sustained effort, shared responsibility and a willingness to stay engaged beyond the initial moment of collective grief.

UN Women Australia 2026 International Women’s Day theme, “Balance the Scales

UN Women Australia’s 2026 International Women’s Day theme is “Balance the Scales,”. The connection with our campaign feels both natural and urgent. Balancing the scales speaks to justice, but justice is not limited to courtrooms or conviction rates. It includes whether women feel safe speaking about their experiences, whether systems respond with dignity and clarity, and whether prevention is adequately resourced and prioritised. It also encompasses whether communities actively challenge the cultural norms and power imbalances that allow violence to persist.

When the scales are unbalanced, the weight is carried by women and children in ways that are often invisible to others. That weight can appear as fear, economic dependence, stigma, disbelief or long waits for services. Balancing the scales therefore requires more than annual acknowledgement or symbolic gestures; it calls for deliberate, sustained advocacy that addresses both immediate responses and long-term cultural change.

Enough is Enough began with grief, but it was sustained by collaboration and courage. It demonstrated that our community is capable of standing together, naming violence clearly and choosing prevention over complacency. What it requires now is renewed structure and shared ownership.

Want to be Involved?

If we are serious about safety, justice and equality in our own region, then this work needs a foundation that extends beyond a single campaign. A dedicated working group can provide continuity and direction. Researchers and academics can help ground our advocacy in evidence. Writers and communicators can ensure that stories are told with care and responsibility. Activists and organisers can translate concern into coordinated action. Practitioners working in legal, health and social services can guide us toward practical and ethical approaches. Women with lived experience must remain central to shaping the direction of this work so that it reflects reality rather than abstraction.

Balance the Scales offers a powerful national frame, but its meaning will ultimately be shaped by what happens in local communities like ours. We have seen firsthand how quickly tragedy can expose the fragility of safety. We have also seen how connection, when strengthened intentionally, can become one of the most powerful protective factors a community possesses.

Enough is Enough was never about anger for its own sake. It was about drawing a clear line and affirming that safety, dignity and equality are not negotiable values. That conviction remains.

The question before us is whether we are prepared to deepen and sustain this work, not only in response to tragedy but as an ongoing commitment to prevention. If we believe that justice should be accessible, that equality should be lived rather than stated, and that community connection can save lives, then the next step is to organise with intention and persistence.

Enough is Enough is not finished. It is evolving. If you’d like to join the working group, please reach out via the form below.