Can Cairns Reclaim the Night for safety this Halloween
Tonight marks the 32nd anniversary of an organised movement to keep the streets safe for our women and children rather than asking women and children to stay indoors for their own safety.
All over the world, the last Friday in October is, Reclaim The Night. This year it just happens to fall on Halloween. Cairns tonight celebrates Halloween and Reclaim the night by offering a free dance party (child friendly and family focused) at Foggarty Park, Cairns Esplanade (Pier end). Hosted and facilitated by Family Planning Queensland’s (FPQ) Sexual Assault Counselling service, the evening is sure to be a winner.
From 5 to 9 pm, there are prizes for the best Halloween costume and goodie (Trick or Treat) bags (or are they called “Baddie” bags on Halloween) to the first 100 participants. Air brush face painting (now that is uber cool), food and dance demos, why would you stay indoors tonight. Reclaim the Night and take the family to the safety of Foggarty Park.
Reclaim the Night march – a peaceful demonstration against men’s sexual violence toward women and children. Traditionally the march has been a women’s only space – a space for healing and solidarity. Interestingly enough, while reported sexual assaults increase, the marches have been reducing in numbers over recent years.
Reclaim the Night began in Rome in 1976 as an organized reaction to astronomical figures of reported rapes (16000 per annum). Marches followed in 1977 in West Germany and in England. In Leeds (U.K) women marched against the curfews imposed against them because of the ‘Ripper Murders’. Angered by police advice to stay indoors, they marched with torches through the town and challenged men in the street, asking them where they were at the time the “Ripper” killed Jacqueline Hill. Support marches occurred simultaneously in 11 towns, from Manchester to Soho.
‘Take Back the Night’ marches in the USA were first held in 1978 as a symbolic statement of commitment to stopping the tide of violence against women and a demand that perpetrators be held responsible for their actions and be made to change.
Women from Ireland, India, Canada, Germany and Holland have also marched through their cities to Reclaim the Night.
In Australia, Reclaim the Night marches were first held in 1978.
From: Calling Non-Violent Men to Reclaim the Knight, by Megan Bayliss, 2006
Tonight marks the 32nd anniversary of the Reclaim the Night movement. Why, after 32 years of social “safety” control of women and children, are we still often asked to stay indoors at night time? Imaginif has zero tolerance for violence or control. Cairns has a very low tolerance and we have some marvellous groups working to end crime and overcome fear of crime. These groups will be representative at FPQ’s Halloween Dance Party this evening. This town will Reclaim the Night by dancing in the streets and looking after each other. Will you show your face and hand as supporting NO MORE SEXUAL VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND CHILDREN.
Teddy Tour: FPQ was happy to have the Teddy Tour display at the Halloween Dance Party. I was organised to take the Teddies down for the street dancing but there has been a slight change to my family life. Remember when I had to disappear to Brisbane because my foster children’s mother died? There is a memorial service for the kids Mum tomorrow morning on the Tablelands and I am required to do family stuff with them this evening. Dependent on time I have to leave for the Tablelands this afternoon, I may not even get to the park to settle the teddies and their story tags. At the Crafty Survivors group this morning, I will be encouraging the participants to take over and to go to the Dance Party with the Teddies. If I am unable to attend at all, I will be there is spirit. THANK YOU to FPQ for hosting a great idea and for letting the Teddies came and dance the night away too.
Related articles by Megan Bayliss:
Suffolk Killer: YOU Stay off the Streets.
Calling Non-Violent Men to Reclaim the Knight
Reclaim the Night: An Electronic March for Women
The Negative Effect of Globalization on Rape
Megan Bayliss, child protection advocate, leaves Cairns
Megan Bayliss is set to leave Cairns within a month. Imaginif house and business on the market, Megan is leaving whether there is a sale or not (Jade will stay until the house is sold). All existing pieces of child protection work will be completed and supervisees will be refeered to either Birdwing Therapies or another professional supervisor. Imaginif is taking NO NEW appointments or work.
Megan is going to help Jade (her daughter) with her new online designer Consign It Baby clothes business and FINALLY pursue the creative arts that she has been wanting to pursue for some time (the Bitssy book is being turned into a play) and serious Grandma crafts are on Megan’s horizon.
A MONSTER garage sale is coming up within the next few weeks so keep your eye on the blog for details. Most furniture and tools of the child protection trade will be sold. If the business sells within the month, the new owner will inherit Megan’s extensive magic bag of work tools. This is a bargain for the potential owner of Imaginif. If the house sells, it is an option to sell it fully furnished.
Buy yourself a home, a lifestyle and a work from home job. The Imaginif business is FREE to you if you buy our beautiful Old Queenslander in Cairns, and you are interested in turning Imaginif into whatever work from home business you desire. Otherwise, make me an offer on the business or just the websites.
Beautiful Old Queenslander House for Sale in Cairns
Imaginif for sale
Imaginif for sale
Thank you to each of you that partnered and worked with me over the many years I have been in Cairns. You will be sorely missed. To my wonderful, wonderful clients that have taught me more than all my formal study at university and in post graduate courses: you guys are my inspiration. Thank you.
There will be no farewell parties. I am not fond of goodbyes, just, “see you soon and take care.”
I will continue to blog until I leave or the websites sell. If websites do not sell, I will resume blogging at Imaginif once I am settled and have the dreaded internet connections sorted!
Beautiful old Queenslander house for sale in Cairns
Imaginif is for sale and a sea change is in the air.
Megan is a new grandmother and is in love with her grand daughter. Megan’s grand daughter and her parents (Megan’s daughter, Jade and her husband) are moving to South East Queensland, and therefore…so too is Megan (and Paul and Boy). So, our
Beautiful Old Queenslander home in
James St, Cairns
(just five minutes from the City Centre and
Cairns Esplanade)
is now for private sale by owner
View from the back, Edward St
Buy yourself a beautiful and renovated piece of Queensland history and live in tropical heaven (Cairns is on the Great Barrier Reef in Far North Queensland). Renown for its relaxed and tropical living, Cairns is a much sort after place for families to live in because we still have water, locally grown fresh produce and nature (Cairns is where the rainforest meets the ocean). Cairns is a sustainable place to live.
Price: $695,000.00
Bedrooms: 2 upstairs, 6 downstairs (seven if you count the self contained office that I use; it is the size of a studio/granny flat)
Bathrooms: 3 (one upstairs, one downstairs, one in office) with plumbing for another toilet on downstairs side veranda.
Kitchens: 2, one downstairs, one upstairs (a gorgeous open air kitchen, click it to see the pics).
Offices: 3, one fully self contained and totally separate and private from rest of house, one downstairs acts as entry to upstairs house and one upstairs off inside dining room.
Land Area: the great Australian dream of the 1/4 acre block or 1007 sq mtrs.
Fenced: Fully fenced and private with a separate kiddie friendly side garden area that has its own front gate access.
Entertaining: Wood barbecue and outdoor garden seat beside creek. HUGE verandas both upstairs and down.
Verandas: To die for! We live on our upstairs verandas – even have the TV, stereo and couches on the creek view side veranda.
Location: 30 James St, North Cairns. Two street entry; from Edward St at rear. Only four other homes (one is a business, Rainflowers and Wedding Bells Florist) in the block.
Other Sustainable Features:
- Fruit trees galore (citrus and tropical)
- Chook (chicken) run (no chooks presently because we have dogs)
- Vegetable patch
- Solar hot water
- No air conditioning because of HUGE wrap around verandas and open style plan of the Queenslander
- Ceiling fans in some rooms
- Frog pond
- Tropical and drought resistant established gardens
- Right beside creek and a nature walk (walk all the way through to The Lakes Cairns Resort and Spa on Greenslopes St)
- Large enough to have extended family live together (or live up and rent down), yet separately, and still have a private entry work from home office.
Our house for sale in Cairns is listed on owner.com.au: take a look at the other Cairns listings. Buy yourself a dream home in a dream location. Option: Buy the house with the business, Imaginif Pty Ltd (at no extra cost to home buyer if interested), and buy a home, lifestyle, a network, a job and a service.
30 James St, North Cairns, is a relaxed oasis in a city environment. A hidden city gem, make yourself her keeper.
Contact me for more details. This post will be updated as I have more pictures.
Discover Cairns and fall so in love that you just have to live here:
Cairns Today. – The Cairns Tourism website
Cairns Attractions
Cairns Regional Council
No more sex in the park, in front of everyone
Would you have sex in public? Not me. No way. Consensual sex is private and great. Unconsensual sex is unacceptable and deserves to be public: very public. Bust the secret and you take away the power of the abuser or sex predator.
To support the ending of sexual violence against women and children, Imaginif and The Teddy Tour are taking our sex stories (tags on Teddies) to the Cairns Esplanade.
Reclaim the Night is an international, and annual, peaceful protest against men’s sexual violence toward women and children. Held every year on the last Friday in October, this year it falls on Halloween. To highlight that women and children have the right to sexual safety, everywhere, Family Planning Queensland’s sexual assault counselling service has organised a free to public dance party in Foggarty Park (5-9pm).
Imaginif was going to host The Teddy Tour at Imaginif House, but, we have permission from FPQ’s Sexual Assault Counselling service to take the Teddies to the public Dance Party.
Come and join, FPQ, The Teddy Tour and local Cairns adults and children (child friendly event) willing to stand up and be counted against sexual violence.
When: 5 to 9 PM Friday 31st October, 2008 (Halloween).
Where: Foggerty Park, Cairns Esplanade.
Who for: Suitable for children and focused on children. The Teddy Tags are appropriate and will not traumatise kids. Sex or sexual violence is not talked about. We want supportive adults too, so if you are a Reclaim the Night supporter, believe in safety of women and children or want to stand against sexual violence, we want you at the Halloween dance party.
Why: To publicly combine voices against sexual violence. Good sex is private by choice. Bad sex is a secret forced upon people. Make bad sex public! Secrets are wrong. Come and read the Teddies story tags filled in by global survivors of sexual violence.
Reclaim your right to a night free of secrets. This community supports you in saying “NO” to sexual violence against women and children.
Prizes for the best dressed Halloween costume.
Family Planning Queensland and Imaginif support child protection and keeping kids safe.
Wipe Out Sexual Violence.
Are you a survivor of sexual violence? Male, female, no matter when it happened or what it was (touch through to rape), you can fill in an anonymous Story Tag and have a Teddy represent you.
Fill in your anonymous story tag here
(names and emails removed prior to tags being pinned to Teddies)
The task of Adolescence is separation
According to life span theorists, each different life span age grouping has different tasks. Tasks need to be successfully met for the individual to psychologically mature into the next life span group. If tasks are not completed then the individual loses psychological growth continuity and will stay stuck in that psychological age until somebody helps them to master the tasks.
Adolescence has eight distinct tasks that must be met, all polarising around the creation of an adult identity. Reducing those eight tasks into an easy to remember reminder for parents, the major task of adolescence is SEPARATION.
This morning we hailed farewell to childhood in this home. My youngest child became a teenager. True to the task of adolescence, he has opted to have a birthday party, at outdoor Laser Tag….”Alone, thanks Mum”. How is that for separation? He turns 13 and I am forgotten, left in the kitchen, while he reins upon his sweaty, field gun throne of self chosen party food: chocolate and Coke.
I could chose to constipate the process and insist that the boys party at home prior to laser tag or I could go to Laser Tag with them all and fuss and bother and sing. I know that no matter what I do, Boy will be embarrassed by me and give me a mouth full of disrespect. Why? Because the task of adolescence is separation and my son is being an absolutely developmentally normal teenager…he is separating for me.
Boy is an outdoor Laser Tag freak. We gave him a much coveted CamelBak (yes, that’s him, and it, in all the pics) so that he can re hydrate while pulling the trigger on other poor unsuspecting civilians. A serious player, he usually plays three games in a single day on the weekend. ONLY because it is his birthday is he sacrificing a game for his less well prepared mates. And, because of the sacrifice, he demands compensation of the most excellent party food there is. Boy picked out his own food and has packed the esky as well (I repacked it 
in terror of him leaving something pretentiously healthy out). To the parents of those militant teens joining the Laser Tag party today….I am so sorry, so very sorry, but, as a therapist, I fully understand that the task of adolescence is separation and that there is NO WAY I am going to get into unhelpful conflict over birthday party food stand in the way of Boy’s psychological advancement through adolescence.
Happy 13th birthday Boy. No matter how well you adjust to the tasks of adolescence, you will remain the baby of the family for ever.
