Women accused of vandalising women’s’ rights statue
Women aged between 34 and 71 have been arrested and charged after a statue of a women’s rights campaigner was vandalized in Melbourne.
The statue of Australian Jewish woman Zelda D’Aprano was targeted earlier this month with black and red spray-painted messages written around the statue.
An apron with the words “Difficult woman” was also placed on the statue. A depiction of Ms. D’Aprano holding a sign reading “No more male and female ratios. Only single ratio”; Alleged vandals defaced the banner with black paint, images were posted online.
Born in Carlton, Ms D’Aprano was a persistent activist from the 1950s to the 1980s and, with five other women, founded the Women’s Action Committee in 1970, which led to the establishment of the Women’s Liberation Movement in Melbourne. His statue outside the Victorian Trades Hall was unveiled in 2023.
On March 6, police claimed that a group of seven women armed with spray paint and umbrellas to hide their faces targeted the statue.
Seven women have since been arrested; Jemima Demanuele, 34, appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday and was granted bail.
Six other women, aged between 34 and 71, were released on bail to appear in court in October.
They are all charged with criminal damage, riotous behavior in a public place, writing on the wall of a dwelling without consent, recklessly damaging part of a registered premises without permission and refusing to leave a planned public place after a warning.
Police said they were looking for an eighth suspect who was also part of an “activist group.”
A police spokesman said the vandalism happened around 11am on March 6.
“Police will allege they changed their clothes and raised their umbrellas in an attempt to block CCTV cameras and prevent them from being identified,” the spokesman said.
“The women then allegedly sprayed red spray paint on the statue and surrounding tiles.
“They were approached by nearby staff before they allegedly became aggressive and fled the area,” the spokesman said.
In addition to Ms Demanuele and another 34-year-old woman, two 48-year-old women and women aged 50, 55 and 71 were also charged.
The statue commemorates Ms. D’Aprano, who chained herself to the courthouse to protest gender inequality.
She was inducted into the Victorian Women’s Hall of Fame in 2001, awarded the Order of Australia in 2004 and died in 2018, aged 90.
