The Australian Women's Register

Women Against Rape (WAR) was formed after the 1981 ANZAC Day March in Canberra where three hundred women demonstrated about and for the women raped in war. The Canberra group had been protesting at ANZAC Day Marches since 1979. The Adelaide women organised a rally in support of the women who had been arrested. With the aid of the International Women’s Day Collective, WAR undertook a campaign to raise awareness of this issue in Adelaide. The women wanted to march at the end of the ANZAC Day march but permission was not granted. They were advised they could march only after 12 pm. WAR met in Victoria Square and they laid wreaths at the War Memorial, which where then removed by police and bystanders. WAR’s campaign highlighted the fact that when they handed out a newssheet of their actions they were prevented due to the by-law preventing women from selling or distributing news. Women Against Rape was part of a International movement of women, protesting rape in war.