She Matters memorial to women who allegedly died by violence defaced in Melbourne's Hosier Lane
The She Matters memorial in Hosier Lane has been vandalised a week out from a planned vigil for Mothers Day. (Supplied)
In short:
A mural of women who have allegedly died because of violence has been vandalised in Melbourne's renowned street art laneway, Hosier Lane.
The "She Matters" mural has had the words "war on men" painted across the faces of the women depicted in the memorial.
What's next?
Volunteers are gathering in Hosier Lane replacing all the damaged pictures and applying graffiti protection paint to try to preserve it from further damage.
A mural in Melbourne's CBD honouring women who have allegedly died as a result of predominantly male violence has been defaced.
The "She Matters" mural bearing the names, pictures and artistic images of more than 100 Australian women who were allegedly murdered or died due to violence has been spray-painted with the words "war on men".
The memorial was erected in the street art space, Hosier Lane, on International Women's Day in 2024 and has been maintained by The Red Hearts Campaign and Australian Femicide Watch founder Sherele Moody, who said she had been making repairs and adding new photos to the mural "pretty much weekly".
She said she received calls and photos of the damage on Friday, describing the vandalism as abhorrent and soul destroying.
"I know most of the families who have victims on that wall and it's just heartbreaking for me to know that someone thought that these people were so insignificant that they could write that on top of it," Ms Moody said.
Sherele Moody says the vandalism to the mural is soul destroying. (Instagram: Sherele Moody)
She said the mural was regularly defaced, with individual images needing to be reprinted in the past.
But Ms Moody said this act of vandalism was the worst damage since it was put up, with almost the entire mural needing to be replaced.
"I don't know what was worse — I don't know if I was more devastated or more angry," she said.
"The worst part was having relatives of women on there contacting me … equally as devastated that their people were erased like that.
"These women have already been erased and someone's just gone down and erased them again."
A group of volunteers gathered in Hosier Lane on Saturday morning to help Ms Moody with the repairs.
She said graffiti-protection paint would be used to try to stop it from being damaged in the future, and she was considering hiring a security guard to watch over the mural until the protective layer dried.
Dozens of people gathered on a chilly Saturday morning to help quickly repair the mural. (ABC News: Jesse Thompson)
A vigil for women who have died was due to be held at the She Matters mural on Mother's Day next weekend.
"That mural has sparked conversations around the world, footage of it has gone global," Ms Moody said.
"I've sat down there some days and listened to the conversations from women mainly talking about their experiences of violence, talking about the red flags, talking about the things that saved them.
"I've sat there and listened to men going 'wow, I had no idea this was happening. This is something I want to be a part of to fix' so it's really important."
Ms Moody pleaded for anybody who had any footage of those responsible for the damage to contact her.
Ms Moody (at the top of the ladder) is hoping the City of Melbourne will help protect the mural. (ABC News: Jesse Thompson)
She said she was unsure if police could take any action because street art is allowed anywhere in Hosier Lane.
"I would really love for the Melbourne City Council to come down and look at the mural and actually recognise its importance and if they can't help me protect it there then help me move it to a wall where it can be protected."
Victoria Police said it was unaware of whether a complaint had been made.
The ABC has contacted the City of Melbourne.