Candlelight vigil held to honour Tiffany Woodley as family pledge to shed light on violence against women

Rhiannon Clarke
Rhiannon Clarke Published August 16, 2023 at 7.00am (AWST)

At dusk on Wednesday, a candlelight vigil was held to honour a much loved mother who tragically passed away last week.

Friends and family gathered at Perth's Parliament House to mourn the life of Tiffany Woodley, 35, who was found lifeless in her Bedford home last Monday August 7.

The mother of three suffered severe injuries and found in a scene described by senior police as "horrific and confronting".

Police said they do not believe a weapon was involved, with her alleged killer and on-again, off-again partner arrested at the property.

The vigil was an emotional evening with a lot of tears and grief as family, friends and strangers gathered to support the family of Ms Woodley in their stand of 'Enough is enough'.

Mourners were encouraged to bring along a candle to shine the light on violence against women, especially Indigenous women and to say 'no more violence'.

Ms Woodley's mother, Meretta Kickett, gave an emotional speech to the crowd of 100 people, stating she wants to try to change the lives of others after the loosing her beloved daughter.

"My message to everybody, even if you're a mum, is to watch the signs. Don't give up, keep going, fight for your children to make sure they are safe," she said.

"Enough is enough because we're mothers and we want to grow our children up."

Tiffany's mother wants to try to change the lives of others. (Image: Kelsey Reid/The West Australian)

Rosalie Miller-Kickett, Ms Woodley's aunty, described her niece as a loving and gentle woman.

Western Australian Greens Senator Dorinda Cox, who is a member of a parliamentary inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and children, said that everyone had a role to play in stopping violence.

"What we really need now is the community to wrap their arms around the family in these horrific circumstances," Senator Cox said.

"This now is a case of young children who no longer have their mum and a family that is grieving.

"The visibility of Tiffany's story is really important because it's not just another Black woman's death, this is a story of a woman whose resilience and survival was key to her, protecting her family and particularly her children.

"Women are the backbone of our communities and our families so when a woman is missing or murdered, we're all in grief and everything around that falls apart."

An Aunty of Ms Woodley that spoke at the vigil was advocate Megan Krakouer.

"Domestic violence hits First Nations families dramatically disproportionately because of generational disproportionate impoverishment of our people," Ms Krakouer said.

"The lived experience must be substantively represented and be among our experts."

Beloved mother of three Tiffany Woodley

(Image: Facebook)

Ms Krakouer said domestic violence in WA cannot be addressed without substantive First Nations representation.

National Family Violence Prevention Legal Services spokesperson Hannah McGlade said there should be an inquiry into circumstances surrounding Ms Woodley's death.

"Aboriginal mothers in WA are 17.5 times more likely than non-Aboriginal mothers to be murdered, according to research by the Telethon Kids Institute," said Dr McGlade.

Ms Woodley is the 42nd Australian woman killed this year, the third woman lost to violence in the past five days and the second woman allegedly killed in WA in a fortnight.

She leaves behind her three children, Jessica, Peter and Lydia, mum Meretta and sister Semisha.

Her alleged killer, Peter Damjanovic, 37, who is the father of her two youngest children appeared in Perth Magistrates Court on Wednesday charged with murder.

He was not required to enter a plea and was remanded in custody to return to court on August 30.

The family have set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds to support the future needs of her children and immediate cost associated with funeral and general support.

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