Riley Matthews

Never one to shy away from speaking out against sexist remarks and behaviour, Riley grew up questioning why young girls and women are treated differently to boys and men, why doing something ‘like a girl’ is an insult, and why women are constantly finding themselves having to justify and prove that they belong.

Graduating from the University of Tasmania in 2020, with a Bachelor of Justice Studies, this is where Riley’s interest in the prevention of violence against women was really piqued. Living amongst the culture of university life, she saw firsthand the impact and danger of “boys will be boys” attitudes and mindsets which attempt to justify, excuse, trivialise and minimise men’s violence against women.

Riley’s hope for the future is to see more young boys and men understanding the harmful impact of this way of thinking and instead choosing to actively challenge and speak out against these violence-supportive attitudes.