About the Speaker

Sarah Williams is a proud Awabakal woman and Founder and CEO of What Were You Wearing Australia (WWYW), a not-for-profit organisation fighting to end sexual violence. In 2023, Sarah led a nightlife safety campaign where she collected more than 20,000 signatures on a petition to the NSW Government. This resulted in mandated drink spiking education for all venue and bar staff in NSW, amending Responsible Service of Alcohol laws. In January 2024, Sarah also successfully amended the ACT RSA too. WWYW has attracted more than 300,000 followers on social media, where it shares information on sexual violence, consent, and human rights issues. In april 2024, Sarah led and organised the No More National Rallies, with over 30 different locations across Australia. This saw the Prime Minister declaring violence against women a national emergency and her work provoked an immediate National cabinet meeting. These rallies saw a $925 million commitment to dfsv. In July 2024, Sarah helped organise the rallies again which saw the NT government commit $180 million to dfsv because of the rallies. She is now campaigning for Mandatory Trauma Informed Training for First Responders across Australia. 

In recognition of her work, she was named Newcastle Woman of the Year 2023, won the Community Service Award at the NSW/ACT Young Achiever Awards 2023, was a finalist in the Australian Human Rights Awards – Young People’s Award 2023 and was a finalist of the NSW Young Woman of the Year Awards!