Tamworth councillor Marc Sutherland said explaining Reclaim the Night to his daughter left him shaken

"She didn't want to come up, and then she said, 'nah dad, I want to come up because I want you to be strong'," he said.

The councillor was struck when his seven year old daughter Milaan asked him why they had gathered to march on Friday October 28.

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He said it can be challenging as a parent to decide what information is appropriate to share with children.

"I told my daughter that a woman a week is still losing their life to domestic violence," he said.

It affected her immediately, he said.

"She took that in, and she was able to understand and she said 'dad, that's so sad, why did you tell me that?'" he said.

"I said to my daughter, 'our children need to be a part of that conversation'."

The exchange left him shaken.

"You're trying to explain why things are the way they are - and they don't make sense," he said.

It made it that much sweeter when she took her place beside him.

"My daughter, who's seven, supported me to be able to have a conversation that's so needed," he said.

The first Gomeroi Tamworth regional councillor keeps Milaan by his side to get her involved.

"Also to let her know that spaces like that are somewhere that she can occupy," he said.

"They're not off reach."

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