Lee Somers carried a sign which read “Support Orange Crisis Centre” when she joined the march from Hyde Park to Belmore Park, as part of the Women's March rallies being held around the world.

Ms Somers said the centre, proposed for near the corner of The Escort Way and the Northern Distributor Road, would be used by women “who pose no threat to anyone else”.

“They need safety and support. They want to recover and heal and they need a safe place to do that,” she said.

The mental health worker said at 61 years old she was driven to protest for the first time to make the government and wider society aware of the plight of women and the disadvantages women face.

“The #MeToo movement has started a ripple effect across the world and it needs to continue to happen in Australia,” Ms Somers said.

Having lived in Orange for 20 years, Ms Somers said it had felt “serendipitous” when a stranger in the crowd, who she came to know as ‘Monique the women’s refuge worker from Sydney,’ asked her to help spread the crisis centre message.

“I stood beside her and held that sign high. I wanted Orange to be on the map,” she said.

Housing Plus Head of Community Services Penny Dordoy said when women come together through protest or any other way “great things can happen”.

“Women are often isolated in their homes and in the workplace and people don’t want to hear about women’s issues,” said Ms Dordoy.

Ms Dordoy said the march kept the conversation active and showed unity with the women who have experienced violence.

“We need to continue to talk about domestic violence. To have critical and constant conversations and be open to learning new information. The more we talk about it the more opportunity there is to shut down outdated ideas and stigmas which are false.”

Ms Dordoy said supporters of the centre, known as The Orchard, the Orange Domestic and Family Violence Crisis Centre, should “write, email and comment directly to the DA”.

The closing date for comment on Orange City council’s two separate Development Applications (DAs), concerned with the proposed establishment is Friday.