The Movement For Change - A Family Violence Forum

IMAGES : MARC ALPERSTEIN AND THE MOTHER LOAD | The Movement For Change

"I want to tell people that family violence happens to anybody, no matter how nice your house is, no matter how intelligent you are."    

Rosie Batty, Australian Of The Year 2015.

Here's a statistic that I didn't know existed before I took notice of Rosie Batty and her anti-family violence campaign. Domestic violence happens to 1 in 3 women here in Australia. 1 in 3. The Breast Cancer Australia Network suggests that 1 in 8 Australian women are likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer under the age of 60 - that's a high and pretty devastating statistic in itself but 1 in 3??! If that's the case, how do we not all know at least two women around us suffering some kind of family violence? Truthfully, the answer is we probably do. We probably just don't know about it because of a) the stigma attached to being a victim of domestic abuse and b) because a large portion of society suggests that in some way the woman is to blame if she doesn't "just leave".

And therein lies part of the problem. Stigma, a lack of understanding and support, and silence.

Making It Count - An Invitation To A Family Violence Forum

IMAGE : MORGUEFILE.COM | Making It Count - A Family Violence Forum

The world of blogging has exposed me to so many fantastic and varied experiences since I began sharing here​ a few years ago. By far the experience I'm anticipating most is the opportunity to attend a forum hosted by The Nappy Collective on family violence next week, where I will have the chance to hear Australian Of The Year Rosie Batty speak about family violence from the front line and discuss the passionate campaign she has devoted herself to since the tragic death of her son Luke in 2014.

Standing Up With Rosie

IMAGE : SMH.COM.AU | Standing Up With Rosie

        

I feel so strongly about anti family violence campaigner and newly appointed Australian Of The Year Rosie Batty. 

I can't quite put into words what affect she has had on me, but I find myself in awe of her as a reluctant celebrity but also as a woman who could be my beloved next door neighbour, or friend. I find myself paying attention to her message so closely, wondering how I can help her movement in some way. I study her expression intently whenever she pops up on my screen, just to see if I can read how she really is behind her focused determination. I study her to see how she is doing not as the voice of an important cause, but as a mother who lost a son, and as a woman who is still very much emerging through her own dark times. I look at her and I remind myself that I can really cope with pretty much anything in my own life if Rosie is successfully putting one foot in front of the other. And man, she is. She's doing so much more than that.