Leila Abduallah, the mother who tragically lost her children when a drugged driver mounted the footpath and ran over her three children and their cousin early last year, has recently been awarded the Mother of the Year award. One can only imagine her grief and that of her family. Much has been made of her
Lately, I have felt overwhelmed by all these allegations of rape swirling around the bastions of power in Australia. As someone who has suffered rape myself, twice outside of marriage and many times within the so called ‘sanctity’ of marriage, I feel well-qualified to say something of substance on these matters. Sexual assault is epidemic
I love watching tennis. I was even a tennis champion myself in high school days. I am puzzled and disturbed however at the continual tantrums displayed by Nick Kyrgios and the indulgence shown him, despite his outbursts of verbal, emotional and physical abuse. Yes, smashing tennis racquets on the ground is intimidating behaviour and if
I wrote a piece on Face book recently, in response to the terrible murder of 23 year old Celeste Manno, killed in her family home in Melbourne by a man who had been stalking her for months. I expressed that it was high time many more men shouted out loud their protest at male violence
I am reading a book currently, called ‘ Fight like a Girl ‘ a memoir by Clementine Ford. She quotes a woman called Caitlin Moran who suggests the following exercise ….. Put your hand in your pants. Do you have a vagina ? and Do you want to be in charge of it? If you
More women are coming forward for the first time to report family violence, according to new Victorian research that shows Covid -19 lockdowns have worsened the potential for abuse in many homes. The report found that 60% of family violence victim support practitioners said the Covid-19 pandemic had increased the frequency of violence against women.
Three recent events in the news have made me think about having a “good old feminist rant “ One was a news story about a well-known man in the football world. This man who resides in Melbourne was having a relationship with the ex-wife of another well-known man in the footy world. The two men
Professionally I have 33 years experience as a Clinician, Lecturer, Group Facilitator, Educator and Supervisor in Education, Social Services and Mental Health. I currently live in Melbourne, Australia and work in Mental Health. I have a particular interest in supporting and empowering women and men to be all they can be, by assisting the discovery of tools that help them find strength to transform difficulties into opportunities, enriching their lives both personally and professionally. I am a New Zealand Registered Psychotherapist with PBANZ, member of the New Zealand Association of Psychotherapists and have a Masters of Health Science (Psychotherapy) First Class Honours. My research thesis was about the long term consequences of intimate partner violence for women. I am influenced and informed by both my professional experiences and my own personal journey, which has involved many challenges and celebrations along the way.