CN: domestic violence, homelessness On a rainy winter’s afternoon, I stuffed as many of the clothes I owned into a tired, oversized blue and red laundry bag. One handle had busted off, and the zipper was long gone. I lugged it down the concrete stairs of the apartment I was living in like a dead…
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I have a confession to make. I have never seen one episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians. And yet, I can still name every member of the Kardashian-Jenner brood. I can tell you the brand of the dress Kylie was wearing last week on Instagram (it was Meshki), and I can tell you which…
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When politicians make fools of themselves on social media, it’s fair to say that it’s an almost pleasurable experience to survey the ensuing wrath from the comfort of our smartphones. It’s almost enough to make you feel sorry for our Aussie pollies. We are able to look back in a kind of awe at the…
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There are many aspects of London Road that are just plain weird. This musical-turned-film is based on the true events surrounding the serial murders of five female sex workers in 2006 by Steve Wright, taking interviews about the crimes verbatim and turning them into snazzy show-tunes. But perhaps what is most unique about London Road…
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I recently wrote this article for Lip to analyse the findings of a study into youth mental health in Australia. The results sent me reeling, though I’m not sure if it was to do with the uncomfortably high numbers or the sickening feeling that came over me when I considered a child as young as…
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The Victorian Labor Government has commenced Australia’s first Royal Commission into Family Violence: the most dangerous and prevalent form of violence perpetrated against women. The newly released Terms of Reference task proposed commissioners – Patricia Faulkner, Chair of Jesuit Social Services and the National Health Performance Authority, and Tony Nicholson, Executive Director of the Brotherhood…
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Trigger Warning: Domestic Violence / Violence Against Women A recent poll has shown that three-quarters of Australians believe that domestic violence poses as much, or more, of a threat than terrorism. Just under half of those polled said domestic violence is a greater threat than terrorism. The Essential Research poll of 1,000 people follows the…
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Trigger Warning: Discussion of Domestic and Family Violence If you have recently come across the statistic that one woman will die every week as a direct result of violence, you might be alarmed to learn that this number has doubled in 2015. This is according to the data collected by safe steps Family Violence Response…
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Destroy The Joint’s (DTJ) Counting Dead Women campaign was launched on 20 May 2014 to honour women who have lost their lives as a result of violence. Inspired by a model developed by a UK Counting Dead Women Register, the count includes all violent acts, such as murders traditionally attributed as Domestic Violence (‘DV’,…
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Australian Government considers GPS tracking for domestic violence perpetrators The federal government says it is considering keeping tabs on domestic violence perpetrators with GPS technology. ‘We want to look at really lifting our game when it comes to dealing with the scourge of domestic violence,’ Prime Minister Tony Abbott said. GPS tracking is presently used…
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Trigger warning: this article contains discussion of rape and violence against women Stephen Sullivan is part of a movement that has gathered thousands of followers in just a few weeks. Sullivan says it has tapped into an emotion. ‘People have been thinking about what’s been happening the past few years and they’ve actually come on…
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An old refrain has rung loud and true this week: sexual and reproductive health and rights are integral to the empowerment of women. A number of organisations congregated in New York on Monday to discuss the role of said health care and rights in women’s lives at an International Planned Parenthood Foundation forum. Western Hemisphere…
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Women are conditioned to live in fear. All over the world. Don’t walk on those streets, don’t wear those clothes, don’t be too intimidating, complex, complicated, loud, because men don’t like that. We live in patriarchal societies in which we pander to male preference. In Nairobi, men on the streets got to do what every…
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When I first saw the ‘catcall’ video, showing the harassment experienced by Shoshana Roberts as she walked through New York City, I was disturbed. I wasn’t disturbed by incessant and often aggressive intrusions into her day, however. My knee-jerk reaction was to be offended for myself. I had, at various points in my life, engaged…
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