One Tuesday morning last year, we received a referral from the police to check in with a 42-year-old woman called Bec who had experienced significant trauma during a violent incident at her home.
Our primary concerns were ensuring Bec and her two children were safe and to support them in any way possible. A dedicated SunnyKids support worker reached out to Bec and immediately provided crisis support and domestic and family violence education.
Bec’s partner was abusive, often lashing out, hitting her and calling her names. This behaviour was often witnessed by their two children and Bec did not know how to make it stop. Her partner had recently begun to control other aspects of her life too, like checking her phone and messages, turning up at places unannounced and questioning all household expenses. The night the police were called, Bec knew she needed help but just didn’t know where to turn.
When we contacted Bec, she was worried about seeking support, afraid of how things would play out in the hours and days that followed. Reassuring Bec that she had a village of support around her, a domestic violence safety plan was immediately put in place. We assessed how Bec could meet with us safely, protect herself and her children and began to discuss her options moving forward.
To ensure the children and Bec were safe we gave her a fuel voucher, without a vehicle we knew Bec and her children were at higher risk of isolation and harm. We immediately discussed her safety plan, mapping out her options in case things escalated further and she needed to flee.
We discussed with her the importance of establishing a strong support network and developing a list of emergency contacts so that she could turn to them if needed for immediate support.
Over the next 14 months we continued working with Bec to help her gain access to vital support services in her community. In time, Bec found her voice again and gained the confidence to engage in counselling services for herself and the children and agreed to educational support at the children’s school. Bec also obtained legal advice to discuss her options moving forward.
We wanted to ensure that Bec and her children had strong friendships and connections both in and outside of the school, enrolling the children in local youth groups and sporting clubs.
We provided ongoing domestic violence educational support. This helped Bec feel empowered to make the best choices for herself and the children. Each and every week we’d check in to see how the family were travelling, while also responding during times of distress.
Today, Bec has harnessed her strength and confidence and is powerful enough to make the best choices for the future.
The isolating nature of domestic violence often causes many women to lose their confidence and feel alienated among their community.
When we connect women like Bec to the right support services and provide life-saving safety planning, they slowly begin to trust again and find the confidence to speak up and advocate for themselves.
*All names and identifying information have been changed to protect the identity of our client.
