Illawarra advocates put domestic violence recovery on national agenda

The documentary was made at the inaugural Australian Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Recovery and Healing Conference in 2023 and on Wednesday, Shellharbour MP Anna Watson showed it at NSW Parliament.

The short film shares the stories of victim-survivors and their journey to recovery, as well as insights from professionals working in the field.

Sally Stevenson, executive director of the Illawarra Women's Health Centre, a founding member of the Australian Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Recovery Alliance, said it was exciting to screen the "powerful and beautifully made" film to parliament.

Ms Steven said hoped parliamentarians would gain from watching the documentary a "deeper and more nuanced understanding of the impact of domestic violence, both during a relationship but also post-separation".

Ms Watson, a longtime advocate for victim-survivors, said she wanted to ensure that recovery and healing remained part of the conversation and that her parliamentary colleagues gained a deeper understanding of the issue.

"Most of all, I want victims to know their voices aren't silent, they do have voices through women's health centres, GPs, and particularly NSW Parliament," Ms Watson said.

She said the documentary was also about giving other victim-survivors the hope that they too could heal.

The screening was accompanied by an announcement from the national Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commissioner, Micaela Cronin, that Australia's first-ever national roundtable on healing and recovery would take place in mid-June.

Ms Cronin said the roundtable was the result of the work and expertise of the Recovery Alliance, which had brought healing to the national agenda.

"This roundtable will bring together people with lived expertise, organisations and government to have a national conversation on what is needed to ensure that people with lived experience can heal and recover from the violence they have experienced," she said.

Ms Stevenson said the announcement was "fantastic", recognising at a national level that the recovery and healing of victim-survivors needed attention and investment.

She said it was also recognition of the importance of recovery as the fourth pillar of the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children.

Ms Stevenson hoped the outcome of the roundtable would be clear actions supported by strong investment, and she believed that with the support of the Commonwealth and the leadership of the alliance, this could be delivered.

The planned roundtable would also continue to raise awareness of how violence and abuse infiltrated lives and affected the community and the economy, she said, adding that there was still a lot of work to do around understanding how complex violence was and how enduring its impacts were if people were not supported to recover.