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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2016-05-18 Daily Xml
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Matters of Interest

Domestic Violence

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (15:21): On Wednesday 4 May I attended a candlelight vigil for domestic and family violence in Elder Park. The event remembered those who have lost their lives to the scourge of domestic violence. However, through the tragedy that brought us all together that evening, there were certainly bright points of hope.

We heard from a domestic violence survivor, Stacey, whose harrowing story of abuse reminded us all that we can overcome domestic violence, not just as individuals but also as a society, by refusing to stay silent and taking all possible steps to eliminate violence against women and children. I felt humbled to be amongst so many tireless committed workers from the DV sector and also the victims who were present, those who had had their lives ravaged by domestic violence and yet had the strength and courage to use their personal grief to make a community difference.

For instance, Arman Abrahimzadeh took the deep personal tragedy of the death of his mother, Zahra, and has used that as fire to fuel his work preventing other families from experiencing the tragedy that his family has suffered. The Zahra Foundation Australia, which they put in place, remembers Zahra Abrahimzadeh and seeks to assist other women escaping domestic violence through empowerment, particularly in achieving economic empowerment. The Zahra Foundation has so far delivered two financial literacy programs under the Build Your Independence program in western and southern Adelaide.

They have also partnered with PKF Kennedy to deliver the Power, Knowledge, Freedom program which provides information sessions to women to assist them in their financial independence. Arman and his sisters show extraordinary passion and commitment which has helped to focus public attention on this issue and drive improvement to DV policy and service responses to make victims of domestic and family violence safer and also to prevent domestic and family violence.

Another attendee at the vigil was Ivan Phillips, an inspirational man, who like Arman has used a deep personal loss, that of his stepdaughter Tash, to fuel his campaign to end domestic violence. In 2007, Ivan's stepdaughter Tash was brutally murdered as a result of sustained domestic violence attacks. Tash left behind a beautiful young son, Josh, and a grieving family. After two years of court proceedings, the offender was incarcerated for 30 years, but unfortunately, not very long after that, Ivan also lost his wife and Tash's mother, Di, to cancer.

Since then, Ivan has fought on, vowing to keep Tash and Di's memory alive and raise awareness for the impact that DV has on families. Ivan is a proud ambassador for White Ribbon, which is an important voice in domestic violence campaigning, allowing male voices to seek to change the culture of men's violence against women. Ivan's cause, Riding Free of DV, will see him ride his motorbike roughly 15,000 kilometres around the circumference of Australia to promote White Ribbon and raise awareness of domestic violence. He will ride for three months, travelling through every mainland state in Australia, visiting more than 55 rural and regional communities to speak on domestic violence and the help that is available.

Ivan's feat will be launched at an event here in Adelaide on 27 May—that is next Friday—at 7:30pm in the State Library, with local celebrities such as from The Voice, Rachael Leahcar, performing, as well as speeches from prominent members of the DV sector and, of course, the Minister for the Status of Women, Zoe Bettison. Tickets are available by going to Ivan's Facebook page, Riding Free of DV, and following the link to the event or by going to www.eventbrite.co.uk and searching for Riding Free of DV. Those who cannot attend the launch can still support Ivan's good work through his MyCause page, Riding Free of DV. There you can donate and help Ivan reach his goal of $25,000 towards domestic violence campaigning.

There were many more campaigners, workers, families and survivors who have been touched by domestic violence attending the vigil, and all of their efforts, their stories, their tragedies and their successes take us further along the path to ending domestic violence. Hopefully, through these efforts there will come a day when we will be free of the terror and tragedy of domestic and family violence.

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