26/11/2022
Day 2 of 16 days in WA. This morning I happened to be in the right place at the right time to support a woman who is in a situation.
Call 1800RESPECT for your friends ladies. DV situations are so commonly shamed into silence by the abuser. You can hold the light for someone going through a situation and make calls to help (though double check that you are one the right help line, I have been connected to the DCP while ringing a womens helpline and I didn't know I was being asked these questions because they were making a report! π) No one needs to be suffering with mental and emotional abuse. Know the signs and seek help for them. Let them know you care. Make sure they know the numbers and know any abuse is reportable to police. Make reports so the police have a file of incidents. Keep a diary. Write emails to yourself or use the notes on your phone in a secure folder of the incidents. Time, date, place, words said, actions taken. It is so often that the cycle of violence blurs the things that happen as you enter the honeymoon phase after an event. There may be an apology and then you question if that event happened. So write it all down. As painful as it is, it can help you if you need a Violence Restraining Order. And as painful as getting a restraining order is, to be in the madness of domestic violence is far worse with the effects taking years and years of healing.
Stand tall against violence.