Family violence affects every community, regardless of postcode, income or background. Hawthorn is often seen as a safe and prosperous electorate, but family violence happens behind closed doors here too. In Boroondara, more than 1,000 family violence incidents are reported each year. Behind every one of those numbers is a person whose life has been profoundly affected.
This issue is personal to me. Through my work with vulnerable women at Neighbourhood Houses, I saw firsthand the courage it takes to leave a violent relationship and the practical barriers that stand in the way: finding somewhere safe to live, accessing counselling, supporting children through trauma, rebuilding a life from nothing.
I also helped establish You Matter, auspicing the organisation and providing governance support until it became independent, supporting women and children rebuilding their lives after family violence. More recently, as one of Boroondara Council's representatives on the Family Violence Network, I've continued working alongside local organisations that support victim survivors and advocate for prevention.
Those experiences taught me one thing: we cannot simply respond after violence occurs. We have to prevent it, support victim survivors to rebuild, and hold perpetrators to account.
What I Will Do
Support victim survivors
No one should have to choose between violence and homelessness.
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Advocate for greater investment in crisis accommodation, transitional housing and affordable housing, so women and children can leave unsafe homes safely
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Push for faster access to specialist family violence services, trauma counselling and mental health support
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Advocate for better support for children who witness family violence, recognising its lifelong impacts
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Support simpler, better coordinated services, so victim survivors aren't left navigating multiple agencies during the hardest period of their lives
Hold perpetrators accountable
Intervention orders must mean something.
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Push for strong enforcement of Family Violence Intervention Orders and meaningful consequences for repeat breaches
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Advocate for better information sharing and risk assessment across police, courts and support services, to identify high-risk perpetrators earlier
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Support greater investment in specialist family violence policing and early intervention where warning signs are identified
Prevent violence before it starts
If we want fewer victims in the future, we need to change the behaviours and attitudes that lead to violence.
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Support the expansion of men's behaviour change programs that help perpetrators take responsibility and reduce reoffending
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Strengthen Respectful Relationships education in schools, so young people learn about healthy relationships, consent, respect and equality
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Support parenting and relationship programs for fathers and families that model positive, non-violent behaviour
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Invest in community education that challenges coercive control, promotes gender equality and empowers bystanders to speak up
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Work with sporting clubs, workplaces, schools and community organisations to promote respectful relationships and positive male leadership
Most men are not violent, and many are already playing an important role in preventing violence against women and children. We need to support those positive role models while holding accountable those who choose violence.
How I Will Deliver
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Work with frontline organisations, police, educators and the community to pursue practical, evidence-based reforms
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Advocate for stable, long-term funding for the frontline services that support victim survivors every day
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Use my experience on Boroondara's Family Violence Network to bring a working knowledge of what local services actually need
Why It Matters for Hawthorn
Ending family violence isn't something that the government can do alone. It takes leadership from schools, workplaces, sporting clubs, community organisations, families and individuals, backed by governments willing to properly fund the services that support victim survivors. As your Independent, I'll bring both the lived experience of this work and a genuine commitment to getting it right, but because every woman deserves to feel safe in her own home, and every child deserves to grow up free from fear.