Domestic & Family Violence – Ways of Working: Holding onto Hope

Our Domestic & Family Violence Service staff are on the phones every day of the week talking with women who call from all across the NPY lands. These relationships have developed over many years and when women call they know they will talk to a worker who knows their community and who they may have met out bush or in town, where they sat down and talked.

Our relationships grow over time, hearing stories of family and community, her work, her painting or tjanpi making, and other things she loves. We might talk about good things that have happened in the past, stories of her grandmother, of being a good mother and daughter. The conversation focuses on her journey which might include her sadness. It might include the violence she is experiencing; it is a travelling journey she is on and the sadness is like a roller coaster.

There is much practical support that women might want and we can help with to ensure her safety and that of her children. When she is feeling safe again, we might talk about the stories she told us in the past – of her hopes and dreams and she will feel strong like a tree. She will feel like it’s a new start and she will never give up.

Find out more about the Domestic & Family Violence Service