Thank you to all the victims who have come forward to speak to tell your stories or to be at marches. I say well done and continue we will get our message out there to make changes to the system for the good of all. As victims of Domestic violence and sexual assault we have a powerful message we know what works and what does not work for us and so can use this information to make things better. if you thought that your story does not matter well I am here to say that it does matter and is important and needs to be told. Keep telling your stories and being strong. We need changes in education,  in work places, in homes, changes in how boys and girls behave as sexual assault and domestic violence does not just happen for women and girls it happens to men and boys too. We need to make this part of the conversation. So that their experience and treatment is better too. Lets all fight together so that we all win and do better because assault is assault male or female it is wrong and life changing. We also need changes and improvements to the police system and the court system. They both need to do better and treat victims in a nicer way. Boy do I know about that any one who knows my story will know that I got a raw deal by both of these systems. Police need more training and resources to deal with all the extra victims that will come forward and the ones already in the system that is overwhelmed and not coping or sending victims away or they fall through the cracks. The court has the same problem too overwhelmed to deal with it in a safe and kind way. Backlog’s, mistrial and staff who no longer care because they see the same thing over and over and over again and they have given up or even worse don’t have the time for the truth. It is hit and miss if you win if the system works for you if the right person is there and it should not be that way. Another problem is lack of counsellors. I have tried recently to get sexual assault counselling and its not available for historic cases and so you need to just see a normal counsellor. All these issues need to be fixed for there to be lasting change for victims and to prevent new victims in the first place. I believe that it is a community that raises a child and it is a community responsibility as to what behaviour they will put up with. So we are all a part of the solution and in fixing the broken system that deals with domestic violence, rape, sexual assault and abuse.

When I look back on my life I can see and remember incidents of sexual assault in so many places where it should not happen. Ie at primary school, at friends house, after school, at work, in a bank seeing a bank manger, in a relationship and in the corrections visits. Where ever it happens it is not ok and needs to stop.