“In silence, darkness thrives”: Jelena Dokic leads call for change at vigil

LANDMARKS across Geelong turned purple last week as the community gathered to remember the lives of the women and children impacted or killed by domestic violence.

More than 200 people came together at Geelong Arts Centre for the second annual Geelong Candlelight Vigil Forum, held to raise awareness of family and domestic violence, platform the stories of survivors and advocates, and explore the pathway towards meaningful change.

Keynote speaker Jelena Dokic, a former world number four tennis player who suffered emotional, psychological and physical abuse at the hands of her father, shared her story of resilience and spoke of the importance of having open conversations.

“I was taught, trained and raised to stay silence. In silence, darkness thrives,” she said.

“Today I try to use my voice to call out injustice, to advocate for change, but most importantly to try and change the perception around child abuse, domestic violence and mental health illnesses, and try and help to remove the shame, stigma and judgement that is so often associated with talking about it.”

Every six days, a woman is killed in Australia due to domestic violence, Ms Dokic said, while one in two women and girls will experience sexual harassment or sexual abuse during their lifetime.

“If those numbers don’t tell us that we really need to have open conversations, that we need to listen to victims and survivors and actually praise them and celebrate them, then I don’t know what does.”

Meli’s family violence manager Kirsty Berryman and the Sexual Assault & Family Violence (SAFV) Centre’s therapeutic services manager Imogen O’Neill then joined Ms Dokic for a discussion focused on children and young people affected by family violence.

Ms Berryman said addressing the issue required a coordinated response and called on attendees to recognise the role they can play in supporting children and young people experiencing family violence.

“Family violence, it’s everybody’s issue,” she said.

“Whether you’re a school teacher, a kindergarten educator, part of a sporting club, you can all be somebody who can create a safe space for children to be in.

“You can ask children about their experience, you can recognise the signs, you can be a voice for children when they are voiceless.”

As part of the event, local mother and survivor Sally – who asked that her surname not be published – led attendees in a powerful vigil, during which a minute of silence was observed to honour the lives lost to family and domestic violence.

The Candlelight Vigil Forum was presented by support service provider Meli, in partnership with the Barwon Area Integrated Family Violence Committee and the SAFV Centre.

In visual tribute to the women and children killed by domestic violence, several buildings across Geelong were last week illuminated purple.