16/06/2026
It’s been a big week - after 2 years, I got to walk out of this place for the last time! What an emotional ride that was, and I still can’t quite process the journey.
I’m so grateful I got to use my voice, because I know too well that there are so many women who are silenced before they can speak up or find safety for them and their children.
I could never have imagined how the last two years would have played out. I faced my biggest vulnerabilities, saw some of the most horrendous parts of humanity, saw some of the most beautiful parts of humanity, and found a strength and resilience I didn’t know existed in me - but I know from my counselling work that all protective Mums seem to have it, and it pops up at our moments of deepest despair and ‘I can’t do this’.
I’m posting because I know I’m not alone. Being a victim survivor is so common - yet one of the most isolating experiences, an experience where you find yourself having to relive trauma every single day, and a challenging journey of realising and connecting with how your entire life journey made you more susceptible to ending up as a victim survivor.
Work thanks: Huge thank you to all of you who have been patient with emails and phone calls. I’m a bit slow sometimes! Thank you to our amazing team of organisers - nothing has been too much and your compassion toward me and commitment to CCPHO has meant the world to me. Kim - you held me together, took over when I couldn’t function, and never skipped a beat - couldn’t do life without you. Our beautiful clients who I kept on my personal caseload through it all - you’ve become some of my greatest friends.
And I can’t recommend Romer Maud Family Lawyers enough. Ladies - if you need a family lawyer who represents all the strong woman values - this firm is for you. They work with women experiencing family violence, are trauma informed, neuroaffirming, compassionate, ethical, and Annalise (an absolute Queen of a company director who founded the company which continues to grow and employ these legend lawyers who are also Mums) is a local Mum. She personally nurtured me while I cried on the phone on countless occasions. Annalise and her team were with me from the start until the very end, never skipped a beat, were knowledgeable, calm and collected, and were very good at their jobs - they practiced law rather than resorting to intimidation tactics. If you don’t need a lawyer, follow their journey anyway - Annalise is truly inspiring.
Domestic violence can impact anyone. Help is available. Some of the free services that kept me safe include:
- 1800RESPECT for free counselling
- Safe Steps for emergency accomodation when you have to run
- Orange door for safety planning, changing the locks, vouchers for groceries when you flee with nothing, and other helpful referrals
- Leaving violence program for 5K in emergency payments and vouchers
- Centrelink - speak to a social worker and they’ll sort you out
Seriously, when you plan to leave and the first 6 months following leaving are the times of highest lethal risk. I’ve helped so many women navigate this space in my counselling role, and no one ever expects or believes it will be as unsafe as it turns out to be.
Here’s to never having to pack my kids into the car in the middle of the night and running ever again! Freedom!!
Cat xx
