The Context Expert - Violence Prevention Consultant

07/10/2023

07/10/2023

It's common sense, I'm voting YES!

Yes23

Indigenous rapper, comedian and writer Adam Briggs has come up with a simple solution for voting in the referendum: google it.

26/02/2023

VOTE INFORMED! BE WEL INFORMED.
Women are powerful and so is our vote! By exercising our right to vote, WE can help shape policy and ensure the issues that are important to US are addressed!

WEL has held politicians to account by advocating for policies which tackle gender inequality and by assessing their actions rather than their words through our election scorecard. Look out for our Score Card release or subscribe to our newsletter to receive it via email as soon as its launched!

08/09/2022

Lucy's Project is the leading peak organisation who educate, advocate for and provide crisis support for animal survivors of domestic and family violence in Australia.

They exist to ensure that human and animal survivors can remain together and heal together.

I've donated and you can too. Together, we can help stay open 💜

In the nine years that Lucy’s Project has been operating, we have made monumental progres… Anna Ludvik needs your support for Lucy's Project needs your help!

17/08/2022

Powerful, thank you She Is Not Your Rehab

"There are two coping mechanisms that we all have access to. These require us to be brave and courageous and, in my experience, can save our lives - talking and crying."

Society has taught us when trauma happens to us, we default to guilt, shame and internally hide.

The ‘He’ll be alright’ and ‘Harden the f**k up’ hasn’t and will never work. If you don’t believe me, visit prison or look at our statistics of family violence and su***de.

There are two coping mechanisms that we all have access to. These require us to be brave and courageous and in my experience can save our lives.

Talking and crying.

TALKING; Whether that’s to trusted friends, family, your barber/hairdresser or people in helping fields. We need to TALK about what’s going on inside of us because burying those unhealthy seeds, hidden shame and pain, can end up being far, far worse and turn into a host of problems. They could be depression, substance abuse, violence, self harm or an eating disorder. There’s so much that gets compounded when internal pain gets pushed outside of consciousness and outside of communication.

CRYING; A behaviour that society has labelled ‘weak’ which is far from the truth!
I have lost count of men I’ve had the honour to sit with and witness their tears. There is absolutely nothing weak about these men who have gifted me this experience.

Research and studies have shown that crying is the best coping mechanism we have. It doesn’t hurt us. No one has ever cried and not stopped so why do we refrain and rob ourselves from this? Because the shame that has been attached to this is crippling and deadly.

Shame will never survive when met with EMPATHY.

PLEASE STOP telling our boys to ‘Harden the f**k up’.
It’s robbing us and in many cases killing us.

Find your village or person you can safely talk openly with and hopefully even cry with, and most importantly find Empathy for yourself.

📸

17/08/2022

TW: Mentions family violence in the presence of children

New DFV offence proposed in VIC.

Mr Grimley said the proposal had been developed with support from a child survivor and victim-survivors, including Rosie Batty and Simone O'Brien.

Child survivor Toby (not his real name) said children were "essentially invisible as witnesses and victims of family violence in the eyes of the law".

"The courts need to see children as victims and understand how heavily affected we are by family violence," he said.

A Victorian MP was due to meet with the state's Attorney-General, Jaclyn Symes, today to discuss creating a new offence that would make committing an act of family violence in the presence of a child a specific crime.

🆘Help is available 24/7 in Australia:

📞EMERGENCY 000 if in immediate danger/emergencies
📞Kids Helpline Official 1800 55 1800
📞1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732

Under existing laws, children are considered witnesses, not victims, in many family violence cases, but a proposed new law in Victoria would change that.

14/08/2022

Incredible young people calling for change! Youth Against Violence - YAV

04/08/2022

In Australia no one should be homeless.
As a nation we can and must end homelessness.
We know how - all it takes is political willl.

29/07/2022

It's almost Homelessness Week 2022 (1 – 7 August)

This Budget Everybody's Home is calling on the Gov to make homes affordable for all by:

• investing in a program to enable the delivery of 25,000 social and affordable housing properties per year; and
• increasing Commonwealth Rent Assistance by at least 50 per cent

Please sign the attached to send your email to the Treasurer ahead of the pre-budget period.

When Lisa moved into her current rental it felt like a fresh start.  The rent took half her income, but she could just manage on […]

26/07/2022

Provide policy guidance to Government on DFV issues from an Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander lens. Support Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islanders specialist DFV workers. Remote and/or office.

26/07/2022

“This is why initiatives like Pride rounds and Pride jerseys matter. They are a statement from an organisation, signalling that a sport wants people to feel safe to be who they are. These initiatives certainly don’t fix everything, but they are important symbols.

Sport is such an enormous platform to highlight so many causes and issues that communities experience, as well as demonstrating how sport is intertwined with values that Australian society holds dear, such as inclusion and equality."

Our Pride in Sport program has released a statement on the Manly Sea Eagles’ Pride Jersey.

➡️ link in bio

26/07/2022

TW - Mentions murder of First Nations mother and baby.

The bodies of an Indigenous woman and her baby were found in an alleged domestic violence incident, only to be met with media silence

26/07/2022

Congratulations on the launch of your powerful book She Is Not Your Rehab 💜

Below are the Chapter Titles to our best selling book. If it’s not in your local bookstore, PLEASE ask them to get it in as they’ve sold out in many stores.

Many of you ask me what we mean by ‘She Is Not Your Rehab’ so I thought I’d put this list together -

1. She is not responsible for your emotional rehabilitation.

2. Your healing is your responsibility and yours to take initiative for and manage.

3. Any healing needed for you, cannot come at the expense of her healing, health and wellbeing.

4. She can support you but she can never do more for you than you are prepared to do for yourself.

5. Regardless of what anyone has done TO YOU, it is now time FOR YOU to take ownership of your own life and be committed to living it wholeheartedly enough to do any work needed. Your childhood trauma wasn’t your fault but your healing IS now your responsibility.

6. True change comes from genuine growth. Growth happens once we heal. Healing starts when we begin to FEEL our pain.

7. Hurt people inevitably hurt people because what we will not transform, we transmit on those around us and healed people do indeed heal people. The question is WILL YOU have the courage to heal?

*BEST SELLING BOOK OUT NOW!
www.sheisnotyourrehab.com
or available at all bookstores.

*You can also purchase each individual chapter title on a tee over at
www.sheisnotyourrehab.digitees.co.nz

25/07/2022

TW: Mentions physical and psychological abuse, coercive control, victim blaming and Depp/Heard trial.

The myth of mutual abuse:

"There is a huge difference between incident-based violence, acts of resistance and the pattern of coercive control and abuse seen in domestic violence that infects every part of a victim-survivors identity and way of life," she says.

"I never terrorised someone, belittled them daily, controlled their movements, tracked their spending, emails or phone calls, damaged their property, intimidated them or their loved one or created paralysing fear.

"My violence was a reaction to all those things happening to me … yet knowing I did that brought enough shame, humiliation, and fear of being deemed 'mutually abusive' and 'just as bad as he was' kept me from calling the police."

🆘Help is available:

📞1800RESPECT helpline: 1800 737 732 (avail 24/7).

📞Always ring EMERGENCY 000 if in immediate danger or in emergencies.

The defamation trial of divorced actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard has reignited discussions around "mutual abuse" — a concept questioned by domestic violence experts.

25/04/2022

Has your local political candidate taken the Pledge Together for Women's Safety in the upcoming election?

The Pledge for a Safer Future has six elements:

✅Do what it takes to end all forms of gender-based violence within a generation.

✅Champion strong action to prevent all forms of gender-based violence by addressing its drivers and enablers, including gender inequality.

✅Push for proper funding of specialist s*xual, domestic and family violence services – to ensure everyone affected can access the support they need, and that perpetrators’ abusive behaviours are reduced.

✅Vote for better legal and institutional responses for victim-survivors to ensure people seeking support are helped, not hurt, by systems that should support them.

✅Vote for safer workplaces by supporting the full implementation of the S*x Discrimination Commissioner’s Respect@Work recommendations to address workplace s*xual harassment.

✅Champion reforms for a safer parliament – including full implementation of the recommendations in the S*x Discrimination Commissioner’s ‘Set the Standard’ report.

⚠️If all of the above are priorities for you, click below to see all the candidate positions on whether they've taken this pledge, partially or in full (or will not pledge support). From there, you can use the search bar in the top right of the screen and type your suburb. A list of all candidates in your area and their responses will become available.

https://voteforsafety.com.au

Fair Agenda is a community of 43,000 Australians campaigning for a future in which our gender doesn't diminish our safety, economic security, or agency over our lives and bodies.

19/02/2022

TW: Child s*x abuse, drug use, self-harm

Always a class act, Grace.
Be outraged by the Abuser, not the coping strategies of Victim-Survivors. 💜

“It can be ugly. It can look like drugs. Like self-harm, skipping school, getting impulsive tattoos and all kinds of other unconscious, self-destructive, maladaptive coping mechanisms.

Whilst I do not seek to glorify, sanitise or normalise any of these things, I also do not seek to shame or judge survivors for ANY of their choices. For anyone who needs to hear this: it is NOT YOUR FAULT,” she wrote."

Help is available 24/7 in Australia:
Ring Emergency 000 if in immediate danger
Kids Helpline Official 1800 55 1800
1800RESPECT 1800 737 732
Lifeline 13 11 14

Child s*x abuse survivor and advocate, Grace Tame has posted a blistering open letter to media following the rampant publishing of a photo.

22/11/2021

Incredible, Jo!
Kickass Women 💜

The latest issue of Core Life Magazine is out now! Pick up your copy and read all about our director, Jo Sainsbury's recent involvement in a prestigious event - DANCING CEOs.

Jo is proudly representing Women's Network Australia and raising funds for Women's Legal Service Queensland to support women and children at risk from domestic violence.

She is trading her boots for high heels and to make it happen, she needs to raise $30k. It is a HUGE challenge, but for an incredibly worthwhile cause!
Stay tuned, we'll be announcing a major raffle in the coming weeks 🤩

Support Jo and make a difference.

Donate here: https://dancing-ceos-2022.raisely.com/jo-sainsbury

22/11/2021

Just 26, and still processing years of trauma, Grace Tame was thrust into the limelight when she became Australian of the Year. She looks back over a turbulent 10 months.

09/11/2021

The face I have when working with the at Ministry of Health's Prevention and Response to violence and neglect (PARVAN) unit on a new policy for NSW Health.

I'm grateful to be utilising my lived expertise to inform on policy development for Early Evidence Collection for child and adult survivors of s*xual abuse and trauma.

I can't wait for the launch and to see this policy rolled out across the state.

To work with me visit ⬇️
www.melwojtas.com

NSW Health
NSW Ministry of Health
*xualViolence

31/10/2021

Support and helpline resources in Australia:

⚠️EMERGENCIES⚠️
Emergency (Police/Fire/Ambulance) 000

⚠️CRISIS SUPPORT⚠️
Lifeline
Free, confidential 24-hour crisis support telephone service
131 114

Su***de Call Back Service offers professional telephone and online counselling 24/7 to people who are affected by su***de.
1300 659 467

🖤💛❤ FIRST NATIONS
NACCHO Aboriginal Health Australia
Online list of Indigenous health services and contact details
https://lnkd.in/gxyK69d

✳ABUSE/VIOLENCE✳
1800RESPECT
Free, confidential 24/7 support – assault, family violence, abuse
1800 737 732

R**e & Domestic Violence Services Australia
Our counsellors are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week by telephone or online. We also provide face to face counselling at some Women’s Health Centres in NSW.

Online web chat available https://www.rape-dvservices.org.au/about

NSW R**e Crisis:
Available 24/7 for anyone impacted by s*xual abuse/violence
1800 424 017

S*xual Assault Counselling Australia:
For those affected by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child S*xual Abuse. Available 24/7.
1800 211 028

Domestic Violence Impact Line:
For anyone in Australia whose life has been impacted by domestic or family violence. Available 24/7.
1800 943 539

Blue Knot Foundation
If you have experienced childhood trauma, you can speak with a Blue Knot Helpline trauma counsellor including for support and applications around national redress.
1300 657 380
Monday - Sunday
between 9am - 5pm AEDT
or via email at [email protected]

Do you live with a disability? Have you experienced abuse, neglect, violence or exploitation? For support for Disability Royal Commission or general support contact our National Counselling & Referral Service.
1800 421 468
9am - 6pm AEDT Mon- Fri
9am - 5pm AEDT Sat, Sun & public holidays

SAMSN
Any man who is struggling from the impacts of child s*xual assault should know the abuse was not his fault and that healing and recovery are possible. Regardless of his ethnicity, s*xual orientation, age or religion, any man, including all expressions of male gender identity, can contact SAMSN for support.
https://www.samsn.org.au/recovery-and-healing/
SAMSN Free Call
Telephone: 1800 4 SAMSN (72 676)
Hours: Monday to Friday 9am – 5pm
Email: [email protected]

🌈LGBTIQ+
QLife Australia
1800 184 527
3PM to Midnight, Everyday
Online Web Chat available: https://www.qlife.org.au/resources/chat/

LGBTIQ+ Violence Service:
For anyone from the LGBTIQ+ community whose life has been impacted by s*xual domestic and/or family violence. Available 24/7
1800 497 212

✳KIDS & YOUNG PEOPLE✳
Kids Helpline Official
Free, confidential support line for young people ages 5 to 25
1800 551 800

headspace (E-headspace)
Free online and telephone support and counselling to young people 12 - 25 and their families and friends.
https://lnkd.in/gQYu3bw

Bravehearts
If you would like to talk to someone, Bravehearts’ national Information and Support Line can be accessed by anyone wanting information or support relating to child s*xual assault and exploitation. Bravehearts has a specialised support team that is here for you.

Toll-free 1800 272 831

8:30am to 4:30pm Monday to Friday AEST (Please note hours vary on public holidays).

If your child or someone you know has disclosed, please contact Bravehearts on 1800 272 831. We will be able to provide you with support and advice about how to proceed to protect and support your loved one.

✳PARLIAMENTARY SUPPORT✳
The Government has announced an independent and confidential 24/7 telephone service to support current and former Commonwealth ministerial, parliamentary and electorate office staff, and those who have experienced serious incidents in a Commonwealth Parliamentary workplace.

The Parliamentary Support Line
1800 APH SPT (1800 274 778) is now available.
The new service is free, anonymous, independent and completely confidential and can provide information, counselling and referrals in response to s*xual violence, assault, s*xual harassment or other serious incidents in the workplace.

31/10/2021

TW: Domestic and family abuse/violence

How to make a plan to look after yourself:

- Safety planning is thinking about things you can do to be safer when living with violence or abuse.

- The best way to make a safety plan is with the help of support services.

- Trusted friends and family members can also play a role, as well as advocates for older people and people with disabilities.

- If you would like support with making a safety plan, you can contact 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or through our online chat service.

Domestic and family violence can include: physical violence, emotional abuse, s*xual violence, psychological abuse, financial abuse and threatening harm to your loved ones, children and pets. This video talks about options for making a plan to look after yourself.

https://youtu.be/w9Z5a8gjFX0

⚠ Always ring 000 if in immediate danger or emergencies.

Safety planning is a way to work on increasing safety when you are experiencing domestic and family violence. Domestic and family violence can include: physi...

09/09/2021

Content warning: domestic abuse, violence and child s*xual abuse Domestic abuse isn’t only caused by individuals—it’s embedded in and sustained by our public systems too. Features: Ruth Stearns Mandel, David Mandel, Susan Lackner, Grant Wyeth and a number of victim-survivors whose identities a...

06/09/2021

Grace and Brittany calling it like it is from the opening keynote by Scott Morrison (ScoMo) on Day 1/2 of the National Summit on Womens Safety 2021

Destroyers, last night we posted about how Grace Tame would attend the National Summit on Women's Safety which started today, even though it’s undoubtedly a .

Here’s what she had to say after Scott Morrison gave his keynote speech at the summit:

“Scott has just finished his opening keynote address at the Women’s Safety Summit in which he appropriated private disclosures from survivors to leverage his own image.

“Gee, I bet it felt good to get that out.”

[That last bit is what Tame says Morrison said to her immediately after her Australian of the Year acceptance speech earlier this year, when she bravely spoke out about the s*xual abuse a teacher inflicted on her.]

Yep, in a ham-fisted effort to look like he has empathy for survivors of s*xual assault, today Morrison spoke of the “hundreds of letters and emails he’s received from abuse survivors” – and actually had the nerve to say, “Through all the letters and emails, I felt that rage, the dread and the frustration that our culture is not changing”.

And, “I want [women’s] humanity, their dignity, their innate worth as a human being and the freedoms to which they’re entitled to be respected”.

As usual, it’s all spin and no substance – his hollow words come a few short days after it was reported that Morrison’s government knocked on the head all but 6 of the 55 recent Respect@Work report recommendations.

He even mentioned Brittany Higgins’s allegation that a parliament staffer had r***d her. In response, Higgins tweeted “I just can’t match this Government’s actions with the platitudes and warm sentiments they are all extending today”.
thenewdaily.com.au/news/politics/australian-politics/2021/09/06/scott-morrison-womens-speech

Meanwhile, “social agencies are pleading with the federal government to take a housing ‘crisis’ more seriously, after the issue of emergency accommodation for domestic violence survivors only got a ‘fleeting reference’ in the federal women’s safety summit this week.
thenewdaily.com.au/news/2021/09/06/womens-summit-housing-crisis

Destroyers, Summit or glib Festival of Empty Words? We demand meaningful and immediate action, not cynical marketing hype. Does the government think their posturing will pull the wool over the eyes of Australian women?

06/09/2021

Ahead of this week's a collective of 30 Victim-Survivors and Survivor-Advocates from around Australia sent a letter to all State and Federal Women's Safety Ministers.

I've highlighted our asks and why they are vital in drafting the next National Action Plan to reduce violence in Australia.

Mel Wojtas - The Context Expert

As a neurodiverse, bis*xual, cis-woman who has experienced domestic, family and s*xual violence (DFSV) throughout life, I recognise that gendered violence has played a significant part in my story. On a macro level, gendered violence is part of our national story and an ongoing source of national an...

06/09/2021

Domestic Violence NSW
The fourteen recommendations cover key priority areas, including:

- Quality design and service system cohesion
- Investment in resourcing
- Accessibility and support for marginalised groups
- Support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities
- Housing and homelessness
- Investment in research and evaluation
- People and animals experiencing domestic and family violence
- Commitment to primary prevention
- Investment in early intervention
- A trauma and gendered violence-informed justice system
- Improved access to justice in the family law system
- Improved health response to s*xual, domestic and family violence
- Financial support for victim-survivors
- Governance and accountability

*xualViolence

Add your support to family, domestic and s*xual violence organisations' joint list of demands for a safer future.

06/09/2021

Today marks the opening of the two day National Summit on Women's Safety

The controversial and insulting opening keynote from Scott Morrison (ScoMo) PM has set the tone for what we may expect will come from this event.

A collective of Victim-Survivors and Survivor-Advocates around the country were invited to watch the livestream in lieu of an official invitation to participate as key stakeholders at the Summit.

Whilst specialist services were also given the same window seat, it's hard to imagine how lived expertise will be embedded when continually offered breadcrumbs.

Are you watching the Summit?
https://regonsite.eventsair.com/national-summit-on-womens-safety/

Let me know your thoughts below 💜

www.melwojtas.com

*xualAssault *xualViolence

02/09/2021

Proud to be part of this collective 💜

‘A collective of 30 victim-survivors and advocates say they have been excluded from the National Action Plan and Women’s Safety Summit, despite their expertise and lived experience.

Advocates from across the country have urged the government to engage victim-survivors of domestic, s*xual and family violence (DSFV) in the next national plan.

“While we are aware that professionals and experts have been sought out and consulted, they are not [a] substitute for our own expertise and do not speak for us,” their letter reads.’

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/the-feed/these-survivors-of-domestic-and-s*xual-violence-say-they-ve-been-excluded-from-the-national-action-plan

*xualViolence

Victim-survivors are calling on the government to engage those with lived experiences of family, s*xual and domestic violence in the next National Action Plan and Women's Safety Summit.

19/08/2021

Another productive meeting with ANROWS and The Sax Institute as part of the Primary Health Network DFV pilot evaluation team.

Grateful to collaborate with Lived Expertise Advocates from the East Coast of Australia for this ongoing project.

Excited to see the outcomes in the final ANROWS report next year.

www.melwojtas.com

19/08/2021

It's been quiet on feed as I've dealt with burnout, stay at home orders, remote learning with two kids and taking time away from advocacy.

I hope all advocates allow themselves to step back when they need to and know that rest is productive and essential.

I've been listening to my body and protecting my energy. Thank you to those who have checked in.

Photo taken on beautiful

www.melwojtas.com

01/07/2021

I had the pleasure of Consulting with Central and Eastern Sydney PHN this week, offering my lived expertise for their Primary Health Network domestic violence pilot

Grateful for technology and the ability to continue consulting virtually throughout Covid, from home.

www.melwojtas.com

26/06/2021

We remain open. We are an essential service.

It is 100% legal to come to the Centre if you are experiencing violence or abuse or are in any sort of crisis including homelessness.

If you have an appointment this coming week, we will be contacting you to see if you'd prefer a telephone or Telehealth consult.

All group activities are cancelled for the next two weeks, at least.

Call us if you need us, or would clarification on the operations of the Centre. 4255 6800

Take care xx

26/06/2021

Thinking of everyone impacted by the recent and ongoing changes to the COVID-19 restrictions across Australia.

⚠️ Please remember you can always leave your home to seek medical attention, mental health care, avoid injury or seek refuge from abuse or violence. ⚠️

I hope you're able to look after your mental well-being or are surrounded by indoor plants.
🌵🪴🌿🌻🌱

🆘️ Helplines are open 24/7:

• Emergency 000
• 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732
• Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800

www.melwojtas.com

26/06/2021

NEW - STAY AT HOME ORDER
6pm tonight 26 Jun - midnight 9 July.

Applies to anyone in the Greater Sydney region (including the Central Coast, Blue Mountains, Wollongong).

You can only leave the home for the following four reasons:

- shopping for essential items (no need to panic buy now)
- care and compassionate reasons (including seeking medical attention or escaping abuse/violence)
- exercise (in groups less than 10)
- work and education that cannot be conducted remotely

https://www.9news.com.au/national/nsw-coronavirus-update-12-new-cases-lockdown/e69f6c50-92eb-458c-8646-e4a45af91fd1

Lockdown restrictions have been extended to Greater Sydney, the Central Coast, Blue Mountains and Wollongon...

17/06/2021

Mental health and su***de are social problems. They are packaged as individual problems because then we don’t have to address contributing social factors. If we did, we’d have to stop and ask, “What kind of culture are we creating? What kind of society are we?”

***de ***de

07/06/2021

Gotta be in it to win it! 🥳

Backing myself and The Context Expert in this year's coolest business awards Awards 2021 🤘🏽🎉

www.melwojtas.com

04/06/2021

Attn: CENTRAL COASTIES 🤙🏽

Join us for a night of Comedy to raise much needed funds for Domestic Violence Services on the Central Coast. - Funds raised will go to Zonta Club Central Coast to help with their exceptional services.

FRI 25 JUNE - 7PM

Tickets are $40 each and automatically enter you into a draw for some wonderful lucky door prizes.

Dinner is available to purchase at the Bistro from 5.30pm.

Unreserved seating at tables of ten.

Limited tickets for the event so hurry to purchase so you don't miss out!

https://www.stickytickets.com.au/bhidh/comedy_for_courage.aspx