Latest News
Collated by the Domestic and Family Violence Working Group
1.Candle Vigil Template
This template is based on a candle vigil conducted by the QCT Joint Churches Domestic Violence Project Queensland held at St Francis’ Theological College at 6pm on 1 May 2024 - please feel free to amend as appropriate.
2. A Service of Lament
This template is based on a longer service of lament conducted in the 2023 16 Days of Activism at St Mark’s Buderim.
3. A Lament for Domestic and Family Violence
This lament is for inclusion in existing services
Wednesday 1 May is the National Day of Remembrance for those who have lost their lives as a result of Domestic and Family Violence. Come and join with us and the broader Christian community through Queensland Churches Together at a candle vigil at St Francis’ Theological College at 6pm on 1 May 2024 - ALL WELCOME and supper will be serviced after the vigil.
Queensland Churches Together have released dates for their first online training workshop for 2024.
Called Responding to Domestic Violence the online zoom series will take place over three Wednesday evenings from 7pm-8.30pm on 21st February 28th February and 6th March 2024.
To ensure that price is not a deterrent, participants will have the option of attending free of charge or paying $20 to help JCDVPP continue developing resources and offering courses. Those who pay $20 will receive two copies of the short book: "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Questions women ask about relationships and Christianity”. For more information and to register contact Queensland Churches Together - Domestic Family Violence Resources (qct.org.au)
If this course does not work for you consider the two excellent sources of DFV Training endorsed for use in this Diocese:-
Responding to Domestic and Family Violence – Ridley Theological College in Melbourne. A free, self paced, online course targeted at Clergy but available to anyone seeking training grounded in Church environments.
DV-alert has offered training in DFV for over a decade and offer a range of face to face and online courses. They have an excellent 2 hour, free introductory session for any person wanting to find out more about domestic abuse.
BOOKS, MOVIES, SONGS AND MORE THAT HAVE CHANGED THE WAY WE THINK ABOUT DOMESTIC AND FAMILY VIOLENCE.
Day 16 - three songs
Luka - Suzanne Vega nominated by Diane Thomson - Luka was released on the Solitude Standing album by Suzanne Vega in 1987. It will touch your heart and in so doing you might be called to act on behalf of the victims of domestic violence.
Running up that hill (make a deal with God) - Kate Bush nominatd by Rev’d Jamee Callard. The song imagines making a deal with God for partners to swap places and experience things from the other persons perspective of the relationship.
Every breadth you take - Sting nominated by Jenny Clark - I used to love this song but since I have leant more about coercive control it just sends shivers up my spine.
BOOKS, MOVIES, SONGS AND MORE THAT HAVE CHANGED THE WAY WE THINK ABOUT DOMESTIC AND FAMILY VIOLENCE.
Day 15 - The Woman they could not silence - Elizabeth Packard's incredible fight for freedom and the men who tried to make her disappear. A book by Kate Moore (Scribe Publications 2021) nominated by Ros Clifton. In the mid 1800s, Elizabeth Packard, married to a clergyman, began voicing her opinions on religion and politics. Her husband tried every means to control her often using violence. Husbands could declare wives insane and have them committed to an asylum, which he did. Elizabeth dared to have a voice! Her actions changed the legal world. Her courage and determination to believe change is possible for women inspired me to use my own voice and call out injustice and violence against women today.
BOOKS, MOVIES, SONGS AND MORE THAT HAVE CHANGED THE WAY WE THINK ABOUT DOMESTIC AND FAMILY VIOLENCE.
Day 14 - Breaking the Chain a book by Maggie Allen (PPR Publishing 2020) nominated by Eleanor Mancini. This book changed the way I viewed domestic abuse when I read Dawn's true story saying 'My life of abuse and how I broke free. All of my days are full and happy now, but before the 'now' that is my new life, there was another life, full of days there were very different. Dark days full of fear and dread, days when every waking moment was a living night that seemed to go on forever. I never stop being thankful for this new life, for being able to leave all of the bad times behind me, where they belong.”
BOOKS, MOVIES, SONGS AND MORE THAT HAVE CHANGED THE WAY WE THINK ABOUT DOMESTIC AND FAMILY VIOLENCE.
Day 13 - Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, and Us: Using Family Systems Therapy to Understand and Dismantle Oppression a booklet by Janaki Spickard Keeler (Pendle Hill Publications) nominated by Valerie Joy. Janaki Spickard Keeler, a family therapist, examines the story of Abraham’s near-sacrifice of his son Isaac through the lens of Quaker theology and family systems therapy. She then widens that lens to examine our society’s challenges with power and oppression and how we might use this story to better understand and work to dismantle oppression.
BOOKS, MOVIES, SONGS AND MORE THAT HAVE CHANGED THE WAY WE THINK ABOUT DOMESTIC AND FAMILY VIOLENCE.
Day 12 The Injustice of Intimacy - A Podcast produced by Northside Connect in Brisbane and nominated by Belinda Ross. (available at https://northsideconnect.org.au/fantastic-informative-podcasts-you-can-access-any-time-4/ or via Apple Podcasts) - The Injustice of Intimacy podcast is a wonderful project that thoughtfully addresses the sensitive topic of sexual abuse within intimate partner relationships. It’s an element of DFV that is so often brushed over yet incredibly impactful for victims.
BOOKS, MOVIES, SONGS AND MORE THAT HAVE CHANGED THE WAY WE THINK ABOUT DOMESTIC AND FAMILY VIOLENCE.
Day 11 The Mind Behind the Crime - a book by Helen McGrath & Cheryl Critchley nominated by the Queensland Churches Together DFV Working Group (Sydney Macmillan 2018) This is a really fascinating read and offers an interesting psychological analysis of some of Australia's famous murderers. It was great to see the authors call out the "good blokes" who kill their families for what they really are Murderers! Goodreads review.
BOOKS, MOVIES, SONGS AND MORE THAT HAVE CHANGED THE WAY WE THINK ABOUT DOMESTIC AND FAMILY VIOLENCE.
Day 10 - The Murder of Allison Bayden-Clay a book by David Murray. (2016 Penguin Books) - Heartbreaking but hard to put down (Goodreads Review)
BOOKS, MOVIES, SONGS AND MORE THAT HAVE CHANGED THE WAY WE THINK ABOUT DOMESTIC AND FAMILY VIOLENCE.
Day 9 See What You Made Me Do a book by Jess Hill - nominated by Felicity Lewis and Gwenneth Roberts -The book is about love, abuse and power. Evidence shows that the home can be the most dangerous place for a woman. The danger is not the monster lurking in the dark, but the men women fall in love with. Jess Hill puts perpetrators and the systems that enables them in the spotlight with special insight into the role of shame. She takes a deep dive into the abuse so many women and children experience often reinforced by the justice system they trust to protect them. It is a call to action for change now.
BOOKS, MOVIES, SONGS AND MORE THAT HAVE CHANGED THE WAY WE THINK ABOUT DOMESTIC AND FAMILY VIOLENCE.
Day 8 - A Thousand Splendid Suns a book by Khaled Hossein (2018 Bloomsbury) Powerless women, without friends or resources - it challenged my views on finding agency and love even in the most brutal, oppressive and fear filled times. Unforgettable.
BOOKS, MOVIES, SONGS AND MORE THAT HAVE CHANGED THE WAY WE THINK ABOUT DOMESTIC AND FAMILY VIOLENCE.
Day 7 - The End of Holyrood Lane by Dimity Powell (2018 Exisle Publishing) anonymous nomination.
Sometimes, it's easier to shy away from books with "heavy" or serious topics. But we do our children a disservice. Even if this book is not a mirror of their experience and a gentle confirmation that they are not alone; it is a necessary window into another's experience and a way to create empathy. It also provides ideas to deal with fears and ways to self-calm and permission to seek help. (Goodreads review)
BOOKS, MOVIES, SONGS AND MORE THAT HAVE CHANGED THE WAY WE THINK ABOUT DOMESTIC AND FAMILY VIOLENCE.
Day 6 - The deepening darkness: patriarchy, resistance and democracy’s future by Carol Gilligan and David Richards (2009 Cambridge University Press) nominated by Lucy Morris
Gilligan and Richards, make the case that we are indeed at a turning point. They argue for individual voice, individual choice, individual autonomy and above all, equality. They challenge their readers to get to the mountaintop, envision something entirely new on the other side, walk there hand in hand, and build it. Goodreads Review
BOOKS, MOVIES, SONGS AND MORE THAT HAVE CHANGED THE WAY WE THINK ABOUT DOMESTIC AND FAMILY VIOLENCE.
Day 5 Women Talking (Movie released 2023 and available through iTunes and Apple TV) - nominated by Jonathan Sargeant
An amazing film in which a group of women from an isolated conservative religious community meet to decide what to do about the systemic domestic violence perpetrated by their men. Do nothing, stay and fight, or leave? The film draws out the faith aspects of a brutal reality with nuanced insight.
BOOKS, MOVIES, SONGS AND MORE THAT HAVE CHANGED THE WAY WE THINK ABOUT DOMESTIC AND FAMILY VIOLENCE.
Day 4 - The Headship of Men and the Abuse of Women; are they related? Kevin Giles (2020 Cascade Books) nominated by Gwenneth Roberts
The saying goes that ideas have consequences and bad ideas have victims. Kevin Giles, a retired Australian Anglican minister of over forty years and long-time champion of the egalitarian movement, believes this is certainly true of male-headship teachings. Giles forcefully argues that “headship teaching can encourage and legitimate domestic abuse and it must be abandoned if domestic abuse is to be effectively countered in our churches. CBC International Website
BOOKS, MOVIES, SONGS AND MORE THAT HAVE CHANGED THE WAY WE THINK ABOUT DOMESTIC AND FAMILY VIOLENCE.
Day 3 - Fake by Stephanie Wood (2021 Penguin Australia) anonymous nomination
Partly the story of the perils of online dating and partly the story of how primed even the smartest women are to the allure of romance. Journalist Stephanie Wood fell for a fairly sophisticated or perhaps habitualised "breadcrumber". Her highly readable book nails how such relationships can form and why women caught up in them are often the last to see the reality of their situation.
BOOKS, MOVIES, SONGS AND MORE THAT HAVE CHANGED THE WAY WE THINK ABOUT DOMESTIC AND FAMILY VIOLENCE.
Day 2 - The Family Court Murders by Debbie Marshall (available on ABC Iview) nominated by Jenny Clark
Research released in 2022 established that 1in 3 men in Australia who are convicted of murdering their current of former partners have a pattern of abuse which is hidden from their broader family, work and community networks and to legal and support systems. This is the story of how one such man hid in plain sight, the enormous damage he inflicted and the sacrifice his former partner made to end the violence.
BOOKS, MOVIES, SONGS AND MORE THAT HAVE CHANGED THE WAY WE THINK ABOUT DOMESTIC AND FAMILY VIOLENCE. DAY !
Day 1 - Texts of Terror by Phyllis Trible (2022 Fortress Press) - nominated by Peter Catt
By combining the discipline of literary criticism with the hermeneutics of feminism, Phyllis Trible reinterprets the tragic stories of four women in ancient Hagar, Tamar, an unnamed concubine, and the daughter of Jephthah. In highlighting the silence, absence, and opposition of God, as well as human cruelty, Trible shows how these neglected stories--interpreted in memoriam--challenge both the misogyny of Scripture and its use in church, synagogue, and academy. (from Goodreads)
New Chair of the Anglican Church in Southern Queensland’s Domestic and Family Violence Working Group, Ven Dr Lucy Moris reflects on the challenges of raising awareness of Domestic and Family Violence.
