TRANSCRIPT
Sarah – not her real name - is a softly spoken woman in her 30s and a mother of school-aged children.
She is also a survivor of domestic violence at the hands of her partner.
Sarah says her ordeal began when she was pregnant with her first child.
"The nature of that abuse was grabbing and squashing around my pregnant stomach. My fear at the time was my child and their safety. I didn't seek any advice, I didn’t tell anybody. I was too scared. The physical abuse continued throughout my other pregnancies, grabbing body parts, my arms so that I couldn't leave. My children still do suffer significant emotional damage and trauma."
According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, of almost 800,000 women who experienced violence by a previous partner since the age of 15 and were pregnant during the relationship, 42 per cent experienced violence during their pregnancy.
FullStop Australia is a leading sexual, domestic and family violence response and recovery service.
Its CEO is Karen Bevan.
"It's completely devastating really to their sense of wellbeing. It really increases their sense of concern about the baby. And so when someone's pregnant and they're being subject(ed) to these kinds of forms of violence, what can happen is that they feel responsible. So, they feel responsible for the pregnancy, they feel responsible for the welfare of the baby, and they often feel like somehow they caused this. For many women it's completely devastating to their sense of safety, wellbeing, their sense of self."
Sarah reached out for help after experiencing worsening abuse for almost five years.
"It was extremely damaging to my mental health and how I viewed myself as a person. My first point of call that evening was to a family member and then following that was to police. Upon leaving, I didn't have any work."
Entrepreneur Melanie Greblo set up a social enterprise that supports women fleeing domestic and family violence.
Ms Greblo knows first-hand how hard starting over can be.
"Like many people who separate, particularly when it's a tricky separation, at times I felt really anxious. I felt my nervous system was on high alert all the time. I felt depressed at times and at times really hopeless. Learning new skills at any time in life can be daunting. I guess it's particularly daunting when you've experienced trauma and you are perhaps coming from a very low skill base."
Scriibed uses artificial intelligence to give women facing barriers to employment and economic participation flexible, remote work providing digital services to small and medium businesses.
"The digital economy is growing, it's only going to continue to grow. There are skills shortages, there are jobs of the future. So, developing a pipeline of talent for that future workforce is critical right now. Financial independence is key. If women are plunged into poverty, which is often the case when they leave violence, they are in this cycle of abuse. They return to violence or they're living in poverty, their children living in poverty and it's very hard to lift out of that. So, that's where the need was."
Scriibed is one of more than 800 social enterprises certified by Social Traders, which advocates for business that give back.
CEO Tara Anderson explains.
"Social enterprises like this create outcomes for women that give them the chance to take control of their own lives again. So, these are long-term career outcomes and career pathways that not only impact the women themselves, but their families, their communities, and society more broadly. We've seen so far in the last six years, $ 843 million spent with certified social enterprises. By 2030, we'd like that to be $5.5 billion. That would create 44,000 jobs for people like marginalised women as well as migrants, refugees, people with disability."
Backed by government and philanthropic funding, Scriibed is expanding nationally.
Entrepreneur Melanie Greblo says they are providing online training and a range of resources for women in cities and rural areas.
"So, we have a not-for-profit arm, our academy, and that's really the engine room of upskilling, reskilling, training and education for these women, particularly around digital skills and platforms that they may not have used, some very basic digital literacy. And then there's a host of other personal and professional development opportunities in our virtual hub which support women with increasing their self-esteem, self-confidence."
Ms Greblo aims to support 150 women into employment over the next four years, and says results are already on the board.
"In the last six months, we've delivered over 850 hours of digital skills training for women in the hub. And we've so far had employment outcomes, where women have transitioned into employment at Scriibed or with an employer partner."
Sarah is gradually rebuilding her life and is on the road to financial freedom.
"I've been able to slowly get back into the workforce. To have that extra money to afford groceries and the rising cost of living and everything has been incredibly helpful."
If you or someone you know wants to talk about family or domestic violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or call Lifeline on 13 11 14. In an emergency, call 000.
